Claire Laishley
The four books I have had published to date (the last two words being optimistically added) are all non-fiction. Two of these books cover the serious subjects of Alzheimer’s and breast cancer. Several friends have commented I may need constant life-changing events to keep the creative juices running and that thought terrified me so much I immediately started work on my first novel.
There has always been a deep love of books throughout my life. The first thing I can remember buying with my pocket money was a copy of Heidi by Johanna Spyri and I almost ‘loved’ the bright pink/apricot cover off the book!
My desire to write came later, encouraged by trying to find a morsel of sanity in being a stay-at-home Mum with two small children.
Through my writing, I have been asked to be guest speaker for a number of groups and enjoy meeting people and hearing their own personal stories related to the subjects my books cover.
I live in the beachside suburb of North Brighton in South Australia with HoN (Husband of Narrator) and our fur-child, Tansy. One of these acts as a fairly reliable editor when I need a separate opinion; the other, ‘furry-faced’ as well, does his work in the city.
Every writer will tell you we’re all slightly insane (and the ‘slightly’ is optional). They’ll also agree that it’s a lonely existence we’ve chosen. To drag myself from my hermit cave (and possibly give me fodder for stories!) I have volunteered in a number of areas over the years.
A deep love of all animals found me drawn to the work of the RSPCA. I started down at the Lonsdale Shelter walking the rescue dogs and later moved to the Administration section of the Society. The other area of volunteering was through the Palliative Care SA program both at Daw House Hospice and the Home Visitor program.
My present volunteering is one morning per week at a local private hospital in the administration section and one morning at the Brighton Library, a task which finds me fully understanding how pigs feel in a sty of mud!
There are periods where writing is extremely difficult and the creative juices seem clogged with pips and pulp. At times like this, I’m tempted to respond to the ‘what do you do’ question with ‘I’m a PSS’. A job with a title does add a certain importance to a role and no-one need know this stands for Pristine Screen Starer. And then, when I find my mojo once more, I can still claim the PSS moniker knowing that this time it means I’m a Purveyor of Super Stories!
website: www.clairelaishley.com.au