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I'm dropping into the Moonta Cornish Festival on May 17 to do the after dinner keynote speech. Just thought I'd mention in case we have any Cornish connections here and any of you may be going. Cheers, F

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looks like we will just miss you... 

We will probably be that neck of the woods, but on the Saturday and Sunday. 

Have fun!

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Pity. Sorry to miss you. I'll be in Queensland over that weekend running workshops on the Gold Coast and in Brisbane. You too - have a good trip. F

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Hi Fiona,

I was at the dinner at Wallaroo last night and just wanted to say thank you for a wonderful insight into your life. I was particularly interested when you were speaking about writing and saying some aspects can be taught but not how to 'tell' a story. I spoke to you at the book signing about our 4 year old daughter who I believe is a great story teller. I am wondering if there are any books you can recommend we share with her to help encourage her imagination and perhaps nuture her storytelling. It really is a gift as you said and I would like to help her continue this.

Thanks again and will perhaps see you at Clare in August.

All the best with your continued writing and enjoyment of life.

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Hello Anne What a lovely lot you were too. Thoroughly enjoyed myself. Now I think four is too young for you to be worrying about how to stir your daughter's imagination. Right now just read with her, tell her stories and encourage her to make up stories with you and that will be the most brilliant exercise to fire her imagination. Reading with mum and dad is the BEST - nothing comes close to touching that when you're at kindy age for inspiring all sorts of stories and a love of storytelling. If you never stop helping her to use her imagination, the storytelling and ultimately the writing will take care of itself. Writers find their own way and every writer has a different journey to their first published book. I was 40 before my first novel came out and I had never even thought to write one until that mid life crisis and yet I'd been a storyteller for all my life. Your daughter's journey may be very different but it's a personal one and your job is to give her encouragement and the best way to do that when she's at junior primary age is simply to open her up to all the wonderful fairy stories and children's stories that you've enjoyed in your life and that are now available. The shelves have thousands more books than were ever available in my time so your daughter can begin to sort the style of story she loves, so expose her to all sorts of stories including non-fiction. Reading and playing, drawing and singing - that's all she needs now to develop her creative joy. Every book is valid right now until she makes up her own mind in about a decade as to what really turns her on. Enjoy her! Fx

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Hi Fiona,

Thank you so much. We will continue to read to our children as much as possible as I get as much enjoyment out of it as they do!! It is a special time to lose ourselves in books and forget the rest of the world for a part of each day. We really enjoy visiting the library and borrow a wide variety of books chosen by our daughter (who also loves choosing them for our nearly 2 yr old son).

We will continue to encourage of love of reading and the rest will happen naturally in time if it does. I really love hearing her fabulous stories and her interpretation of daily life.

Thanks again,

Anne