NICOLE MILLER was 'born and bred' in the sunny Bay of Plenty where she grew up eating avocados on the family orchard and enjoying regular camping excursions with her Mum, Dad and three older brothers. After receiving a Bachelor of Teaching at Waikato University, Nicole spent 5 years travelling and teaching abroad. Now living back in Tauranga with her two young children, she enjoys writing educational songs for the students that she teaches, and in 2018, she released a children's song, Zero Plastic Christmas as a resource for schools. In 2019, she was finalised for the Joy Cowley award for her manuscript, Celia Seagull and the Plastic Sea. Nicole now enjoys balancing part time teaching at Brookfield Primary School with family time and her musical interests. On the weekends she loves to spend time in the waves, the snow or singing on the stage.