You’ll need to lose weight!

Being a woman, ‘you’ll need to lose weight’ is NOT a phrase you really want to hear. Still, I heard that last Monday when I went to see my specialist about my back. If you don’t know what happened to cause me to have spinal surgery in January, you can read about it here! Interestingly,…

READ MORE

Funny writing spots

I’ve always said I can write anywhere. With a deadline looming (as they always seem to!) and having to take our exchange student back to Perth to fly home to Italy, I’ve proved again, I can do just that. On Thursday we left to do a ‘last tour’ of the south west, so Gabri got…

READ MORE

Where the River Runs

Today, Where the River Runs, goes to print. This book feels like it’s been a mammoth effort – I was supposed to have it finished a long time before I actually handed the manuscript in… There was a reason!   On the 29th of December I was leaning down to pull up a fence so…

READ MORE

When you order…

Thinking ahead is a critical in life. Planning is important. You’d think at nearly 44, I would understand this. So, today, (Saturday morning) I fail to understand why I have woken up with a slight hangover and found there to be no cold pizza in the house for breakfast. My desire to ‘keep it healthy’…

READ MORE

Times, they are a-changin’

Meet Jack. He’s the new addition to the McDonald household. He’s a gorgeous, energetic, five year old Kelpie from Woonwooring Kelpies at Cunderdin. Why, might you ask, does someone who lives in town and writes books for a living, need a Kelpie? And that would be good question because Kelpies need space to run around…

READ MORE

Breaking the Silence

Domestic Violence is another form of terrorism. Why? Terrorism creates fear and fear is what these people live with, daily. Fear of what will happen next. One in four rural women will endure some kind of domestic abuse within their life time. Who are the four women you love the most? Mother, sister, wife, daughter?…

READ MORE

That crazy time…

That crazy time of the year in between Christmas and New year, when no-one seems to know what day it is, has past us by once again! I’ve got admit I love that time of year because it’s the one time I can read and relax without feeling guilty – like I should be working…

READ MORE

Hand-me-down Recipes

Hand-me-down recipes from previous generations are a wonderful heirloom. I love it when we get to Christmas time and I can open my old, tattered, food stained, hand written recipe book, and start cooking food from my Nana or Aunty. Both my Nana’s loved to cook; unfortunately neither of them are with us now. My…

READ MORE

Where secret paths lead

Have you ever read the book The Secret Garden? I fell in love with that book, the mystery and wildness of the garden, the secrets within such a grand old house and of course the unexplained cries in the middle of the night. I always feel like I’m heading somewhere mysterious and wild when I head…

READ MORE

2015 done and dusted…

We had some great times in 2015 and I thought it would be fun to look back over the good times. It makes me realise that 2015 wasn’t quite as bad as I thought it was! And it reminds me of the things I’ve learned over this year. This is was the first sunset of…

READ MORE

New Year resolutions

Happy New Year! Has it been a good start for you? We spent the evening at the foreshore in Esperance having tea with friends and watching the fireworks. It was a really pleasant way to see in 2016. I’ve spent the first two days going through the final edit of Indigo Storm. It’s been a…

READ MORE

Indigo Storm and Summer fun

  I know it’s been a while since I’ve written on my blog – and once again, I’m sorry! Indigo Storm, my next book, has been taking my time away from here – I had a deadline which I didn’t make… THREE times! Finally, right on the death knock of November, I managed to get…

READ MORE

Holidays

  You know that feeling when you head back to your childhood home, where you know every corner and bump in the road and every sight is familiar? Well that’s what I’ve been feeling while we’ve been away on holidays. Although it was a holiday, it was also a research trip for my next book…

READ MORE

The little things…

  Today over at Outback Paparazzi, we’re focusing on THE LITTLE THINGS. Things that make us smile, when we stop and look for them. I love dew drops on the fence, green grass, good coffee, beautiful views, kids laughing. Cattle sitting contentedly chewing their cud. Too many things to mention – oh, the moon rising.…

READ MORE

Choose your own adventure

Did you ever read the ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ books when you were a kid? You know the ones where you’d read a chapter and then get given two choices, and depending on which choice you made, you’d get sent to a certain page and follow the story on from there? I used to love…

READ MORE

Getting stuck in the mundane…

Do ever find lunch boxes so hard to fill? Does it feel like you’re making ham and pickles sandwiches (or something similar) ALL the time and the kids are board with your food? Oh. I sound like an advert don’t? Sorry! But, that’s how I feel. Especially since I’ve been pre-making food for the whole…

READ MORE