(backpacker having conversation with Lizzie the Australian main character)Backpacker: ‘What’s the drinking age in Australia?”eighteen”is that enforced’Lizzie thought for a second before answering seriously, ‘yes, they make us drink

…stories want to be told. Stories have a power of their own … you can’t write a story until you’ve felt it. Breathed it in. Walked with your characters. Talked with them.

I love a sunburnt country,A land of sweeping plains,Of ragged mountain ranges,Of droughts and flooding rains.I love her far horizons,I love her jewel-sea,Her beauty and her terror –The wide brown land for me!

I love Australian people.

Look at the truth from how it stands, not where it comes from. The truth is still the truth no matter whether it is spoken by an Indian, an American, a Chinese, an European, an...

Hush now, ‘tis time to sleep and dream secrets of long ago.

Melons. The girls. Gazongas. I could rattle off every nickname in the world for my boobs – oops nearly forgot jubblies – but it didn’t change the fact they were small.

I do have a lot of Australian friends.