I
was born, for which I'm very glad, and set about learning all
sorts of things from those I wasn't interested in like maths, sport
and after school chores, and those I was very interested in like drawing,
writing and riding horses.
My
childhood was idyllic and I feel so lucky. After all, we lived in a
seaside town and my parents owned a toy shop. Next door there was a
sweet shop. Talk about kid's paradise! Each summer we travelled to
Europe for our holidays. I wrote in my travel diary every day and illustrated
everything from scenery, houses and people to bugs and other critters.
In
my bedroom I had paints, pencils, paper and craft items. I'd spend
many hours painting, cutting, sticking, drawing, creating and writing.
I still do.
What
was I going to be when I grew up? I hadn't a clue so I trained and
qualified with the British Horse Society in equine management and horse
riding instruction. It was fun for a while but it wasn't to be my career
path. (My career path was hidden by thick scrub and resembled crazy
paving.)
My
husband and I came to Western Australia where my experiences included
raising our two children, running our earthmoving business in the northwest,
owning and working our sheep station, Nyang, in the West Pilbara where
I also reported the weather information to the Meteorological Dept
via telex machine. Then for something different we bought a bannana
plantation in Carnarvon. There was far more than just bananas in our
plantation: we shared it with humungous spiders, snakes and rats and
one day a big, smelly, feral billy goat.
From
the heat of the north we headed south and bought a farm in the south
west of WA in a very picturesque area. One of my greatest pleasures
was to walk up to the very top of our back paddock where the views
over the hills towards the west took my breath away. Unfortunately,
after a couple of years, once again our earthmoving business dictated
where we lived.
We
moved back near Perth and when my children went to school so did I.
This time I studied graphic design and illustration full time for three
years. One of my course assignments included illustrating a children's
story. I couldn't think of one to use so I wrote a story and illustrated
that. (I still didn't know that I should be a writer.) After qualifying
I worked freelance designing posters, brochures, packaging design,
logos, corporate identity, illustrations including botanical and medical,
calligraphy and typography. It was fun but not quite the
career path I was searching for.
It
was around this time that I damaged my knee and found myself stuck
at home creaking quietly. I needed a new career path and went back
to school again, this time to study writing for children. Eureka! Stories
bubbled up out of my imagination. Some have been published, some I'm
still working on. Some I've illustrated and I've illustrated other
writers' stories too.
Now
I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. Although I still haven't
grown up I carried on anyway. At last I had my career path. Well not
just a path, it's a two-lane highway with no speed limit!
So
here I am living with my husband Dave in a small (make that tiny) country
town and our children off doing their own things like motor racing,
qualifying as a commercial helicopter pilot
and instructor, driving monstrous trucks on a gold mine, competing
in horse shows, and raising my grandsons. I spend a lot of my time
in my fabulous studio (built especially for me by Dave), writing stories,
illustrating, creating websites, designing, dressmaking, creating soft
toys and other crafty pursuits,
trying to play the guitar, listening to loud music on the stereo and
having a ball!