Writing

I  write to enjoy, deconstruct and recreate aspects of my experiences. The sea is my muse, writing and art my means of expression. I have been fortunate to live most of my life overlooking aspects of the magnificent Australian coastline in South Australia, and the Far North Coast, New South Wales where whales, dolphins and sea eagles abound. 

After a career immersed in Fine Art as both artist and university lecturer, my PhD research Poetic Visual Interplay (2006) foreshadowed my passion for storytelling. In 2008 I joined the creative Marion Writers Inc and words became my paint to shape stories from the fusion of imagination and memory. As a synaesthete, the combination of visual and written language fascinates me.

Short fiction allows me to dissect my past, deconstruct my recollections and decode the personalities and misadventures of my unsuspecting family, friends, and even my trusty dogs. My Miniature Schnauzers, ‘Timon’ and ‘Ty Zen’ have provided the inspiration for the characters of a Blue Heeler, a Red Setter, a Tibetan Terrier, and an old bitzer named ‘Jack’, to name a few. 

As a visual artist I paint and photograph ‘poetic-scapes’. As a writer I create characters to express something about the crazy, profound process of living within them. 

My stories are shaded from the deepest blue-blacks to the warmest subtle hues as they highlight the quandaries of many a flawed character in search of love, meaning and authenticity. Most stories have a few twists along the way and a surprise ending. The taste of sea air and the nudge of a faithful dog are never far away. 

PUBLICATIONS

Many of my stories and poems are published in anthologies and online. Accolades include being The Alfie Dog Feature Writer, November 2013; Editor’s Pick 2013 and 14, narratorAUSTRALIA, and shortlisted for the Alan Marshall Short Story Award 2010.

FICTION/POETRY 

Soup Du Jour alfiedog.com

Night Muse, Narrator online

A French Twist, Narrator online 

Absolute Forever, Sublime Narrator online 

Converse, 2015, NarratorINTERNATIONAL (Vol 1) 

Spice, 2014, narratorCENTRAL 

Chancing Paradise, 2014, narratorAUSTRALIA (Vol 4), Natural Life, 2014, narratorAUSTRALIA (Vol 4),

Pure and Traveller's Arc, Salt Breezes Dangerously Poetic Press http://dangerouslypoetic.com 

Glass to Glass, Found Time, Wake 2, Nice, Fancy, Invincible, 2013, Alfie Dog Fiction alfiedog.com

Game, 2013, narratorCENTRAL (Vol 3) 

Nice, Came as 'I' , Left as 'We', 2013, Alfie Dog Fiction alfiedog.com

The Art of Nothingness, 2013, narratorCENTRAL (Vol 3) 

Naked Options, 2013, narratorAustralia (Vol 3) 

Five Easel Pieces, 2013, narratorAustralia (Volume3) Slow Burn, 2013, narratorAustralia (Volume2)  

Paradise, 2013, narratorAustralia (Volume 2) 

Tunnel Vision, 2013, OpenABC   

Short & Twisted, 2011, 2012, 2013 http://www.celapenepress.com.au/short_and_twisted.html

The Edge of Kandahar, Avant New Writing 2009

Relay, Marion Writers Inc 2012 https://sites.google.com/site/marionwritersinc/read-this-great-anthology

Three Poems, City of Marion