Writers' Web

Nicole Hauesler

Nicole Hauesler finished her third book at aged 11.  Her books focus on subjects like coping with the loss of a loved one, dealing with arguments and managing serious illness.  Her latest book, Mateship for Sure features a page dedicated to dealing with Juvenile Diabetes, something she is all to familiar with.

Ashtara

One of my fondest memories of early childhood was listening to my Dad’s spontaneous bedtime stories. Years later he would find me curled up in a chair in the cold lounge room reading the bible. I was only seven and searching for truth then, but didn’t know it. In mid-life, when the material world no longer provided fulfilment, my quest resurrected. Spirituality, metaphysics and astrology found me and I knew that universal truth would eventually be revealed. Then the extraordinary celestial and extra-terrestrial interactions and journeys into multi-dimensional experiences, written about in I Am An Experiment, began. Ten self-published books followed.

I love the way life unfolds and I know I have more mysteries still to uncover. I’ll continue writing and teaching because I can’t imagine ever retiring.

How long have you been writing?

Since 1995

What has inspired your writing?  

Direct spiritual guidance, the incredible accuracy of astrology and the desire to awaken and inspire readers to understand their deepest truth, and that of other dimensional realities.

Tell us about your writing process:

My incessant mind chatter created insomnia and depression and, because I wasn’t willing to continue living life this way, I chose to learn two specific mind-stilling techniques. One was to learn to write with my non-dominant hand and the other was dedicated meditation.

As I became proficient with both disciplines I became aware of clear intuitive guidance directing my words.  My first five books, self-published between 1996 – 97, were transmitted, and written, this way.

What are your books about?

My first five books are based on clear telepathic transmissions from higher dimensional light beings and contain valuable information relative to our world today. The next four books are astrological teaching manuals. My current Experiment book is outlined in the synopsis.

What are you reading?

Currently I am re-reading my favourite books one of which is titled Love Without End -Jesus Speaks by Glenda Green.

Who are your favourite authors and why?

I don’t have any favourites now but one of my favourite authors was Barbara Hand Clow, a brilliant USA astrologer and cosmologist.

What is your idea of the perfect book and why?

A perfect book provides me with the opportunity to learn more about the truth of human existence and the words that fulfil and inspire me are those written by highly advanced love-based enlightened authors.

What do you do when you are not writing?

Spend time with my family, play with my dog, walk in nature, practice yoga, garden, read, travel, teach and study.

Khyiah Angel

Khyiah Angel is an Australian author and teacher. She began her career as a primary school teacher before re-training as a high school teacher teaching in the Blue Mountains / Nepean area of New South Wales. She spent some years in country NSW, near Braidwood, before moving to Sydney in 2009 to take up a job in the public service. She hated it and resigned after a few months.  She now lives her dream— writing fiction. She resides in the Ryde area of Sydney, though will regularly retreat to the country to finish a writing project. While writing fiction is her first love, she also very much enjoys teaching Creative Writing to children and young adults.

How long have you been writing?

I have been writing all my life in one form or another, but only started taking it seriously enough to write a complete novel about 15 years ago.

What has inspired your writing? 

Life, people, the driving need to engage in a form of intrinsic expression that is not quite as excruciating for me as face-to-face performance.

Tell us about your writing process:

A character will appear in my head, usually out of the blue. They begin talking to me and reveal a little about themselves over a period of time… sometimes it takes years, other times not so long at all. The plot usually comes later, once I’ve got a good sense of the character.

What are your books about?

Mostly character driven, real-world issues faced by real-world people. I’m very lucky to be able to work with teens – the same demographic for which I write. It gives me an insight into their reality.

What are you reading?

At the moment I’m reading Einstein’s Dreams by Alan Lightman. It’s about the relationship between an individual and the concept of time, loosely based on Eienstein’s theory of relativity. I’ve always been fascinated with the idea of time travel. I’m a geek – it’s true.

Who are your favourite authors and why?

I have so many favourites! Any author who produces a work I can get lost in is my favourite while I am reading their book.

What is your idea of the perfect book and why?

As above, the perfect book is one that when you are reading it, everything else fades away and you become totally immersed in the world about which you are reading.

What do you do when you are not writing?

When I am not writing, I am teaching writing. In terms of leisure, I read lots, and I swim to keep fit and healthy.

Kasper Beaumont

Kasper is my pen-name and this is my first experience of writing. I am a healthcare worker and am also studying at Uni. I am married with three young hobbits, who provide continual insights and experiences which have inspired me to write. This book will appeal to lovers of fantasy from teenage to adult.

 long have you been writing? 

Only 1 year, although the ideas have been floating around for a long time.

What has inspired your writing?

Travelling, my family and the medieval re-enactment fairs.

Tell us about your writing process:

Honestly, I sat down one day with an idea of a halfling and his bond fairy, then some bad guys invaded their peaceful life and a novel was born.  The halflings carried me along on their adventure.

What are your books about?

A magical fantasy world named Reloria and the capture of the Elven Jewel which protects them.  A group of hunters must go on a quest to recover the jewel.

What are you reading?   

I just finished the Hunger Games trilogy.

Who are your favourite authors and why?

I’m inspired by authors who can take me away to a distant place.  I am a big fan of the late Bryce Courtenay and also enjoy many fantasy and supernatural authors.  I really like David and Leigh Eddings and Raymond Feist.

What is your idea of the perfect book and why?

Hmm, that’s an interesting question.   My idea of a perfect book is one that engages the reader and you voraciously devour each page to find out what will happen to the characters.

What do you do when you are not writing? 

I work, study at Uni, and love my family to bits.

Oscar Thelander

Hi, I’m Oscar, I’m nearly 13 years old and I love reading about and drawing Superheroes and of course, Super villains that go with them! I often debate with my friends who is the ultimate Superhero and Supervillain, so I thought I’d write a book about them.

Mary Pearce

Tell us about you, the writer

I was born in Sydney New South Wales Australia in 1946. I was raised and educated in the city in post WW2. As a young wife and mother I experienced the challenges, isolation, joys, beauty and hardship of living in North Western New South Wales. I experienced years of drought and grief at the deepest level with the death of two sons and a baby grandson.

I have a love of literature, music and the Arts. I enjoy life and being in the company of good friends and family and have a huge appetite for fun. I have a deep faith and a genuine love for my fellow man.

I am a wife, mother and grandmother and I am employed as a Relationship Educator and Professional Counsellor. I live in Queensland with my husband and many of my children and grandchildren live nearby. Mary’s Ramblings is my first published book.

How long have you been writing?

I have been writing for most of my life. I just jot things down and have written many, many letters. Mary’s Ramblings, is my first published book.

What has inspired your writing?

I was inspired to write because I wanted to share my story. I wanted to share my experience of grief and survival in the hope that it may help my fellow man. I also have a   love of reading, sharing stories and language. I have a great respect for the written word and an awareness of the impact it can have on a person’s life. My husband suggests that it is my innate sense of being an entertainer that inspires me to write. I am inspired to write because writing is important; it records history, imparts knowledge and information, provides communication and entertains.

Tell us about your writing process:

My writing process is probably, completely unconventional. I simply write things down as thoughts come to me and then pull all the ideas together. When I was a student I was told that I was global thinker and it was always a challenge for me to write academically. It still is! I just jot things down, re-write and write many drafts before I am satisfied with what I have written.

What are your books about?

I have only written one book, Mary’s Ramblings. It is the story of the courage and faith of a young mother as she comes to terms with the tragedy of burying two sons and a grandson. It tells of the challenges and isolation of living in an isolated part of the country. However, despite this it is intermingled with humour a positive attitude and an authentic experience of life.

What are you reading?

I am reading: The Help by Kathryn Stockett and Tattoos on the Heart by Gregory Boyle.

Who are your favourite authors and why?

My favourite authors are: Ken Follett, Bryce Courtney, Maeve Binchy, Kate Morton and Kathryn Stockett.  I love their style of writing and the content they write about. Their stories allow me to go deeply into my imagination and become part of the story. I love Ken Follett books as I appreciate the research on which his stories are based. Bryce Courtney books I enjoy reading due to the social justice issues he addresses in his writings.

What is your idea of the perfect book and why?

My idea of the perfect book is one that you simply cannot put down.  A story that captures your imagination and transports you to that place the story is describing. It is a book that continues to enthral and invites you more and more deeply into the story.

What do you do when you are not writing?

When I am not writing I work as a Relationship Educator and Professional Counsellor. I also enjoy being in the company of my good friends and family and soak up all the joy my grandchildren bring. I love to sing, play the piano, listen to classical music, read books, and watch interesting documentaries and movies. I also travel, socialise with friends, drink red wine, tell jokes and have fun. I also do the housework, cook, walk and pray.

George Mallory

Tell us about you, the writer

I was born in Serbia, a son of Russian immigrants, who escaped Stalin’s communism. Balkans is a melting pot of scores of different ethnic groups who manage to live side by side, except when stirred up by xenophobic zealots – then ancient hatreds flare up and atrocities are committed by all sides.

My mother managed to shield me from this hotbed of conflicts by teaching me her mother’s tongue – Russian – and introduced me to literature. I could read and write before I was five. By the age of seven I had read a lot of Russian classical literature – Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky and others.

At the age twelve I was boarding with a Hungarian family who had an extensive library of world literature. I devoured Balzac, Dumas and Shakespeare – all translated into Hungarian. My teachers were impressed with my intellectual development and predicted a successful writing career. Alas it was not to be – at least not for a very long time.

We left Serbia (then a part of Yugoslavia) and after two years in the lovely Italian city of Trieste, settled in Lithgow. It took me a while to get over the cultural shock. I concentrated on obtaining my Leaving Certificate and enrolled in the University of NSW to do a Mechanical Engineering course, because it seemed to me to be a path to financial success.

In the last two years of the course we did what was generally known as “humanities” – English, Australian History, Philosophy and Psychology. Having obtained my degree I started working in the air-conditioning industry, but the yearning for general knowledge propelled me do a part time Arts course at Sydney University, where in due course I graduated as a B.A., majoring in English and Psychology.

My business career and two marriages kept me away from writing, but not from reading, and to this day I remain a voracious reader.

How long have you been writing?

I started writing novels some fourteen years ago. Now that I am semi-retired, I have more time on my hands to devote to this activity. I have completed three novels and am on my fourth.

What has inspired your writing?

I always wanted to write a historical novel. My first book was about a woman-surgeon working on the front line of the Russo-Japanese war in Manchuria in 1904/5. She battles simultaneously her own demons and the prejudice against women in medicine.

Workshopping the novel at the NSW Writers Centre rekindled my old writing bug. I truly enjoy sharing my work with a cohort of peers where we provide constructive inputs to each other’s writing.

Tell us about your writing process:

First I pick a general topic, be it historical, business, popular subject or whatever.  Then I invent my protagonist, usually a strong person, more often than not, a woman.

Next comes the story – this is the pivot around which everything else revolves. I invent internal problems for my protagonist, and his/her goals in life. Next come the obstacles in resolving the problems and achieving goals. Circumstances (created by the protagonist or others) put roadblocks in progress towards fulfilment.

From then on, as I start writing, my characters themselves tell me what’s happening, how they deal with problems I throw their way, and where they want to go. I continually get surprised where they take me.

What are your books about?

One novel is a historical drama, another a modern-day terrorist plot story, and the third fell into my lap when I met a person on whose diary the novel is based – the topic being modern-day prostitution slavery rackets in Europe.

What are you reading?

Ernest Hemingway, F Scott Fitzgerald, William Faulkner, George Orwell, James Joyce, Phillip Roth and Virginia Wolf, to mention a few.  I can’t get enough of well-written court-room drama. Grisham, Patterson, Gripopando and the like.

Who are your favourite authors and why?

Tolstoy and particularly Dostoyevsky . These two are past masters of deep understanding of human nature.

What is your idea of the perfect book and why?

One that keeps me awake all night, a page-turner, where conflicts and emotions are not contrived. I must believe that the characters experience real-life problems and at the end come up with solutions that change them, hopefully for the better. An ending that does not produce a perfect resolution, not necessarily riding into the sunset, happy ever-after.

What do you do when you are not writing?

Private dwellings Architectural Design and DA submissions.  And reading, of course – lots of it.

Alannah O’Neil

My name is Alannah O’Neil. I am 12 years old and in grade 7 at Middle Ridge State School. I live with my Mum, Julie and my Dad, Damien and my two sisters. I am the middle sister. My older sister is 16 years old and her name is Kaitlyn and my younger sister is 9 years old and her name is Monique. This is my first book and I hope that people will enjoy reading it. I’ve only just started writing. This is my first book. My writing is inspired by my wild imagination & I’m told that I tell great stories – sometimes they are quite unbelieveable!  This book is about someone who tells wild stories that are truthful but nobody believes them. It shows that you should always tell the truth because the truth will always come out in the end. I am currently reading the Dork Diaries and Roald Dahl books. Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl are my favourite authors because their books are always
interesting and imaginative.  A perfect book for me is something that takes me into another world while I am reading it. It is like I am really there.

Annemarie De Seriere

I am the creator of Resoulutions 4 Life – a service that offers a range of natural therapies and personal empowerment programs – with a holistic approach. Prior to this I worked for many years in aged care and palliative care; supported people with disabilities; and worked in retreats for people battling depression, anxiety, stress and addictions. I am 1 of 9 children and the mother of 2 amazing souls. I have traveled much in my life – my partner and I now live a nomadic lifestyle. We work and live on the road, enabling us to offer many free ‘self empowerment’ programs to different communities. Our spiritual principles sustain harmony in our relationship.  I come from a diverse background and have faced many life challenges - leading to a deep interest in human behaviour. I’m enthusiastic about self change and showing others how to take the reins of their own life.
How long have you been writing?
Professionally approximately 4 years – self published Will to Wonder in October 2010 – but personally since I was a teenager (I am now 53).
What has inspired your writing?
LIFE!… It didn’t make much sense to me and I struggled to understand what life and all it’s man-made rules was about – I was often called a ‘dreamer’.  Writing was my way to see things from different angles, helping me to understand myself and life better.  Now I write because I have found my voice. I have found a way to reclaim my
inner power, to remain true to my spiritual worth and to realise my dreams. I feel a sense of duty to share this information with others.
Tell us about your writing process:
I often get ‘aha moments’ when I least expect them, so I always carry a notepad with me. When I began Will to Wonder it was more of a journaling and churning on what I was learning – it developed into a book for others to learn. I find writing healing, so often I will simply write what comes to mind and work out later if it is to be shared with others or not. By keeping many notes I find that they usually fit in perfectly somewhere, so trusting the process – rather than question or doubt – is important. I also set time frames
to ensure I don’t procrastinate and complete important projects.
What are your books about?
Personal and Spiritual Development. It shares information for taking control back over our own life, giving practical tools that are simple to understand.  Will to Wonder has already helped many re-claim their inner power!
What are you reading?
‘Pearls of Wisdom‘ by Dadi Janki
Who are your favourite authors and why?
Dan Millman – ‘Way of the Peaceful Warrior’ got me started on my spiritual path many years ago. His ability to laugh at his own foolishness and to mix fact with fiction I found very clever.  Bryce Courtney – his honesty in ‘April Fools Day’ – I was captured from the start.  Carolyn Ward – her clarity in ‘The Four Faces of Woman’.  Mike George – his practical, light approach in ‘Don’t Get Mad, Get Wise’.  Paulo Coelho – that all important message in ‘The Alchemist’ – through trulybelieving in possibilities, you can turn anything into ‘gold’.
What is your idea of the perfect book and why?
One that is inspired through personal experience. Either through non-fiction or messages so well disguised in fantasy that it takes you on a wonderful journey – yet teaches you something about life. It must be simple and clear to understand. A book that makes me think outside the box, helps me stretch my imagination and boundaries, and grabs me instantly – not to have to labour through many pages to get to the ‘good bits’.
What do you do when you are not writing?
We travel a lot – have lived a nomadic lifestyle for more than 2 years. We sold our house in Landsborough, Sunshine Coast, Queensland around the same time that ‘Will to Wonder’ was published, and have been on the road ever since. I offer many paid and free workshops / seminars / programs – all based on personal development – to different communities, individuals and organisations. I give free spiritual skype classes and give free ‘Virtue Scopes’ - an individual 12 month reading based on their own virtues. I’m also a qualified shiatsu, bowen and reiki therapist as well as an infant massage instructor – so offer these services on the road as well.

Ben Rosenberger

Ben wrote and illustrated this book in 2009, when he was a participant in the Child Writes classes at Sacred Heart. He chose his favourite subject – warheads – for his story!

Katie Chicalas

My name is Katie Chicalas and I am 10 years old. I am from Charleville, a small town in outback Queensland where the sun is really hot on the red dusty soil and the
kangaroos jump everywhere! My Mum is from the UK and she took me to London when I saw Buckingham Palace and wished I could visit the Queen. She seems so lovely… I hope you enjoy Molly’s adventure and have a little laugh!!!!

Denise Volp

I grew up on a property near the small country town of Wallumbilla. I had an idyllic childhood and there was no television there until I was 12. Therefore as a child I was required to make my own fun. I remember spending a lot of time reading, swimming in the big dam, climbing trees, watching birds and animals and taming semi wild kittens in the hay shed. At school my Year 7 teacher was impressed with my writing skills and he told my mother that one day I would write a book. It was not until I had my first child that I realised that children’s books on the market very bland at the time, but I was too busy having children. It was not until my grandchildren were born (now that there are wonderful books on the market) that I rekindled my desire to write a book. I was inspired to write Gregory the Greedy Duck when a duck almost crashed into my car on the way home from work.

How long have you been writing?
Inspired by world mythology stories, I have been researching an idea for a major novel since I was 17, but have only seriously been writing Palimpsest in the last 10 years. After the duck incident I wrote the first draft of Gregory the Greedy Duck about Christmas 2010. It took a lot more time to organise editing, an illustrator and a printer to finally produce the hard copy of Gregory at the end of June 2012.

What has inspired your writing?
I am an English teacher in the Queensland Education system and I did the 7 Steps to Writing Success course with Jen McVeity in November 2009 as professional development. Initially I signed up for this course hoping it would help with teaching creative writing ideas to my students. It was such a great course that it became the inspiration for my own writing. At the time I knew my writing skills were quite bland and needed some help. This was the initial course that fired my enthusiasm and gave me the confidence to start writing seriously.

Tell us about your writing process:
I procrastinate a lot with my writing and the moment has to be just right – I don’t like writing when my husband is home and he is a shift worker so I make a lot of excuses about needing to spend time with him. This year my New Year’s resolution has been to “just do it” and I have been getting a lot more work finished.

What are your books about?
Gregory the Greedy Duck is a children’s illustrated book. As a teacher I am aware of the major issues for children in schools such as obesity and bullying. Gregory deals with the obesity issue and I do have an idea for a book on how children can deal with the issue of bullying, again using Gregory the Duck. I also want to write books with an Australian flavour so I have an idea of an Australian alphabet book using limericks, haiku, cinquains etc. I also have an idea for an adolescent’s book using the Toowoomba floods as the setting. My major novel Palimpsest, which I am working on at the moment, has been inspired by the many creation mythology stories from around the world. Basically I have a wide range of ideas to write about and I need to focus and stop procrastinating.

What are you reading?
At the moment I am reading The Darwin Awards III, The book of General Ignorance, Healing with Crystals, and rereading The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown. I also usually read The seed savers Handbook and my Vegie Patch magazines while I am having lunch as a bit of light reading to aid the digestion process. I tend to read a few books at the same time.

Who are your favourite authors and why?
My favourite authors are Steig Larsson, Dan Brown, Jeffrey Archer, Wilbur Smith, Bryce Courtney and Jean M Auel. They mostly write awesome thrillers and in the case of Steig Larsson and Dan Brown the reader has clues to unravel. I don’t have the ability to write this way and I appreciate it when an author can write this genre well.

What is your idea of the perfect book and why?
Something I can’t put down.

What do you do when you are not writing?
I am semi retired now and bake bread, make ginger beer, play in my organic vegie garden and look after my lovely husband. I am also a Reiki healer, level II, and working on my Reiki Master this year. I am investigating the use of crystals for healing myself and others and doing workshops and reading in this area. I have come across the Law of Attraction in the last 12 months and it has had a positive effect on my life. I am now working on how to use this to benefit more aspects of my life and other people’s lives. So basically I am a very busy person and very blessed with the people around me and what I am doing with my life.

Serenity McWilliams

I’m a wife, student and a dreamer.

How long have you been writing? Since I was eleven, I woke up at 5 am and typed out my first story.

What has inspired your writing? The need to create something new and exciting as well as an insatiable desire to escape reality into fantasy worlds.

Tell us about your writing process: Headphones, laptop, energy drink or iced coffee, alone in a room.

What are your books about? I am writing books on a range of genres but I am particular to faeries.

What are you reading? Melissa Marr’s Wicked Lovely series.

Who are your favourite authors and why? Holly Black, Melissa Marr, Brent Weeks. Truly fantastic imagery.

What is your idea of the perfect book and why? I don’t have an idea of a perfect book.

What do you do when you are not writing? Studying, reading or playing games.

Christopher Headmesser

My adventure in Australia started in 1969 arriving from England by boat and landing at Fremantle WA on a very auspicious day. We my traveling companion mate George and I was were unaware that the date we arrived April 25 was the day that marked the recognition of Australia’s armed services.  We just accepted the fact that Aussies wore their medals out and about and obviously enjoyed a drink or few it also seemed obvious that this was a land that could make or break the man. It was a free land and easy to move around, its vastness seem classless and everyone mixed and played in Australia’s own unique way. Eventually my adventures brought me to the eastern end of Australia’s no 1 highway, Cairns the tropics of far north Queensland; here I’ve been since 1976 finally in 1982 I took root in the hinterland of Cairns in a small town called Kuranda.

That’s where my life took a change of direction as I became theatrically aware. The Kuranda community was building an amphitheatre and a chance meeting with Don and Judy Freeman and David Hudson the founding members of the indigenous Tyapukai theatre company. Which led me too performing on the stage it was fun and even more fun was writing your own part. Don and Judy would give each of us our part in the plot and we, that is fellow actors would nut out our own script.
When this sort of energy is allowed flow who knows where it will go and who you get to know. Happily I met a man called Peter Mc Cabe the owner of Gecko Video Productions and together with the help of others we created a seven-minute movie for Sydney’s Trop-Fest Festival, which was in its early days then. The film was called Who Flung Dung, it didn’t win but did get high ranking.  Then another meeting with a man called Michael Quinn an amazing fellow who put the local indigenous language into the written word before it fell from the bridge of space time slippage and became lost in times abyss. It was his writings and possibly my Cockney heritage that sparked an interest in writing poetry in me. Soon we were both performing our own unique form of music and poetry at various venues. Michael eventually left to explore the world and I found myself a creative outlet by writing a rhyming short book of pleasurable nonsense and cosmic conscience where a thought Astro-naught leaves the womb of shydom to take on life’s onslaught in The Amazing Adventures of the Remarkable Charlie Particle.  The Adventure of Charlie Particle is created to put a smile on the face. In a world that has become a deliriously serious place. I like to think it’s in the tradition of Monty Python Hitch Hikers guide Spike Milligan and so on.

How long have you been writing?

I live in the tropics and due to the wet seasons I would annually find myself cut off from the rest of the world by a raging river so around 10 or more years ago I started Charlie (everyday is green in the tropics so time slips by)

What has inspired your writing?

Comedy, and to fill in the wet spots (meaning time) I gave myself a challenge and decided to write a one act play but sadly my mind had been wasted at school so I had no Idea where comas or full stops should go. (It’s seems I still have that problem)
However I decided this should not stop me and wrote and directed Charismatic Craniums a comedy in a hairdressing salon with a cast of eight, which proudly got performed publicly.

Tell us about your writing process:

I write about observations and I try to condense these observations into one-liners.
I’d string these lines together and found that these words could take me on THEIR adventure and that’s when I let imagination kick in, a little work and these words become thoughts in rhyme (well most of the time)

What are your books about?

There is a touch of twisted social comment in what I write
The world has become a delirious serious place where guns and murder have the highest
profile. Like Charlie, I believe that because we all live on around world we should all be able to bend. So my favourite subject is pleasurable nonsense, anything that may lift the spirit with a chuckle.

What are you reading?

Whatever is around (which seems to be mainly bills).

Who are your favourite authors and why?

Not being an avid reader I’d rather not say (They’re not very high brow).

What is your idea of the perfect book and why?

Something that is enjoyable and educational.

What do you do when you are not writing?

To earn a living I seasonally work as a tour guide (rainforest interpreter) driving a boat on the Barron River in Far North Queensland. Living in a rainforest environment is constant up keep, so it is good that I am a hands on person and tend to enjoy a challenge so there very little I don’t do but that doesn’t mean I do every thing well. I’m told that I’m a perfectionist but I can never get things too perfection. So I can’t see how that title fits!

Cooper Young

My name is Cooper Young, and I am thirteen years old. All my life I’ve been interested in books. When I was a toddler my Mother would buy me books and all I’d do is sit on the lounge chair and read.  Then I became interested in writing books. I’ve written so many I can’t even tell you what their names are, although, I’ve never actually finished one. I’d tell myself that I’d finish… but I never do. I just get interrupted with other new ideas. This is the only book I’ve had published.  When I grow up, I want to be a bestselling author. I want to sell book after book (if I can finish them). I hope that one day you’ll find my face on the back of many of the books at book-stores.  I am very excited for you to read my brand new book, and I hope that you’ll like the general story.

Hamish Donaldson

Hamish Donaldson is 11 years old.  When not taking care of his chooks or writing books, he enjoys cooking brunch for his family and playing basketball. Hamish is looking forward to sharing his first book, which is based on true events, with his family and friends.

Nicholas Holzwart

Nick is a Toowoomba based author and illustrator who divides his time between creating Lego materpieces, and training to become a world champion Game Boy player. This is hopefully the first of many books to come. Nick wrote Badge and Beaver when he was ten years of age!

Jaci Byrne

From an early age, having been accused of being a ‘notorious exaggerator’ one too many times, Jaci Byrne knew she was destined to perform in some form or another.

In her teens the penny finally dropped… Yes, perhaps she was a notorious exaggerator, but she was very good at it. A writer was born!

However, as with most women, maturity brought with it reality: an education, a career in nursing, marriage, two children and a mortgage. You get the picture.

Fast forward twenty years. Now happily ‘empty-nestled’ on the Northern Beaches, Sydney, Australia: old marriage and career a distant memory, Jaci lives with the love of her life, husband Doug, and devotes her time to her beloved writing as an Indie author.

Jaci’s work is interwoven with twists and turns, humour and compassion, intrigue and passion.

How long have you been writing?

Full time for five years

What has inspired your writing?

Embracing the fact that I’m a notorious exaggerator rather than resenting my tormentors!

Tell us about your writing process:

I approach a novel in a very vague, casual manner. I have an idea, usually conjured up in the wee small hours, much to my husband’s dismay. I scribble notes for an hour or two at the most, and I start to write. At some stage during the process I stop and write a timeline and then back into it. When the last word has been written (and all my novels are approx 80,000 words) I revisit the timeline and edit the novel accordingly. This process occurs at least ten times before the manuscript goes to my writing buddy, and depending on his approval or disapproval, I edit at least three more times. When I’m completely satisfied (actually, I’m never completely satisfied) or near enough to, I send it off to my professional proof reader and sub editor. Then I amend her copy, re-read the manuscript and send it off to my book designer who reads it prior to creating a cover design and converting the book for sale on Amazon Kindle and my website.

What are your books about?

Jaci writes about relationships, about ordinary women facing extraordinary situations. About you, about me, about we, and about how we interrelate.

What are you reading?

To be boringly truthful, I am reading my new novel: a sequel to Best Friends and Bastards

Who are your favourite authors and why?

I love Irish authors such as Marian Keyes and Maeve Binchy, probably because they have a great sense of humour, as do Aussie Chick Lit authors such as Wendy Harmer and Dianne Blacklock—and dare I say—Jaci Byrne!

What is your idea of the perfect book and why?

When I see a review saying, ‘I could not put this book down.’ Surely this is the aim of every writer.

What do you do when you are not writing?

Dream of stories or exaggerate stories.

Geoffrey Foster

I was born in England, and grew up in Kent, not far from the areas where much of the action of these books takes place.

Emigrating to Australia, I worked at the University of Queensland as a lecturer, staff developer and researcher for over 30 years.

Since I retired, I have enjoyed writing this series of books.

Julia Gannon

My name is Julia Gannon. I am 10 years old, a twin and love to play hockey. My
favourite thing to do in the afternoon is run. I also enjoy ballet. I love horses, dogs
and axolotls. I like to read and my favourite types of stories are mystery, action
and adventures. I really enjoyed writing my book. It was hard sometimes but
mostly fun. I learned a lot writing this book, most importantly that you must not
give up. If you give up nothing will go in your favour. You just need to keep trying.

Ruby Drews

Hi I’m Ruby, I’m 12 years old I’m not
the middle child, I’m the eldest. I wrote
this book for my mum because she is
the middle child. And guess what, I’m
not allowed a mobile phone yet! I like to
dance and draw and my favourite book is
called Diary of a Wimpy Kid Cabin Fever.

Amy Pistorius

My name is Amy, my hobbies include drawing, swimming and I absolutely love reading. Once I spent a full Saturday reading this one chapter book and I started it and finished it that Saturday! (Then I started the next one in the series, my mum had a bit of trouble getting me to bed that night!!) So as you can probably tell I am a very enthusiastic reader. That’s what inspired me to write a story, all of the amazing things someone can write and express in a story are just endless. I love unravelling the secrets of a book, I just get lost into the world of the story and it’s like a movie playing in my head.

I love chapter books to small books! And that’s why I joined the Child Writes Program.

How long have you been writing?

Well I only published my first book in the child writes program this year but before that I have wrote a few short stories.

What has inspired your writing?

Pandas,Parties,Rainbows etc.  Really everything bright and creative was what I got inspiration from!

What are your books about?

My book – The Candy Celebration- is about a panda named Lani. She got assigned to be the party co-ordinator.

Neil McInnes

I began writing fiction after I sold my consultancy business and retired in 2006. Since then I have written five novels, three screenplays and numerous short stories.  I have a vivid imagination, a love of books and immense pleasure from creating stories that others may enjoy reading.

Usually I have an outline of the story in my mind when I commence. I break my story into three acts then begin typing, jumping from one chapter to another as the plot evolves. I know this is not a very structured method of writing a 500 page novel, but once I get started the words seem to flow.  I like to vary the genre of my work. My novels, screenplays and short stories have included satire, crime, drama, thrillers, young adult adventure and Australian historical fiction.

I’m not a big fan of non fiction, there’s enough of that in magazines, TV and the Net. I like historical fiction, fictional crime and court room dramas, and exciting thrillers.   My favourite authors are, John Grisham because of his ability to dramatise the US legal system, Stephen King because of his brilliant imagination, and Carl Hiaasen because of his satirical humour.   Jean M Auel’s Clan of the Cave Bear is a wonderful adventure story that I have read many times. Her ability too bring man’s early history to life in this novel was amazing.

When I’m not writing I play golf, paint, go to the beach and read.

Cecily Dunne

Hi, my name is Cecily Dunne and I live in North Queensland with my husband of over fifty years. I have five grown up children, five children-in-law and eleven beautiful grandchildren.

I enjoy writing stories, mainly for children and young adults. I have had some success in entering short story competitions too. For me the best part is the enjoyment I get from creating my characters and story lines. The worst part is the slog of getting it all down onto the computer and the spelling corrections and editing that seem to take forever. Whoever said writing was ten percent inspiration and ninety percent perspiration sure knew what he was talking about!

I have always enjoyed writing. I was too busy to do much while my children were young, but now that I’m older and have more time to myself I usually have some writing project on the go. I have had several children’s stories published in NSW School Magazine and have two unpublished book length stories that I need to get out from under the bed and work on!

I usually try to work to a plan. First comes the idea, then a vague outline of how I believe the story should develop, which I write down and then begin to work on. Of course sometimes things don’t go to plan. Sometimes one character steps out of the background and tries to hog the limelight and I have to either let him have his own way or push him back into the background with the promise to write more about him some other time. Crunch time comes when I print out the manuscript and start to edit it. I’m always surprised at how many typos and mistakes I’ve made. And then there is sometimes the terrible realisation that something doesn’t work very well and needs some drastic changes.

I love reading historical novels and enjoy reading stories by authors such as Philippa Gregory and Boris Akunin.  Isabel Allende is another favourite, and because I have always been fascinated by the possibilities of time travel I enjoy Diana Gabaldon’s books, too. I like Tim Winton and Ruth Park’s books and also enjoy many of the Young Adult novels that my grandchildren have been reading. If their books go missing, they are sometimes to be found at Granny’s! There are so many wonderful books available. So many books, so little time!

You’ve guessed it! When I’m not writing I’m mostly reading. But I also enjoy travelling, camping with our large extended family and socialising with my friends and fellow members of our local writing group, Licuala/WINQ, who are a constant source of fun and inspiration.

“Portal” is my first Young Adult novel. It is an adventure/fantasy/time travel/romance and is really the first part of what is likely to become a series. I am currently working on the next book, “Switchback”, which I hope to have finished sometime within the next six to eight months. Happy Reading!

Coral Nichols

I’ve been writing stories ever since I was a young child but it was only after my two daughters were in high school that I began to think seriously about being published. I studied my craft attaining my Diploma in Journalism and Professional Children’s Writing and Certificates in Competition Writing and Practical Editing Techniques. I’ve entered many competitions gaining places or being short listed. In 2010 after many rejections from publishers I self published my first book of short stories for 12 – 15 year olds called Kid Courageous, I then had it turned into an e book. I have at least another eight children’s books waiting to be published and also an adult novel.

Laura O’Connell

Laura enjoys writing stories about second chances in love and life. She calls the Gold Coast home, however, her curious nature leads her on adventures to locations that surprise and inspire her. Laura has a passion for telling a good story set in places where she has lived and travelled.

How long have you been writing?

About 22 years, of which seventeen of those were used for learning the craft of writing while working full-time as an accountant.

What has inspired your writing?

My life experiences and other writers who have written before me have inspired my writing. Also my insatiable curiosity has opened my mind to new and interesting situations, and people’s lives have filled my creative well.

Tell us about your writing process:

Before I start writing my novel, I prepare a biography for each character. This biography is detailed and includes everything from physical appearance to likes, and dislikes, character strengths and weaknesses, past regrets, future dreams and how they related to their family and how they feel about other characters in the story. By the time I gather all this information, I begin to see conflicts within the characters and with other characters. This sparks the plot and the theme of the story and soon scenes form in my mind. I then write a few short paragraphs about the story and I develop these paragraphs until I have a synopsis. Once I’m happy with the synopsis, I break it down into scenes and chapters. I can’t start writing the first draft until this step is done. Then I write the first draft of the full novel from beginning to end. Occasionally, if a scene is very strong in my mind I might write than out of chronological order so that I get it down while it’s fresh in my mind.

What are your books about?

I write women’s fiction about relationships and second chances in love and life.

What are you reading?

I usually read a how-to book on writing and a fiction work in parallel with each other. I like to try to see how the author has applied what I’m reading in the how-to book in the fiction book. I’m reading the nonfiction book, Write Inside The Mind by Lesley Tunnecliffe – A writer’s guide to the psychology of personality and development. The fiction book I’m reading is The Road Home by Fiona Palmer, and Stephen Fry’s biography, Moab is my Washpot.

Who are your favourite authors and why?

I don’t have a favourite author. I like to read across a variety of genres. I pick my books depending on what genre I want to read in. I’m always open to trying new authors and if I’m drawn into the story, I’ll usually go out of my way to read all the books that author has written. If I have to choose one, it’s Jodi Piccoult. She deals with real life issues which show the characters changing and developing.

What is your idea of the perfect book and why?

The perfect book must take me away from the every day. It must take me to a foreign land or a situation where I can see, taste, smell, hear and feel the world the author has created. The perfect book will draw me inside the character’s head and experience everything he or she is going through. I must live the journey and feel satisfied and changed in some way at the end of the story.

What do you do when you are not writing?

I live a simple life. When I’m not writing, I take long walks at the beach or the bush. I catch up with family and friends and sometimes go to the city to explore places I haven’t been to refill my creative well. Usually, just being with friends is also enough to recharge my batteries and refresh me for my next writing session.

Breeana Dennis

My name is Breeana Dennis. I am nine years old. My birthday is the 8th of May. Making this book has meant a lot to me (also having this great opportunity) but I could not have done it without the help of Emma and Coralie. I also could not have done this without the encouragement of Ruby, Cooper, Nina and Julia who also made lovely books. I had a lot of help painting by my mum Leeann Dennis, my sister Tiffany Dennis and my cousin Jessica O’Brien. I also had help choosing some colours by my dad Shane Dennis. I thank everyone for being so kind and patient. I hope you enjoy reading my book.

Rachel Sands

Rachel Sands is an artistic writer and gets her ideas from day to day things. “Hazel and the strange case of the stable” is inspired by a painting in her house of some people at the races. Rachel is eight and lives in Toowoomba with her two brothers and sister.

Mairead Webb

My name is Mairéad Webb. I am 9 years old and I live in Toowoomba. I got the inspiration for Ninja Fish from my cousin’s two fish, Midnight and Sparkles. I was really excited because I got to look after them while my cousins went for a trip around Australia. I hope you enjoy Ninja Fish because I sure have enjoyed writing it! I plan to write more books and I hope you will pick them up off library shelves and read them. But I don’t think I’ll ever have as much fun writing  ther books as I have had writing this book.

Christiana Patsalou

My name is Christiana Patsalou. I am 10 years old. This is my first year of Child Writes, so this is my first published book. I don’t usually write but I thought I should give it a go and see what it’s like. My mum had heard about Child Writes and I thought it would be a great experience and skill to learn. For me, the perfect book would have to be creative and mischievous. Also, the characters would have to be bright and adventurous. When I am not writing, I like to read, hang out with my friends, go swimming and I like to cook.

Isabella Munoz

Hi, my name is Isabella Munoz. I am 10 year old and this is my first published book. Reading is one of my favourite things to do. I have a sister, Georgia and a brother, Luke… and a cat called Elvis, who all star in my book!

Hamish McIlveen

My name is Hamish McIlveen and I am 11 years old and live in Toowoomba, Australia. I have supportive parents, Sue and Peter, who encouraged me the whole way through in writing this book. I also have a little brother named Fergus. My special interest is playing computer games with my brother, my friends and occasionally my parents. The idea of the spaghetti monster came from my passion for eating home cooked spaghetti and sometimes I scoff it down quickly – like a monster. Going to child writes every Monday was fun and challenging with new things to learn. It also feels good to be able to give my book to family and friends as a gift.

Matthew Buchanan

Matthew is 10 years old.  He has a rich imagination and he loves to make constructions out of Lego, old bricks, and anything that may be potentially useful. Matthew also enjoys Science. This is his first published story.

Anthony William Blake

Tell us about you, the writer

Dissatisfied and unfulfilled, flawed and lacking talent, yet strangely able to cope with most aspects of life and maintain equanimity by rationalising my outlook, and when necessary, sometimes, displaying a happy and ebullient exterior to others in the face of my frustration, unfair existence and the fathomless mysteries of the world.

How long have you been writing?

Off and on about 10 years.

What has inspired your writing?

The writing of others.

Tell us about your writing process.

First, I do everything else but write. Then, when I’ve done everything I can think of, and am completely bored and wondering about the point of my existence I might find the strength to click open the file I have named ‘book’ and begin writing quickly about some episode. Then after some months when it’s time to edit, when I wake each morning, I sit down with a cup of instant coffee foer breakfast and spend a few hours editing, researching and writing. Read more…

Sheryl Chappell

Who am I? I am every woman – a peace keeper, a fighter, a mother, a lover and a decent friend. I am adaptable, quick witted, courageous and adventurous, confident, likeable, and intelligent with no cut – off switch. Merely a creature that has been moulded by experience and exposure.

I guess I am searching, not for the meaning of life – I already know what that is but a gypsy searching for me… I have played all the roles expected of me.  I can only be a round peg in a round hole for so long and lived long enough to experience all those things that frighten us: Success, illness, death, loss of a child, divorce, lost love, great love, discrimination, abandonment and profound sadness. I have worked hard, loved often and have a deep appreciation for the value of life no matter what obstacle presents itself. “If you can’t go over it or around it then just go through it, and if you get the chance pass your wisdom onto others.”  Read more…

Toowoomba Wordsmiths

Toowoomba Wordsmiths meet once a month – the third Sunday at 2pm, at Mary Ryan’s Bookstore in Ruthven Street, Toowoomba.   Focused on supporting each other by collectively presenting to the marketplace, by way of publicity (a brochure), a pop-up bookstore at Festival and now this, an anthology.  These short stories and the poetry are as diverse as the writers presenting them.  The anthology ‘Words from Toowoomba’ is celebrating Queensland Writers Week 2012.

The authors:

Finding Apollo (Susan Skowronski)

Autumn (Yvonne Winer)

The Mythologically Minded Man (Sue King)

Dance of the Dragonfly (Yvonne Winer)

Reflections on the Fall of Saigon (Bob Whittaker)

To Winter (Susannah Birch)

We Have Arrived! (Michelle Weston)

Lightning (Yvonne Winer)

Guardian (Serenity McWilliams)

Moonlight Shadows (Yvonne Winer)

I Don’t Think of Tomorrow (Susannah Birch)

Crow Chatter (Yvonne Winer)

Two For One (Emma Mactaggart)

Walking in Glenvale (Susan Skowronski)

Time Slip (Robin Hillard)

Autism in Queensland (Michelle Weston)

Post Hole (Susan Skowronski)

House Hunting (Eddie Dowd)

The Driveway (Carmel Rowley)

Queensland (Serenity McWilliams)

An Interview with Anna Bartlett (Janet Kieseker)

Pied Butcher Bird (Yvonne Winer)

Jumping Off The Story (Susannah Birch)

Toowoomba – The Place to Be (Michelle F Black)

Legendary Artist of the Outback (Susanne Chauvel Carlsson)

Old House (Susan Skowronski)

The First HMAS Toowoomba (John Cook)

Awaken (Carmel Rowley)

Ralph (Sue King)

Sad Farewell to My Old Cat (Yvonne Winer)

A Day Too Long (Breanda Cross)

The Streaker (Susan Skowronski)

The Ambush (Eddie Dowd)

We Met a Hippopotamus (Patricia Ford)

Flood Story (Denise Volp)

Logan Johnson

My name is Logan, I am 10 years old. I have been writing for around five years. I am interested in a lot of different types of things including books (obviously), TV, drawing, art/craft etc. I do gymnastics outside of school and swimming inside and outside of school. I love reading and writing my own stories. I enjoy dancing, singing, making up dance routines and reading. If I have a spare twenty minutes between two activities I will sit down and start reading a book. If there is no book that I like to read nearby, then I will grab a magazine or whatever book is closest to me and read it (I will read the blurb first to make sure the book is appropriate).

How long have you been writing?

Since I was about five or six years old.

What has inspired your writing?   

Different countries and cities and a few tourist attractions have gotten me inspired. My mum also helped get me into it.

What are your books about?

All sorts of different things: adventure, fantasy etc. A book that I am about to write is all about reality.  

What are you reading?

The Day my Bum went Psycho by Andy Griffiths, Unbearable by Paul Jennings, Guinness World Records 2012.

Who are your favourite authors and why?

I enjoy reading Paul Jennings, Andy Griffiths, the Harry Potter series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Andy Griffiths because he is really funny, Jeff Kinney because his books tell a story of someone’s life even if it is made up.

What is your idea of the perfect book and why?

My idea of the perfect book is a world without magic. But one day that changes…

Graziella Canton Volpato

I’m an Italian lady (now new Australian). I’ve an Italian Diploma in Secretarial. I taught Italian as a volunteer at my children’s school when they were young, and later at TAFE Short Courses for adults (A.C.E) for 5 years consecutively. I participated in many competitions in Australia and overseas with my poetry, winning lots of first and second prices, cups, trophies, diplomas and included in lots of Anthologies and Agendas. I started to write poems at the age of 12 for relatives and friends. These books of mine are very important to me, because they are the result of all my life work.
Read more…

Tamika Robinson

Hi, my name is Tamika Robinson and I am 13. I would never have thought that at the age of 9 I would have published my first book. Looking back on my book now I can see so many improvements, but why should I be so negative? Not many kids at the age of 9 or even 13 for that matter can say they have written and published their own book, and for it to be available in so many places and even to be bought by the general public. What a feat I say! My book being written and published would not have been possible without the motivational and inspirational Emma Mactaggart. I remember those Wednesday afternoon sessions and well spent September holidays illustrating and making those tiresome final changes before the book was sent off to the publishers. Read more…

Rensina van den Heuvel

Hi I am Rensina.

I write mostly travel articles and a few other ‘women’s topics’ which I have published on the web and in magazines.  I have also self published my first book, Russian Documents….Mongolian Dust.

I have travelled to forty countries, about thirty of them, overland in a Land Rover or Russian ex-army truck.  There is a  whole lot to write about when you are trying to drive in the midst of a zillion acres of  honey golden sand in the Sahara or  when  you are sitting in the dirt in a market in Syria, buying  some shrivelled vegetables from a sunbaked Bedoiun or standing on the edge of a well in the extreme remoteness of Mongolia, pulling up some water with a bucket, made from a truck tyre tube, with ten  drooling camels, crazed with thirst, cantering towards you.

Overland travelling is extremely challenging and I strive to write what happens and how I feel, to convey it to my readers.   I also write from a woman’s perspective. It’s about my journey, not ours. When I am home, I live on a 800 acre remote property of mostly forest in North Queensland with my travel Buddy, Allen.  It surely is an awesome place to come home to and reflect on my travels….and write. Read more…

Anthony Riddell

How long have you been writing?

Since I was three or four.

What has inspired your writing?

Everything that I have experienced.

Tell us about your writing process:

Things fall from my head and I gather them in a roughly coherent form.

What are your books about?

Things that fall from my head.

What are you reading?

All words that I see.

Who are your favourite authors and why?

Thomas Pynchon’s logic is good but I like my own things.

What is your idea of the perfect book and why?

I don’t think that there is a “perfect book”. How could there be?

What do you do when you are not writing?

I am in a theatre group (Weave Movement Theatre) and learn tai chi.

Peter French

I am a scientist, specialising in medical research based on understanding the way that cells work at the molecular level. The excitement of discovering new molecules that contribute to life and disease is a great aspect of being a scientist. I was born and raised in Sydney, and for the past 25 years have lived in the harbourside suburb of Balmain with my wife Lesley and daughter Genevieve. I am an only child and both my parents are deceased, an orphan state I have been in since I was 35.

How long have you been writing?
I have written and published many scientific papers over the past 35 years, but have written fictional works only since 2009.

What has inspired your writing?
The people I have met over the years. Their stories, amusing and tragic, have inspired me to write narratives that capture the quirkiness of life. I also have greatly been influenced by writers such as Richard Ford, William Boyd, Tim Winton, W. Somerset Maugham, Anne Tyler and Lee Child.

Tell us about your writing process
I start with a central idea (a dragon in a cave, The Dragon of Mystery Bay; a mysterious dedication in an old book for Live Your Life, Love, Row) and build a narrative around that – who, what, when and why.

What are your books about?
In the end they are about the vulnerability and triumph of the human spirit and the constant battle to overcome our ever-present flaws (hypocrisy, cowardice, selfishness, etc).

What are you reading?
Richard Ford’s Canada.

Who are your favourite authors and why?
See above. Various reasons – primarily their ability to set a scene and draw out the characters in a totally engaging and believable way. Lee Child may be an exception, but wow can he tell a compelling and page turning story!

What is your idea of the perfect book and why?
One that leaves me feeling sad when I have finished it, because it means that I have become engaged with the characters and I am sad that I will no longer be part of their lives. This means that the author has managed to make the world of the novel come to life.

What do you do when you are not writing?
I row, play tennis, travel, go to plays, go out to dinner with family and friends, and sometimes watch sport on television.

Read more…

Doreen Slinkard

I am a young sixty one year old mother and grandmother of four beautiful Grandchildren. I train racehorses in the Hawkesbury area of NSW Australia. I have written poetry and short stories for my own pleasure ever since I could write a sentence. Living on a farm, inspired me to write stories for my children and for them to keep as a journal for their children. Upon dusting these stories off some thirty years later and reading them to my five year old twin granddaughters, my daughter suggested I try to have them published. Now in the Computor age, made it easy to search the web on how to get started, I was lucky enough to come across Strategic Publishers in New York USA. They loved my Wicky Wacky farm stories, beginning with “Peppi the Polo Pony”. I have travelled to many countries partaking in book expo’s and am at present doing a deal with a Chinese Publishing company.

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Ronald Butler

Tell us about you, the writer
Early years, Sydney, then as a jackeroo after studies of sheep and wool technology as a research officer with CSIRO. Studied theology, ordained an Anglican a priest and appointed to various positions in Australia and overseas — notably, Paraguay, South America. Aboriginal Community Advisor, Northern Territory and then North Queensland. As a Naval Chaplain, served with the UN mission to Somalia. After retirement, writing and managing a family cattle farm, Uki, Northern NSW. More recently, continue writing and a member of the Bangalow Writers Group and Rowing asa member of the Murwillumbah Rowing Club. My first novel Blood Latitudes is set in North Queensland based on early European settlement and the resulting devastation of the indigenous population.  My second book, Hinchinbrook (tentative title) is a sequel to Blood Latitudes. My third book is a work in progress set in Paraguay, South America.

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Catherine Lilai

 Tell us about you, the writer

It’s the 21st Century, democracy is no longer a forum for enlightenment ideals, Governments and media are unified, and artistic expression has been hijacked by ruined bankers.

I would laugh except that humour has been designated to ticket holders and since I don’t have a credit card denying me a chance encounter with a handsome stranger… but on second thoughts that could mean running into my Bank Manager who evaluated me as a liability after considering my loan application to pay off debt that I don’t remember acquiring.

If you’re seeking truth it is my advice to get in touch with a congenital fool and ask him to arrange a meeting with a mysterious cloaked figure concealing a hideous face who then extends a hand from underneath his ragged cloak that eerily resembles a devil’s claw and guide you to a dark cavernous hovel (quite unpleasant if you’re in high heels) where a secret meeting takes place in hushed tones. Of course the postscript to this scenario is being arrested for high treason. On second thoughts… going in search of truth isn’t such a good idea.

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George Salib

Tell us about you, the writer

George was born and raised in Lebanon where he served with the Lebanese Air force before migrating to Australia, where he worked as an aircraft mechanical engineer. He then moved on to various trades before establishing a printing and bookshop in Sydney Road, Brunswick. He translated ten children’s storybooks into Arabic, published his own magazine and wrote a collection of poems.

As retirement age was advancing, George began to search for a pastime hobby, and he set into motion a journey into the world of writing and publishing.

Within the first twelve months, George completed his first novel and called it Station Pier. Family and friends read the book enthusiastically and gave such positive feedback that George was inspired to take his idea one-step further. He went on to establish Cedar Books – book supplier and retailer.

He is proudly Australian with a blend of Lebanese heritage.

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Noel Braun

Tell us about you, the writer

I commenced my working life as a country school teacher in Victoria.  Following university studies in psychology I moved into a corporate career as a management consultant which took me from Melbourne to Perth to Sydney. I later conducted my own practice as a psychologist/counsellor. I’ve had a lifelong passion for writing and wrote my first words of fiction in the late 70’s.  In my retirement I have found the time to fulfil a long-held ambition to see my works in print. Read more…

Jenny Brigalow

Tell us about you, the writer

Born in Britain, I arrived in Australia as a young woman in 1985 for an impromptu holiday and never left. I fell in love with the Australian bush, its unique flora and fauna and the colourful personalities that inhabit the country. I live on a small acreage in Toowoomba with my husband, two daughters, dogs, cats and ponies.

How long have you been writing?

I’ve been writing for five years.

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Judith Flitcroft

About the Author

When I retired from teaching in Canberra, my principal said of me that whatever I did in the future it would involve, family, children, theatre, music and animalsl.  He summed me up in those few words. Upon retirement, it hit me like a sledge hammer that life is not a dress rehearsal! All those things I had wanted to do including writing had better be done now! I live on a small farm in the mountains of The Granite Belt in Queensland, with my second husband whom I met on the internet, and he is the love of my life.  I am one of the foundation members of the Stanthorpe writers group and am also a life member of of our local museum and Little Theatre.

How long have you been writing?

I was caught up in the web of life and only wrote sporadically, until seven years ago, when I really caught the fire to write.

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Clancy Tucker

About the Author

Clancy Tucker is a writer, author, photographer and sometime poet, with three awards in the National Literary Awards and many others for his poetry and photography. He is also an activist in human rights, has travelled extensively, lived in four countries and speaks three languages. Clancy has always written, but has been a fulltime writer for the past twelve years. In past lives, he’s been a farmer, truck driver, senior public servant and speech writer. His travels have broadened his experiences. He writes young adult fiction for reluctant readers, mentors 32 young writers around Australia, has 17 young readers who read and assess his work, and lectures to fabulous members of the U3A.

Clancy is never shy to ask the difficult questions of those in power, or press for better conditions for and on behalf of all writers in this country. On that note, Clancy has had some extraordinary victories. His motto is simple: persistence overcomes resistance.

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