About Me

Hello!  Thanks for your interest in my blog, and I hope you enjoy looking around.  On this page I’d like to tell you a few things about me, as well as share some personal photos.

I was born in Sydney, Australia, where I’ve lived most of my life until 2011, when my husband and I moved to Tumut – a quiet country town in the state of New South Wales, on the edge of the Snowy Mountain region.  

Panoramic view of Tumut, New South Wales

My parents were German migrants who came to Australia separately in the 1950s and later met and married here in Australia.  I grew up speaking both English and German, and I’m grateful for my bilingual upbringing because to me, being able to speak a second language gives you deeper insight into the cultures and different mentalities of people around the world.    It probably also aroused my interest in travel and languages at an early age, and  I’ve learned a smattering of French, Italian, Japanese and Hindi over the years.

In India

But perhaps my greatest passions in life since childhood have been writing and art.  I’ve always dabbled in drawing and painting, and at school I realized that I loved to write.  Around the age of 11, I discovered penpals and the delight of getting to know someone in another country by writing letters.  Around that time, I also began to write short stories, simply because I enjoyed recording my thoughts and experiences in written words.

Some serious dabbling in watercolour paints

I’ve been fortunate enough to travel and meet some of those penpals in the USA and Europe, and also become acquainted with more exotic and challenging cultures such as India and China.  All these travel experiences, and the people I met on those trips, deeply enriched my life and are now giving me inspiration for my novels.

At The Great Wall, China

Alongside art and writing, music has also been an integral part of my being – and not just the popular modern or classical, but almost the entire scope from medieval, Renaissance and Baroque to music from around the world.  Some of my favourite world music is from India, China and Arabian countries, while Country, Blues and Bluegrass were also prominent in my life for a while.  My first husband was a radio presenter for traditional Country music, and at that time I taught myself to play the 5-string banjo, Scruggs-style, as in FoggyMountain Breakdown!  

Maurie, my first husband, died of cancer many years ago now, and Bobby is my second husband who started out as a penpal living in California.  He came to Australia in 2009, and we married soon after.  Once his application for residency in Australia came through, we decided to leave the noise and pollution of Sydney behind and move to Tumut.

I lived here, in Manly, Sydney, for most of my life

Bobby’s life course ran similar to mine, with writing also being a main interest throughout his life.  We first connected through amazon.com where we both wrote many reviews, mostly for old movies:  mine for silent films and Bobby’s speciality is classic movies of the 30s and 40s.   When we weren’t writing a story or book, we were always busy writing something else such as reviews or letters and emails!  Now that we’re living in Tumut, we can devote most of our time to writing properly, and I’ve described our story in a blog post article entitled Two Authors Under One Roof.

Also under our roof live a special little dog named Cisco, and more recently also an adopted stray cat named Sookie.  

Cisco is a gentle and intelligent long-haired Chihuahua Cross

After living in the rough, Sookie now spends all day in her very own soft, plush bed!

Living in Tumut has enabled me to expand my artistic skills by learning to paint in different media and styles, and then exhibiting my paintings in the local gallery and annual Tumut Art Show.  When I’m not writing, reading or painting, I turn my attention to another avid interest I’ve had since childhood, namely aviation.  Instead of playing with dolls and other girly things, I had toy cars and planes!  These days, thanks to modern technology, I’m able to do simulator flying at home on my computer using a realistic and professional program called FlightGear.

Some of my recent paintings

Feel free to reach out to say hello or ask a question – about my books or more personal matter – either by commenting below or sending an email to keeperwisdom@gmail.com -  I’d love to hear from you!