I’m very excited! My first blog post exceeded all expectations and I am in the exalted position of having 20 followers! OK, so I know that all of you are my dear close friends, but that just makes your support and encouragement that much more potent in fuelling my inspiration 🙂 Thank you so much for joining the journey!

Everything I have ever read about the process of writing affirms that having a band of enthusiastic supporters is essential. I am truly blessed to be surrounded by a bunch of well-wishers who are kind enough not to think I’m delusional in my authorial aspirations.

First and foremost amongst the cheer squad is my husband Martin (pic above). Ever since we first met he has believed, deeply and unreservedly, in my writing dream. Martin will, of course, be travelling with me to Carcassonne and will be in the thick of the creative maelstrom – so you can expect him to feature prominently in these epistles. Henceforth, he shall be known as He Who Believes (or HWB for short).

Coming in a close second in the supporter stakes is my wonderful mother. Mum is a prolific reader, and when I say prolific I mean really, really prolific. At a guess she’s probably read about 10,000 books. I kid you not. This calculation is based on a conservative estimate of three books per week over the course of her life. Sometimes she reads quite a lot more than three in a week. So when it comes to writing, mum knows how to identify the good stuff. She has sampled my literary endeavours over many years and has bestowed enough kind words to keep the flame of my ambition burning. Thanks ma!

And then of course there’s my gals. Where can I start in extolling these fabulous femmes? I suppose I can legitimately begin with Rachel as she’s been round the longest. We’ve known each other since we were eight and have shared a love of books ever since. We bonded over the Anne series of LM Montgomery, a passion which culminated, in our 50th year, in a pilgrimage to Prince Edward Island to pay homage at our muse’s grave and visit the scenes and setting of her life (and Anne’s).

Rachel has appointed herself as my editor. She’s an English teacher, so she wields a fierce red pen and, as another prolific reader, she’s also an astute and critical judge of quality writing. A word of literary praise from Rachel sends me scooting to raise the flag, let off fireworks and pop the champagne. I know Rachel is going to be an indispensable aid in making my writing the best it can be. I just hope she’s gentle with me …

Another long time mate and staunch encourager is my friend Fontella. Fonty and I met as young cadet journalists at The Advertiser newspaper, and like me she’s nourished a persistent dream of seeing her name in print.

Also like me, she’s doing something about it and is busy tapping away at her own novel. I know we will share solidarity and boost each other up on this crazy ride. You can check out Fonty’s story here: https://crossbordertales.wordpress.com/

I owe a special debt of gratitude to my wise counsellor, teacher and mate Bronnny. This incredible woman has perhaps done more than any other to help me envision, grasp and pursue my purpose as a writer. One of the central themes of my novel sprang from my work with her – this will definitely deserve official thanks in the published work!

Closer to home in Narooma (Rachel, Fontella and Bronny all live in Adelaide, so our F2F rendezvous are infrequent), I have two fabulous and totally biased partisans in Hannah and Julie. We are known to play golf, cook fondue dinners and generally have a hilarious time whenever we get together.

Hannah and Julie have borne the brunt of me blathering on about my burgeoning book. Being close at hand they have valiantly endured my rants as new inspiration has struck me, and their wholehearted, bubbling enthusiasm has been, and will continue to be, the wind beneath my wings.

I could go on and on, but I fear the length of this post might become excessive. I can’t end, however, without also giving mention to a few more of the wonderful friends who are cheering me on in this adventure. Amanda, Imke, Susie, Simon, Tracy, Jamie, Sue, Mariella, Anna, Leen, Corina, Jeanne, Brittany, Natalia, Gigi, Deepesh, Sharon, Judy, Stephanie, Rebecca, Daisy, Jacquie, Bettina, Gabi, Helen, Terence, Di, Adrian, Michelle, Alice, Sam, Claude, Marie, Raphael, Peter, Nick, Steve – thank you all!

My fellow travellers, I’m humbled by your faith in me, and promise to do my very best to meet and exceed your expectations 🙂