Denise has studied biological sciences, chemistry, graphic design, and indexing. She is a professional puzzle writer. She has 10 puzzle books in print, including four titles in the For Dummies series. Denise was born with hip dysplasia, and has had a lifetime of hip problems. She joined forces with UK orthopaedic surgeon, Dr Sophie West, to write A Guide for Adults with Hip Dysplasia. The book took two years to write. Denise also did all illustrations and graphic design, as well as the index, and her business published it.Her latest books, Solving Cryptic Crosswords For Dummies, and a companion volume of crosswords, Cryptic Crosswords For Dummies were released internationally in August 2012. She is a weekly guest on ABC NSW radio, talking about cryptic crosswords.