I cannot remember a time in my life when I wasn’t surrounded by books. As a kid, I was never happier than when I was perusing the shelves of a library or browsing a second-hand bookshop – apart from being tucked away somewhere reading the books I’d chosen. When I was 11, my family spent […]
When was the last time you were a beginner? A time when you felt you didn’t know a thing, perhaps even wondered whether you should even bother trying? And do you remember how you felt? The Little Arthouse When I walked into Vanessa Lombardo’s Little Arthouse studio, I had no intention of picking up a […]
Are you someone who can create entire worlds in your head, like some of the best dystopian and speculative fiction writers I know? Or do you, like me, need to experience a place to be able to write about it? Whether it’s a community history (such as Many Hearts, One Voice) or family history, or […]
I’ve just returned from a short trip to Bintan Island in Indonesia – part holiday and part support crew for my husband, who was competing in a three-day bike race, the Tour of Bintan. With the race as the major focus of our stay, I saw only a tiny part of what there is to […]
Valentine’s Day began as a day to honour at least one Christian martyr named Valentine, said to be executed on 14 February in ancient Roman times. These days, it’s better known as a day of love, and is big business for many in the retail and hospitality trades. Last year, Australia spent approximately $790 million on Valentine’s […]