Growing up in sunny Queensland, I have always loved the beach and in my childhood I visited a couple of old Queenslander holiday houses. I can remember the amazing ambience of these classic old houses (unforunately there aren't too many of them left any more) and wanted to put that across in a story.
Throughout my childhood I loved to read and write stories but after leaving school took the sensible option of a 'real' job instead of chasing my literary dreams. Fast forward a few years and I had a safe job in a bank, but no passion for what I was doing. A major restructure of the bank I worked for seemed like a great opportunity to make a life change and go back to study. I completed a BA and started a business assisting people to write their life stories. While I loved it and it fulfilled my dream of writing for a living, I still couldn't quell the desire to write creatively as well and revisited a manuscript for a novel I had begun many years before.
Even though I began actively working on my manuscript again, it took many years before I got it to the stage where I was ready to approach a publisher. I was happily surprised when the first appraisal came back positively and set about polishing the manuscript for publication. I lucked out with an amazing editior who really pushed me to make my story the best it could be.
To actually have my book in my hands is beyond my wildest dreams. Seeing it on bookshelves is simply amazing.