Loving being a pen pal again

When I was in 9, I had two pen pals. One was a girl named Liz who lived in Michigan, USA. Her letters came on thin blue paper with a stamp featuring a US President. She wrote about ice skating on frozen lakes and playing in the snow in winter. To me, who lived in suburban Sydney and had never seen snow, this sounded remarkable. So did the fact that she had COLOUR TV. (I am seriously dating myself with this story!) In turn she asked me many questions about kangaroos and koalas, hoping I might have some in my garden. (I did not.) Somehow, our letters began to dwindle as we approached high school.

My second pen pal was (and is) my lovely cousin, Dianne. We were born four days apart and became firm friends from a young age. Dianne lived on a farm and it was always a treat if I got to stay with her during the school holidays. Together we would explore the creek, roam around paddocks, and help my uncle with farm chores (though in truth, Dianne did most of the work and I generally agog, would watch). In between visits, we kept in touch by letters - a practice we kept up until adulthood when we swapped it for phone calls (which to my delight, we continue to this day). Dianne has been a much more reliable custodian of our correspondence than me, and it's been funny to read 15-year-old me describing the details of my life back than. Cringe!

But the main thing is, it was always a thrill to receive a letter in the mail!

And so I'm delighted to now be an Author Pen Pal as part of an initiative to match Australian authors and illustrators with schools. I've been 'matched' with a school book club in rural NSW. It's been great to write letters to the students and share what I'm learning as my book approaches publication, and also to hear from them about what they're interested in. Recently I received an envelope filled with hand-made cards the kids had created for me! A beautiful parcel to receive. I thank the organisers of the Author Pen Pals program for giving me this wonderful opportunity.