I was born in London, England, but my parents were restless (and passed that gene on to me) and we moved to Australia when I was small. I was schooled there, married, and had my children there, but I never quite felt I was completely Australian. I traveled a lot later on, after my marriage ended, living back in England for a while. I eventually emigrated to Canada, because it's so different from the heat and exotic plant smells of Australia, and cold, of course. To quote the Valerie Harper character Rhoda (so long ago, now), I figured I'd keep better. Canada and Australia are like identical twins, separated at birth only by the weather, with Britain the mother who simply let them get on with things. I think of all three as my countries, and spend rather too much time considering the next move back to one or another.
What does this have to do with a writer’s biography? Everything. This twisting path, this randomness, this haphazard and confusing sense of roots (how can they be so deep in three countries?) made me a writer. I started at around nine years old, not long after we arrived in Australia, and I’ve never stopped.
Painting is my other love, as you'll see by the variety of art at this site, but writing is deep in me, the thing that gets me up each morning, and regardless of all my other interests I always find time for the wonder of words, and can't imagine a life without them.
I’ve been drawn to old houses as long as I can remember - the mystique of them, the vibrations I believe exist in them, both good and bad. I’ve owned a lot of houses, all over, and I’m never satisfied with simply renting, although I’m currently doing it. I need to add my own touch to a house, make it uniquely mine, because I love to decorate, and gardening is my other huge passion. As a die-hard environmentalist, I've always fancied running an organic smallholding in an almost self-sufficient way, although I don't know if I'll ever do it. I could have far more animals than I have now (two cats is about the limit for my apartment), and companion animals are essential in my life.
Not surprisingly, my present novels (and a lot of my paintings) feature houses as major players. I can think of several unexplored plot ideas that also will involve houses. Perhaps I'll come to be known as the house novelist and publishers will consider a “house” genre in the future. I know there are others who have this same odd obsession.
Whichever country, whatever house I own, published writer or not, recognized or ignored, I’ll continue to write. And to paint, of course. And to pursue a life as green, green as an English meadow...
