I was born in southern Germany of an ‘East’ German mother and a ‘West’ German father who’d ditched their regional dialects in favour of Standard German to better communicate. Before WWII, my mother had been a fashion designer working in wardrobe for the Universal Film studios (UFA) in East Berlin. She later set up her own fashion studio in the West. My father was a lithographer and commercial artist. Things were going well until 1961, when the prelude to the sudden erection of the Berlin Wall convinced them that WWIII was imminent, and the thought had terrified them. The day they decided to emigrate to Australia, they were already middle-aged, and I was an eight-year-old who’d only recently learned to read and write in German, so my sudden inability to communicate in English in the playground was a shock.

There’s nothing like being locked out of the local vernacular to inspire a life-long interest in language, literature and writing. All through primary school, I was driven to experiment with language and produced what I’d call ‘English poetry’ – silly nonsense that rhymed. Aged fourteen, I saw my words in print for the first time when Chapter One of a three-part story, Ninotchka, the Street Urchin, was chosen for the annual school magazine.

Opportunities to write and publish then came in dribs and drabs while I chased diplomas, degrees and an MA in Linguistics. I taught English, Junior Science and Drama at high school and German and Ceramics at tertiary level. A diploma in Art & Design gave me the confidence to regularly enter paintings in regional exhibitions, and market my pottery and silk paintings.

My three curious and energetic children kept me busy until they left home, and I followed close behind after my divorce to begin my ‘solo’ life. I moved to Sydney to copy-edit for an environmental magazine and then returned to teaching Academic English – mainly writing – in Australia and Asia: China, Vietnam, Japan and Thailand while also examining for IELTS in Sydney and briefly in Paris.

Travelling for work meant that my journeys were becoming more frequent and their duration longer, something I relished. Time abroad nurtured my creativity and helped me redefine my life. Now, after transitioning from teaching to writing, I usually spend six months a year on the road. While my travel memoir, Going Solo, is dedicated to allaying readers concerns about ‘hitting the road’ especially on their own, it also explores concepts of meaning, belonging and identity, commencing with an immigrant child’s perspective on these concepts and finding some answers by the end of the book in a series of Meditations on aspects of life that are enhanced by travelling.

Much of my time is focused on understanding and practising the maintenance of a positive, creative mindset and good health. In my spare time, whether at home or abroad, I enjoy photographing, painting, reading philosophies on life and novels, and watching movies that explore the human condition; its ups and downs – all grist for becoming a good writer, and for learning how to live a harmonious and meaningful life.