I’ve been writing for years and clogging up my laptop memory with short stories and novels. When I joined Tauranga Writers, some of them began to pop up their heads and get published. I like to write for children and include the environment in my stories. My Earth Science story is ‘Doctor Peter’s Good Earth Magic’. Wiremu Weka Treks the Alps is almost ready for publishing. I have contributed to the ‘Byline’ anthology and have poems published in the Valley Micropress.

I also paint and enjoy the challenge of becoming an effective communicator of the spoken word at POWERtalk in Matamata. I do house sitting and find that each new place and environment provides ideas to create a story or picture.

It was an amazing experience to scoop the pool at the national level of the POWERtalk International writing contest awards on May 7 in Wellington. One person winning all the categories has not happened for many years. I was awarded a silver tray for each win and my stories and poem will now represent New Zealand at the POWERtalk international writing contest.

First in poetry was my poem entitled Mindfulness, unforgettable moments that capture you in the present. First in non-fiction was the story The Cannibal Isles, set in Fiji recounting attending a health workshop in a traditional village. First in fiction was the story House Hunting for Bees, with a family comparing their own efforts at house hunting with bees after swarming being their own real estate agents.