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Lorraine Orman can trace her love of literature right back to when she was eight years old. It was around this time that her parents separated, and, with her world 'thrown into confusion' she found that 'books were the best escape'.
That early love of reading and writing clearly led to her involvement in the literary life as an adult. Initially, she worked in the National Library in Wellington; then when she had her own family, she began to write short stories for children, seven of which were published in the School Journal. Over the years, she continued to work as a librarian in places as varied as Birkdale College, Unitec Library, and the Auckland College of Education Library. During this period she began to write novels and reviews, and became actively involved in the Children's Literature Foundation. She also set up a personal website promoting children's books. (See Story-Go-Round: A Guide to Children's Books at http://www.story-go-round.net.nz)
Lorraine has worked as a part-time tutor in children's books at the Auckland College of Education for several years; but in a sense she became a student again when she was accepted as a writer on the NZSA mentor scheme. Through this scheme she received advice on her manuscript from the novelist Tessa Duder: this work became Cross Tides, her first novel for young adults, published by Longacre in 2004. Cross Tides won Best First Book in the 2005 NZ Post Book Awards for Children & Young Adults.
Lorraine has a novel for younger children, Kev and Borax, published by Penguin Australia, and she has had a short story in 30 Weird and Wonderful New Zealand Stories, edited by Barbara Else (Random House). In 2004 she was a judge for the New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards.
Lorraine lives in Auckland with her husband (her children are now adults), though she'd prefer to live at their beach house at Omaha Beach, near Warkworth. She loves walking, beachcombing, cruising the Internet and lunching with friends. When young children ask how old she is, she likes to see how far their eyes widen when she replies, 'Over half a century'.