When I am not writing I spend time reading, researching, taking walks in nature, working in an environment centre with interesting and creative people, spending time with my children and their partners, spending time with friends, reading and conversing on interesting topics, mixing with different types of people of different backgrounds.

I am inspired to get up out of bed and take a walk down by the river or do some yoga and stretching, this prepares me for the day and connects me to my best self.

I usually discover the ebooks I read, either through research, joining online groups and subscribing to projects.

One of my earliest memories of a piece of writing I created was an essay in primary school and I chose to write about life in the future, I think it was 1980 or something, and I was about 8 years old. I think I had seen a story about astronauts and what foods they ate while in space and I wrote about what food might look like in 1980. It was hydrogenated food vacuumed sealed in packets. Well it certainly has come to pass, because when we look at modern processed and convenience foods, we see many of these same products.

I usually write on a topic and it is usually about social justice issues. I draw on personal and training experience to draw out and highlight current gaps and misconceptions about cultures and social demographics.

One of the first stories I ever read as a child was Enid Blighton books, but they scared me. I remember the pictures and word content was scary.

The cover design was chosen to represent stripping back all misconceptions and preconceptions, judgements and attitudes about wellbeing and society. The image represents us as individuals who are made up of body soul and spirit and I am proposing through the book for a return to a more simple yet holistic lifestyle in order to restore our wellbeing as a society and global community.

Five of my favorite books are;
1. Wild Swans by Jung Change because I love way the author has represented the historical and personal history of herself and her ancestors and how these details are woven through the history of communism with high detail of the political rules which they were required to follow and the daily lifestyle of the people of the era.
2. Lost Connections by Johann Hari is a daring, challenging and provocative presentation on the recent history of how depression has been treated by the medical profession and how myths have been reinforced for the last 100 or so years. Hari paves the way for society to leave behind outdated beliefs and to herald in a new era of self-help and community connection as the answers to high levels of depression on a global level.
3. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephan Covey is an amazing book because Covey is a gifted communicator and brings principles of life for the reader to integrate in their own lives, as an individual not as a follower, as a leader in whatever station in life he is currently in.
4. The Bible in the Message version because this is written so beautifully in a modern style without losing the translation, it speaks straight to my heart and intellect, doesn't dumb down the message and speaks to our current times in a timeless manner.
5. Uncovering the War on Drugs by Johann Hari is truly a momentous work of research where Johann seeks to uncover and challenge the motives behind the war on drugs, and the devastation which has followed over more than a century.

I read biographies, authors who write about their lives and personal experience, and word search books for pleasure.

At present I use the PC

Word of mouth so far

My desk is where I use my PC to write and do my research and I love looking out the window and seeing and hearing the birds in the garden or watch the forecast for the day.

I grew up in Adelaide in a semi-average income area and I believe that I rebelled against suburbia and the status quo including religion in my teens. I believe there was a reason for this rebellion, and that underneath there was a genuine yearning for spiritual experience and an avenue to be creative.

I first started writing in my late teens when I lived near the River Murray in South Australia and wrote poetry. I was inspired with the local bush environment and the river and wrote about the trees, their shapes and position near the water. The trees represented my inner quest for spiritual peace and experience, and making sense of my life and my place in the world.

The story behind the book is my personal experience of mental health and physical health in my own life and family, the way I was affected by the public mental health system and exploring and investigating changes over the last 50-100 years.

Becoming an indie author was a natural decision because I felt there were so many rules and hurdles to jump through to publish through a publishing house so I decided to do it myself.

My greatest joy of writing is to express myself and be able to be creative through words, to uplift and value the reader, and set a high standard of writing so that the book will stand the test of time and the test of critique and feedback.

I am working on building a website and I am researching for my next book which will be about building a lifestyle of wellbeing in today's industrialised society.