As a child, I had a habit of signing my autograph on the front cover of my mother’s weekly tabloid magazines before they reached their destination of the recycling bin. I used to pretend that I was a famous author on a book tour, and even envisioned my mirror was Bert Newton, interviewing me on Good Morning Australia. I listened to Irene Cara’s Flashdance on repeat, eventually scrawling ‘Take your passion and make it happen’ in black permanent marker on my bedroom wallpaper. Sorry, Mum and Dad, but I had a vision.
Thirty years later, my vision is as strong as ever: to create everyday stories about everyday people, getting through everyday life, that everyday people want to read.
I crafted the characters for my first novel when I was 14 years old. Undergoing treatment for cancer, the world of fiction gave me the strength I so desperately needed to literally survive in the world of reality. I eventually went to university, got a mortgage, had a daughter and worked the kind of jobs we all work; an awareness of how lucky I was to be alive forever motivating me to never give up on my dream to be a writer. I worked on my first novel for 25 years around a full and grateful life; self-publishing Written & Directed by Me, Mackenzie to overcome my fear of anyone reading my work (self-esteem is an elusive beast). I had finally found my confidence and voice as a writer, releasing On the Bench three years later, followed by The years all end.
“ Cancer holds my body hostage.
New Kids on the Block paid the ransom and freed me.
Sometimes, you just have to forget about life for three minutes,
and sing the hell out of your favourite song."
Written & Directed by Me, Mackenzie
My Library
On the Bench
The years all end
