Owing to my parents’ unusual careers, I had lived in at least 20 different houses in NSW, WA and Victoria, and attended at least 10 different schools, by the time I was 20 years old. Then I married, settled in Melbourne, and had two sons. My writing career included a very brief stint in journalism. My interest in writing for children began during my work as a children’s librarian. As a mature age student I gained my BA (Professional Writing) and Grad. Dip. Psych.
In recent years I have been writing and self-publishing family memoirs as gifts for my family, and have completed about twenty books. I have also been illustrating some of my own children’s books.
My sister is Trudy Oldaker, a past president of the SWW Vic. I have been a member of the SWW Vic since the early 1980s, and am also a member of the Eve Fortune Writer’s Group, who are SWW Vic. members.
PUBLICATIONS:
Children's fiction: The Giant and the Watchmaker's Wife, 1989/1991, McMillan Education (Aust); Simon & Schuster (USA & Canada)
The Willowisps, 1984 Kangaroo Press
Fishy Business at Fairy Bay, 1998/2000, McMillan Education (Aust) Crackers!
Children’s stories in: NSW School Magazine, Animal Tales USA, Vic School Magazine Explore, Quark Magazine, New Idea.
Short stories in: Sparx, Reid's Magazine, Free Spirited, Accolades and Jelly Beans, Tamba Magazine.
Articles in: Single Life, Free Spirited, The Australian Rationalist, Lot's Wife, and 100+ articles in Eastern Post Gazette, Seymour Telegraph.
AWARDS:
Short story awards: Margaret Hazzard Award, Anne Barret Award, plus various prizes in other short story competitions.
Poetry, including competition prizes: Open Door, (Monash University); Sunraysia FAW competition; Eve Fortune: The Writer's Workshop; Western Highlands Literary Comp.