About

Sometimes you have quiet hopes that feel so precious and fragile that to utter them might extinguish them before they even have a chance. Writing a book was that for me, probably from the time I left school.

 

Meanwhile, I got on with uni, starting a career (in health administration) and also raising a family. However in my late 20s, we had a corner room in our house that overlooked trees and a garden. I recall thinking it would make a great room to write a novel in one day – though that felt a way off.

 

A decade later after further study, I channelled my love of writing into a career as a copywriter which I enjoyed for many years. Then one day, at a family lunch, I was chatting to my niece and nephew who suggested I write a book. I replied that I didn’t think I had sufficient imagination for that.

 

When I got home, I was cross with myself for shutting down the idea so fast. Turns out that little voice was tired of being a whisper! That became the fuel I needed to give it a crack. I began toying with writing a children's novel on my own, but found it MUCH harder than I'd imagined. Trial and error is not the fastest way to learn! In 2020, I signed up for an online fiction writing course with the Australian Writers' Centre, subsequently completing about a dozen courses with them.

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After many, many edits, I had a completed manuscript. I submitted it for assessment with various experts in the publishing industry, which prompted yet more changes - some of them sizeable. Then in late 2024, I won the Junior Fiction category of the Just Write for Kids Pitch It! Competition. As a result of this, my manuscript was read by Rowena Beresford of Riveted Press, who offered me a 3-book deal. I’m sure glad I listened to that voice!