MEET THE CREATORS

Jane Gregory was raised on a sheep station in  South Australia.  After attending the local area school she moved to Adelaide to complete her education as a boarding student. Attending university didn’t appeal, so she entered the workforce as a legal secretary, and has since worked in the information technology, construction, furniture manufacture and horticulture industries. 

It took two moments in time before Jane’s long-held dream of writing children’s books became a reality.  The first was when she adopted a rescue kitten.  As ‘Billie T’ grew from being a very sick kitten into a healthy cat, her quirky nature developed, providing a plethora of ideas just waiting to be put down on paper.  Enter the second moment – Jane met the creative whirlwind that is Danny. 

Danny Mulyono was born and raised in Adelaide with a natural hand at drawing. Self-taught, it was evident early on that others would appreciate his talents, with classmates spending their lunch money on his colourful creations. He created his first mural when just 12 years old, but that’s where the pursuit halted; not really picking up a pencil or brush for some time.  

It wasn’t until Danny was in his 30s that he started working more and more on his art, and in early 2019 he told his family that he’d like to illustrate children’s books. About a week later, out of the blue, Jane sent Danny a verse about a cat and asked him to draw to it. The image she received was edgy and purrfect. The stars had aligned, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Billie Books was born over a lunch meeting.  Both talking. Danny drawing. Jane scribbling notes. The table was covered in pens, pencils, sketch pads and note books, leaving barely enough room for the plates when the food arrived. 

We’ve loved bringing Billie Books to life, and hope that this quirky pearl-wearing cat’s adventures will become a family favourite.