On Saturday, at Bicheno's (Tasmania) Food and Wine Festival, I met an extremely pleasant man who posed the question of - can anyone write a book? At first I misunderstood his meaning, thinking along the lines of editing, design and publishing opportunities; but when I got what he meant I put forward this answer, which surprised even me.
I have long dabbled in words, writing poetry and bits and pieces in different genres, but it was only when my beautiful sister and friend, Carole, died at the early age of 41 years that I realised - that could happen to me one day (or night). We had shared many grand ideas together, with none coming to fruition, because we didn't believe we had what it took to achieve the end result.
After Carole's death though, things changed and I decided to take the next step, I became determined to finish one of the many stories I had started then discarded. Eventually, after a number of years I might add, I was finally able to type THE END onto a manuscript and from then on in I haven't stopped. I had succeeded. The fact of whether the writing was good or bad did not enter the equation. The important conclusion was ... I had achieved my goal.
Now I am published; I'm in a place I never dreamed of being - that's my gold medal.
Put simply the answer to the question was this - it takes passion and a belief in one's self, along with a want to achieve the end result, no matter what the odds. And in some cases - like mine - it takes a reminder that life is short and we only get one shot at it - so make it count!
But most importantly - enjoy the ride.
