Vivienne entered University at 50, first gaining a BEd (Massey University), followed by a Cambridge Certificate in ESOL (International House, Barcelona), a Masters in Creative Writing (University of Auckland), and a NZSA mentorship with Stephen Stratford. In 2016, she was accepted for a short story masterclass with Tom Jenks, author and editor, in San Francisco. She has facilitated critique groups for writers and has also been part of several writing groups over a fifteen-year period. Vivienne lives in Devonport Auckland.