Have you heard? 2016 is having a moment.
And wow, my life looked wildly different back then.
Walk with me down memory lane.
WORK
Then
I created online learning for health professionals. Every day, I schlepped into the city on the train, deep in the daily grind.
I knew pretty quickly that corporate life wasn’t for me. Too many meetings that should’ve been an email. An open-plan office that felt like sensory overload. And a calendar clogged with morning-tea baby showers.
Okay, I liked the baby showers. And the mini cupcakes.
But the rest? A hard no for this weird little introvert.
I spent most of my time daydreaming about one thing: how to work from home and never have to attend another team-building activity again.
Now
I work from home and I bloody love it.
I’m a virtual assistant for aspiring and published authors. A plot twist I didn’t see coming.
My work fits around my kids’ school days and holidays, not the other way around.
And working with writers? Genuinely the best. They’re creative, kind, and hands-down the nicest people I’ve ever worked with.
HOME LIFE
Then
One year married and living in suburbia – a lovely area. You know, traffic, the occasional burglary, and a Red Rooster that we all suspected was a front for shady dealings.
My pug was impeccably behaved. My toddler, not so much. I lived in constant fear of cutting his toast the wrong way.
Now
Ten years married and living in the country. Yeehaw!
We did a tree change and bought land to build our dream house on, which (finally) gets finished this year.
Moving rural was the best decision we’ve ever made.
My pug is still kicking on. He’s lost his hearing and eyesight but can sniff out the tiniest crumb like his life depends on it.
As for kids, now I have two boys. Double the joy, double the mess. Hashtag blessed etcetera.
CREATIVE PURSUITS
Then
I started a secret Instagram account where I chatted with strangers on the internet about motherhood. Not the “it’s the best job in the world” bullshit. The real stuff. The things we’re not allowed to say out loud because it makes us a bad mum.
Behind the scenes, I was quietly building a website where other mums could share their truths too.
Little did I know that the following year, that website would launch and completely change my life.
Now
I’m a published author. Say whaaat?
It wasn’t even on my radar ten years ago.
And yet, here I am with an actual book, sitting on actual shelves, in actual bookstores.
Please don’t judge the quality of my writing on that last sentence. I swear I’m better than that.
FINAL WORDS
Thanks for joining me on this trip down memory lane. I’d say things turned out pretty well.
Save the Date
Sat 14 Feb (4 PM - 5 PM) Readings Hawthorn, VIC
Romance is not dead: Valentine’s Day Proof
Thur 5 Mar (6 PM - 7:30 PM) Readings Chadstone, VIC
Bridie Blake’s Book Launch: The Boyfriend Clause
The Reading Corner
Rytual
Chloe Elisabeth Wilson
What if your favourite beauty brand was actually a cult?
THE GIST
When Marnie Sellick joins the beauty brand rytuał cosmetica, she is seduced by its enigmatic founder. But beneath the millennial-pink gloss lies something far darker …
VIBES
Corporate horror • Feminine rage • Revenge • Psychotic • Sinister • Dark comedy • Hyperfeminine menace
VERDICT
Unhinged in the best kind of way.
Daughters of Batavia
Stefanie Koens
Two women. One Shipwreck. And four centuries of secrets.
THE GIST
Drawn to the Batavia shipwreck, a woman uncovers a centuries-old story of loss, survival and love that refuses to stay buried.
VIBES
Past & Present • Evocative • Tragic • Romantic • Unsettling • Faith • Grief
VERDICT
You’ll get swept up in this incredible story.
Linky links
Shelf improvement: Read my book
Freebie: Book Club Pack
Newsy news: Media
Save the date: Events
Stalker mode: Instagram