Although I have always enjoyed writing, life, earning a living and other responsibilities got in the way for many years. Occasionally though I would write another short story or poem and it would go in the bottom drawer. On rare occasions, something would be published. I started writing The Red Heart in 1988, hence you will pick up subtle references to the fact that it is not set in current times. It is not in any way autobiographical, but I lived in Alice Springs for seven years and also learnt to fly whilst there. That gave me the background for writing the book. Initially, I thought it would be a stand-alone book, but then I wanted to tell Sarah’s story as well, and that was followed by Melissa’s story. I’ve moved around a bit since leaving Alice. There was a period of study in Adelaide (my home state) and then on to Sydney, working on Sydney Airport in a property development role. As you can imagine, I loved being in the heart of all that aviation activity. When my son was a pre-schooler, I made the decision to return to Adelaide. This was for quality of life reasons, and also to be closer to my family. A second degree taken after my return focussed on professional and creative writing and I was certain that at some time, I would focus more on my writing career. I had several years living and working in Melbourne, and learned to love that city. I'm now back in Adelaide, and so it my son after a stint in Perth, so we are negotiating life as house-mates. I've been renovating a century-old cottage throughout 2021, but am not settling back into some serious writing.