From my very first little handmade book about martians landing in my school, I’ve loved to write. So it wasn’t too much of a surprise to my family when I became a journalist. However, dreams of working for TIME magazine and spending my days reporting from behind enemy lines and uncovering the story of the century vanished after a few years of working in newspapers. While it was a high finding and tackling a great story and often making a difference to someone’s life via campaigns or awareness, there was a very big downside. Here’s some news: reporting the news can make you feel depressed, helpless and totally heartbroken. It can also make you scared and threatened – things I most definitely did not enjoy. So after four years reporting on murders, abuse, bureaucratic bungles, the weird and the wonderful, it was to the lighter world of women’s magazines.

I spent four fun years in the subeditor’s department of Australian Cosmopolitan magazine trying my best to make sure no errors found their way into each edition. There was a lot of success – I never had a cover mistake as chief sub – and a few not-so-successes, like the time I wrote Avon’s Retroactive Cream up as “Radioactive cream”. Oops.

When my publisher launched a new homes and lifestyle title – Real Living – I was offered the position of deputy editor which I said “YES” to so quickly, loudly and enthusiastically you probably heard. Dream job. It was me and my life in magazine form so I lapped it up. I loved every single day there until I went on maternity leave after having Zak and enjoyed playing mum too much to make the daily three-hour travel to and from the city. Instead, I took over as web editor – a job I could do from home. A job title that amused me because I am quite clueless with technology. Luckily, it was mainly writing - that I can do.

In July 2009, I went out on my own as a freelance writer but have not yet cut the cord from Real Living, to whom I frequently contribute. This year, I hope to expand my portfolio and write for various other publications. If you are one, you are most welcome to send some work my way! Until then, I can be found blogging here at The Happy Home, uploading images to Flickr, tweeting on Twitter or up to my elbows in paint or paper working on yet another project…

Here, a few scans of my work. Click on the image to be taken to the scans for each mag - more to come.