I've been seriously writing for the last ten years.
The last couple of years have marked significant turning points in my writer's journey. 

• In 2007, I came second in the Mid North Coast Writers Association Short Story competition with Beyond Happily Ever After, and with the prize money, I joined Romance Writers of Australia and attended my first conference.
  
• In 2008, Beyond Happily Ever After was published in Wet Ink magazine, and suddenly I was introducing myself as a writer. I also found myself a fabulous critique partner, Kiki. 
• In 2009, I joined the Executive Committee of Romance Writers of Australia and am now the Social Media looking after the Romance Writers of Australia blog, Twitter and other social media functions. I am now Member Secretary of the organisation.
  
• In 2011, Beyond Happily Ever After finalled in the RWA STALI competition (Single Title and Loving It) and was judged 6th in the final judging. 

Last year, I adopted a new mantra WRITE EDIT SUBMIT.  My focus is no longer solely on the first part of the mantra - WRITE.  I can do that. I'm now heavily focused on the EDIT and working on craft issues in my writing, and followed by the SUBMIT.

In 2010, I started the new year by enrolling in Margie Lawson's Defeat Self-Defeating Behaviors online course.  What an eye-opener and amazing process of discovery.  Armed with new insights and fantastic tools, I have my two-headed dragon of Self-Doubt and Procrastination corralled into a cage, and I've hung a sign on the front: DO NOT FEED THE DRAGONS. 

I have reworked my writing mantra: it is now REWRITE EDIT SUBMIT.  2011 will be the Year of the Edit: the year I learn as much as I can about writing craft and the year of Submit. 

Let the submitting begin...