Jacqui Smart

Jacqui Smart, the eldest of seven children, was born in Melbourne, Australia. Both of her parents were first generation Australians. When she was six, her family moved to Tasmania.

In 1995 she travelled to Ireland where she lived for two years. Her jobs included setting up a community library in south-west Kerry, working at a sports sock factory making socks and barmaid. Following a return to Tasmania in 1997, she worked for the State Library before moving to England for five years. Amongst the jobs she had there, her favourite was at Cheshire Archives and Local Studies.

In 2004 she returned to Tasmania and settled in Hobart. After eleven years as a public servant, she relocated to Low Head, a beautiful seaside village in northern Tasmania. The Gift of Patience is her fourth novel. Her previous novels were Heart Urchins, In Search of Kathleen and The Scent of Remembrance.

She is currently writing a fifth novel which is set in Ireland and Tasmania.