me and my writing journey
When I'm not writing, I'm getting some exercise, cooking or reading. I love reading as much as I love writing and read across a wide variety of genres, but I keep coming back to women's fiction and romance. I'm a romantic.
I started writing poetry and short stories as a teenager. It was at this time that I received my first rejection letter, from The Listener magazine, thanking me for letting them see some of my poetry. “They show a lot of promise. But I am afraid they are not up to our publication standard. Keep on writing.” It was good advice, and I did keep on writing. However, my creative writing was put on the back burner for several years as a different kind of writing took over: taking notes, writing assignments and essays. I studied French at university, first in New Zealand and then in France, where I completed a Bachelor's degree in French and a Master's degree in French Literature.
It was when I returned to New Zealand eleven years later, with a French husband, that I started creative writing again as a way to settle back into life in my home country. I enrolled at a creative writing course, and it felt as if I was coming full circle, back to where I was meant to be all along. I continued with evening courses on poetry and publishing, and eventually worked as a freelance journalist.
Writing a novel was the next step. I set out to write a love story set in France in some of the places I feel a strong connection to. It was a way to reconnect with the country, its culture and my family and friends there. I also wanted my main character to be shy or lonely. She wouldn't be socialising in bars and meet her soulmate in that kind of situation. She would meet him through something different, like so many people in the world do. I had no idea at that stage that it would involve a parcel of ashes.
One day, in my local newspaper, I read an article about an American family who had bagged up their mother’s ashes into small portions and sent them to the main post office in all the world capitals. This woman had wanted to go on a world trip several times and each time had been unable to because of her health. It was in death that this woman’s family realised her dream of travelling. And they were surprised and heartened to receive many replies detailing what the recipients had done with the ashes. The story resonated with me. From there, the idea of the ashes became a central part of the novel as Isabeau and Joseph’s separate stories developed and intertwined. Now, I'm writing a series of rom-coms set in the South Island of New Zealand, where I live, another setting that inspires me.
It was when I returned to New Zealand eleven years later, with a French husband, that I started creative writing again as a way to settle back into life in my home country. I enrolled at a creative writing course, and it felt as if I was coming full circle, back to where I was meant to be all along. I continued with evening courses on poetry and publishing, and eventually worked as a freelance journalist.
Writing a novel was the next step. I set out to write a love story set in France in some of the places I feel a strong connection to. It was a way to reconnect with the country, its culture and my family and friends there. I also wanted my main character to be shy or lonely. She wouldn't be socialising in bars and meet her soulmate in that kind of situation. She would meet him through something different, like so many people in the world do. I had no idea at that stage that it would involve a parcel of ashes.
One day, in my local newspaper, I read an article about an American family who had bagged up their mother’s ashes into small portions and sent them to the main post office in all the world capitals. This woman had wanted to go on a world trip several times and each time had been unable to because of her health. It was in death that this woman’s family realised her dream of travelling. And they were surprised and heartened to receive many replies detailing what the recipients had done with the ashes. The story resonated with me. From there, the idea of the ashes became a central part of the novel as Isabeau and Joseph’s separate stories developed and intertwined. Now, I'm writing a series of rom-coms set in the South Island of New Zealand, where I live, another setting that inspires me.
