Bio
You know those strange people on the bus who aren’t on their phone. That’s me. Sometimes I sneak a peek at the phone of the person beside me, which leaves me wondering how the hell they managed to cultivate the bizarre algorithm results they have. But when I’m not doing that I’m staring out the window looking for deer, koalas and kangaroos, or I’m lost in the dark clutches of Natalie-world.
Natalie-world can be funny, futuristic, magical, or horrific. Often it is a mix of these. I don’t control Natalie-world, I just sit back and watch. When I watch the same story often enough, or it is insistent enough, I’ll write it down. A good friend calls this story-haunting “writing her scratch draft”. I’ve had a lot of these unwritten scratch drafts in the last few years. The point being, they are still turning up, even though I’m not always writing them down.
As for my background, I’ve had more careers than most people have jobs (yes, I really have tried everything from air traffic control to zoology). I’ve been lucky enough to live in Adelaide, Brisbane, Darwin, Luton (UK), Sydney and Melbourne. After 15 years away I now find myself back in Adelaide and have surprised myself by loving it. Age can do that.
Over COVID and another significant birthday I got a bit down about my writing and the point of it all. As a result my output slowed significantly. But every now and then I get a burst of enthusiasm. Sometimes that results in a story being written, but New Year a few years ago it was the genesis of this re-vamped website. Because I still believe I am a writer, even if I’m not writing as often as I would like to be, so I should have a website.
I think that if a story comes to you and you let it go, someone else finds it. I’m not letting any of my stories go at the moment. They keep coming back to visit me on the bus, or in a boring meeting at work, or when I wake up at 3am after a stupid or terrifying dream. That says to me that I am planning on writing them all down… one day.
Please check out my work on the publications page. It includes some of the stories that have forced their way out during my recent low-writing period. It’s a mix of genres and styles, but if you keep clicking you’re sure to find something you like – a bit like a dating app (so they tell me). Enjoy.