I had felt prompted to write a book for a number of years, but one of the biggest detractors was my belief that I either had to find a publisher or spend thousands of dollars self-publishing. When I found a friend who had self-published very successfully for next to zero dollars outlay, I thought, "Nothing to lose!". Thus began my adventure into becoming an author.

In all my writing history, having people tell me that they really connected with what I had to say, or that it impacted them, made them think differently, or challenged them has got to be the number one best outcome for me. If what I write makes no difference to anyone, then it becomes pointless.

At the moment I am working on two very different books. The first is called "The Lies we Believe", looking into accepted societal beliefs about how the world works. My desire is to challenge these beliefs from the perspective of Christian faith, with an alternative way of viewing the world and the way we live our lives.

The second book has arisen from my experience teaching Hazara asylum seekers English. My desire is to share their stories, from their earlier lives in Afghanistan to why they decided to come to Australia (mostly by boar), their journey getting here and their hopes for the future. I am hoping to also get some photos to go with it. I would like it to be a book that helps these people in their journey toward healing as well as to created advocacy and awareness of their plight.

I love reading other people's stories, so autobiographies make up a fair chunk of my reading. For fiction, Ted Dekker and Stephen Lawhead are two that I particularly follow.

There are a variety of activities I am involved in that often seem to take precedence over my writing! I am involved in a number of areas of Christian ministry, including Sozo prayer ministry, Healing Rooms and occasional preaching. My garden, which is about 100 years old, set looking out over distant mountain ranges is a particular passion, and is slowly taking form as a place of retreat, hopefully not just for us, but for others as well. Getting (living) outside is a must, so trips to the beach or elsewhere are also on the list, often with our dog, who loves it as much as we do. I have also just got my motorcycle licence, and although I love going pillion with my husband, am looking forward to the challenge of riding my own cruiser.

I'm the last of the big spenders, so it is often by looking for what books are going free. I have actually discovered a couple of other authors I enjoy this way, and subsequently bought their sequels or other books. Mostly, otherwise, it is just trawling the genres or authors I like and seeing what is out there.

I can't say I can remember the first story I ever read, but I have been an avid reader from very early on. We were always read to as children - often my mother would read to us all together during holidays - and it just stuck. However, I do remember the first time I got completely lost in a book. It was Alice in Wonderland, and probably the most "grown up" book I had ever read (I was probably about eight or nine). I remember we had visitors over (no idea who!), and I pulled it off the bookshelf and started reading, spending the rest of the day reading it until I finished. It was the start of a habit, and something I would often do in the holidays, spending whole days just reading. It is still one of my favourite holiday activities - hours of uninterrupted reading time!

With my husband! He has a great eye for design and is quite creative. Although I would love to use my own photographs, at this point Shutterstock has been helpful.

My desk can be quite changeable. Indoors, it tends to be our study, and to my husband's frustration, it is usually a mess. I go with the 'old' adage, "If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?" Creativity cannot come from a vacuum! However, when the weather is amenable, my preferred desk is outside on our deck, with views of the trees, and with space around me.

At the moment, I have a fairly old Motorola Xoom, which is working quite well for me! We use a mix of Kindle and Google Play.