The part in which I talk about myself in third-person…
Shae Millward is the author of The Rabbit’s Magician, Koalas Like To and A Boy and a Dog. Shae is based in Hervey Bay, Queensland and has four children. She has a number of picture books and a middle-grade novel in progress. She also enjoys writing inspirational quotes, poetry and song lyrics.
The casual part in which you get comfortable and I tell you a story…
Well, hello there, curious people!
Step into my parlour.
Prepare yourself for a tale of action, adventure, excitement, magic, mayhem, dramatic drama, mysterious mystery, thrilling thrills, plot twists & more!
No, forget that. This little story can’t possibly match that opening.
I am a writer and author residing in sunny, sandy, seaside, subtropical Hervey Bay. Beachy vibes, warm weather and calm waters – No epic wavage here, surfer dudes!
I have recently completed a business course and continue to work on exciting new writing projects.
Short version ends here. Continue for long version…
But the story begins way before this, in a little Victorian country town where I attended the local high school. One day in class we had to write down what we career we hoped to have, so that we could look at pathways to achieve it. The teacher for this activity was the Physical Education teacher, who favoured the ‘sporty kids.’ I wasn’t much into sport, I loved dancing and had taken classes for many years, however dancing wasn’t considered sporty enough to be in her ‘cool kids’ group.
As an only child, I spent a lot of time entertaining myself; reading, writing, making up fantasy worlds of my own. Hopes and dreams still very much intact.
It was my turn to hand the teacher my list of career interests. A piece of paper, so fragile, much like the sense of self of many a high school kid.
She looked at it.
Silence.
Then she scoffed, ‘Be realistic!’
BOOM! CRASH! CRUMBLE! CRACK!
It was the apocalypse of my fun, fantasy world where I could be anything and do anything I dared to dream of.
To be fair, as well as ‘Author,’ my list also contained professions such as: Private detective, Psychic, Artist, Songwriter, Magician, Fashion designer, Dancer…
(Hey, I won a gold medal for dancing. No, it wasn’t an Olympic gold, just a small country town gold medal, but still – there was potential!)
This is where I’d like to bring attention to the saying, ‘With great power comes great responsibility’… People in positions of authority, please use your words thoughtfully.
So, I only wrote now and then, as a hobby. And what I did write, I threw out –
YUP!
Gone.
G. O. N. E.
The lot.
Suffice to say, my early works won’t be in a glass display case in a museum any time in the future.
But one day you realise you don’t have to keep replaying those words, ‘Be realistic!’ because there will be lots of people who will remind you.
And there’s another voice trying to be heard, quiet at first, under the ruins. As you clear away the rubble, you unearth something truly powerful – your inner voice, louder now, and you can clearly hear its message, ‘Be fantastic!’
As it is with creativity, you can only deny it for so long before the restless energy of the unwritten demands to become. It’s never felt more right to write.
And so you do.
Because you must.
And you just allow.
And by doing so you merge the worlds of reality and fantasy into one – creating your own Fantastic Reality – and you find yourself living in the place where dreams come true.
xx Gratitude xx
SM