Kali Napier worked in Bangladesh as an anthropologist on gender programs before working as an Aboriginal family history researcher for the Queensland government and as a Native Title anthropologist in the mid-west of Western Australia, the setting for The Secrets at Ocean's Edge.

The novel was longlisted for the Bath Novel Award as was her first manuscript - also a finalist in the Hachette Australia Manuscript Development Program. Kali is currently an MPhil candidate in creative writing at the University of Queensland.

The character of Ernie in The Secrets at Ocean's Edge is based on her great-grandfather, who settled briefly in Dongara during the Depression. Kali now lives in Queensland with her two children.