How I became me

If you’ve already read my ‘About’ page then you would have noticed I’m a bit of a geek and proud of it.

I loved watching Star Wars with my Dad when I was a child. I’m sure he’s to blame for me loving science fiction. And my Mum is the inspiration for writing about strong, intelligent, independent women, because that’s exactly who she is. Don’t ask what it is that my siblings are responsible for!

I accuse my High School for getting me interested in Mythology which has had a domino effect on my life. Because of the things I learnt in ‘social economics’ at school, I became so interested in ancient cultures that I have visited some of the most amazing ancient sights around the world, including the Giza Pyramids, the Athens Acropolis and the Colosseum of Rome. I also got a tattoo of an ankh, the Egyptian hieroglyph. And eventually I named my dogs after ancient gods; Osiris, the Egyptian god of the underworld, and Apollo, the Greek god of prophecy and light. One day I’ll probably write a story set in ancient times steeped in mythology.

And how did I get into writing? I was seven or eight years old when I first wanted to write stories. But the funny thing is that at the time I hated reading books. I loved having them read to me though. Of course, I eventually became a bookworm in my own right. It took a while though, because I’ve always been a slow reader. It always took me longer to read something than it took the other kids in school. I was so embarrassed about it, that it made me hate reading.

Even now I’m fairly slow. I read every word on the page, not like speed readers that just gloss over the main words. But I’m proud of that now. I like it because it helps me to really delve into the story, to get lost in it, but also enjoy the flow of the words and the skill of a writer at the same time. Plus, have you ever loved a book so much that you didn’t want it to end? Well, at least it doesn’t end too quickly for me.

My grade 6 teacher, Mr Skidmore (yes, that really was his name – you can imagine the jokes the kids made behind his back), was the one who suggested I read a book that changed my life, Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson. It was the first story (book, tv show or movie) that ever made me cry. It had the power to move me in a way I’d never experienced before. From then on you couldn’t get my head out of a book and my passion for both reading and writing grew and grew until here I am today: writing the books I want to read that no one else has written yet.

P.S. I also own a crazy amount of books. And at least 30% of those I haven’t read yet. I have a problem – I’m like the crazy book lady!