Daniel grew up in Otago having developed a love for stories, storytelling, and acting from a young age. During his time at High School, he performed in all but one School Musical show every year as well as performing in several Gang Shows from his time as a Sea Scout.

Thereafter, he has performed in a good number of public theatre shows, most notably at the local Globe Theatre.

He attended the New Zealand School of Tourism before spending a year in the US on a College Program at Walt Disney World in Florida. It was during this year that the idea for “The Starlight Symphony” came to be.

When he returned, Daniel’s desire to write began from there, and the rest is history.

He devoured Roald Dahl and “Redwall” books growing up, as well as “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings”.

His favorite films and shows include “The Dark Crystal”, “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, “The Shawshank Redemption”, “Avatar: The Last Airbender” and every single movie from Studio Ghibli. All of the above have been the key inspirations for Daniel’s writing and drawing.

He has a soft spot for video games, draws constantly (especially characters from his book), drinks at least three cups of tea a day, and loves a moody day full of rain.