Carol was born in Lithgow, NSW in 1948, and moved to the Illawarra at the age of five. In 1967 she married Neil Preston in Wollongong, where their two children, Tammy and Adam were born. Carol returned to study in 1976, and completed a PhD at Wollongong University in 1986, publishing numerous academic articles in psychological journals during that time. She had a counselling practice for 20 years until retiring in October 2017. One of Carol’s hobbies over many years has been family history research. It was this research which started Carol on the journey of writing novels. She has great admiration for the lives of her ancestors in Australia and has greatly enjoyed writing novels based on their stories and the inspiring history of the Australian people. She has written a trilogy about the Oakes Family; Suzannah’s Gold, Rebecca’s Dream and The Price of Peace, which takes the reader from 1838 when her great great grandmother, Suzannah Casey was transported from Ireland, through to the end of the First World War. Carol’s fourth novel, The Face of Forgiveness, is about two young Irish women who were transported to Australia in 1839 where they face two very different futures. Mary’s Guardian and Charlotte’s Angel are Carol’s fifth and sixth novels. These begin a series which begins with the First Fleet of convicts to Australian in 1788 and focuses on the fate of those who were Australia’s first white settlers. Tangled Secrets and Truly Free are the 3rd and 4th in this series. Next of Kin and Beyond the Fight are Carol's 9th and 10th novels and continue the story of her ancestors in Northern NSW.