During primary school we took a long journey on a train. My mum, two younger siblings and myself. There were so many things about it I found fascinating. We were in a sleeper carriage and the bunk was like a different world. A place to not only curl up with a book, but to catch glimpses through the window of the scenery outside. There were stretches of open land, not a house in sight, towns filled with people, railway sidings that if you had blinked you might have missed them. I thought of ways to describe the places we travelled through, wondered about who might have lived there or what was in the area. I also wondered about where we were headed, but was mostly fascinated by where we currently were.

Of an evening, as I fell asleep, the sound of the train travelling across the track made a unique sound. It was mostly a rhythmic lullaby, reminding me I was going somewhere, even as I slept, my dreams filled with equally fascinating adventures.

There were times when the sleeper felt cramped, especially with my younger siblings cooped up inside the cabin too. The corridor outside the sleeper was also an interesting spot. Large windows to the passing world, strangers on their own journeys and two directions leading to other carriages. I would have loved to explore the entire train, but sadly that wasn’t possible. But there was more than enough to keep me interested in the sections where I was allowed and of course I had books with me. When you love to read there is always something to do.

When we arrived at our destination, there was yet more to see. The station was crowded. There were numerous people, a mixture of noises, bright lights and lots of colour. So much to see, so many things to feed my imagination and fuel more ideas for stories.

It’s memories like this that I draw on when writing. Using them to add a touch of realism to even my fantasy novels. The wonder of going to new places, discovering interesting things and meeting fascinating people. I still enjoy travelling. Going to out of the way places and often taking random directions because they look or sound interesting. Not only do I enjoy travelling myself, but I also love to hear about other people’s journeys too. They can be as fascinating as experiencing my own travels.

My love of books includes so many different types, including reference books such as dictionaries. Over the years I’ve added to my collection of dictionaries, unable to resist some of the beautiful editions I’ve found. I’m often asked if I really need that many dictionaries. What can I say? Obviously. I own them, don’t I?

My oldest dictionary doesn’t have a publishing date, but the pages are yellowed and there is a photo of the King and Queen, along with the royal princesses, taken at the time of the Coronation. It was my grandfather’s book and was given to me many years ago. It’s The Modern Standard English Dictionary And World Atlas. In the back of the dictionary is a section titled Austral English. This section contains Australian slang words and colloquial expressions of the time. I’ve found it a useful reference when I’ve wanted to find out more about that era. There’s also a section on prominent Australians, Fauna, trees, how to address persons of rank, countries of the world and an atlas. When trying to narrow the date down as to when it was published I looked through some of the list of prominent Australians and couldn’t find a date after 1939. When checking the dates of some of the people listed who had no date of death, I came across Clement Hill who died in 1945. So the dictionary was likely to have been published some time between those two dates.

Another dictionary I have is Webster’s New World Dictionary. It may not be the oldest dictionary I own, but it’s the one I’ve used for the longest. My father bought it when I was ten years old and it has coloured pages with lists of different things such as trees, rocks, shells and animals. I used to pour over those images for hours. They were great for seeing what different things looked like so I could describe them in my early stories. Things I’d never seen personally, but because of that dictionary I knew what they were called and what they looked like. To me that dictionary was almost magical. It could help me imagine all kinds of things and places and fuelled so many daydreams and stories. Decades ago my father asked me if I wanted it, having remembered how many hours I’d spent looking through it.

I still have the school dictionary we were required to have in late primary school. The Australian Pocket Oxford Dictionary was a handy tool I used on an almost daily basis. More for my writing than for schoolwork. I also read that dictionary from start to finish in a bid to learn more words I could use to create my stories.

I also have dictionaries I found in secondhand shops that looked interesting, ones I inherited and beautiful glossy ones that I couldn’t resist buying when wandering around bookshops.

You can never have too many dictionaries. Obviously. Only take a look on my shelves and you’ll see that for yourself. One is never enough.

On Sunday 5th June 2016 we attended Old Petrie Town Steam Fair with other members of Steam Dreams, the Queensland Steampunk group, dressed in our steampunk gear. There were also members from a local pirate group who attended in their outfits. Due to extreme weather conditions the fair was cancelled on the Saturday, but Sunday was a lot of fun and we hope to attend next year. For those who live in south east Queensland, and would love to attend in 2017, it’s usually on the first weekend in June. The Old Petrie Town markets were on during the day, there was a lot to see and the grand parade was at 12:30 p.m. In all, it was a lovely family event and we had a great time. All the photos were taken by Cat Petersen.

We had a wander around the event.

There was an amazingly large fig tree and numerous old buildings.

The steampunk and pirate groups gathered for photos.

We joined the parade.

If you wanted to keep up to date regarding the next Steam Fair or other Queensland steampunk events, you can request to join the following Facebook groups.

Old Petrie Town Steam Fair:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/484413701704670/

Steam Dreams- Queensland Steampunk:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1442478875990871/

When I was a child I devoured books. There never seemed to be enough to read. It was a good thing I tended to read favourites over and over again. Not only for the enjoyment, but to also discover how the author had created the story. To learn the techniques they’d used to draw me into their world and keep me turning pages.

I still have quite a few of my childhood books. All the Trixie Belden books, numerous Enid Blyton, books that belonged to my parents when they were children and so many more. Occasionally I revisit old favourites and I’ve shared some with my children. The books all have memories that go with them, reminding me of different moments of my childhood.

I have the full set of Trixie Belden books and so many times my mum had to search for the next one because I absolutely needed and couldn’t live without it. I loved reading that series, following the characters in their adventures and trying to solve the mysteries along with them. And of course there was Nancy Drew. Yet more mysteries to solve.

Some of my other childhood books still sitting in my shelves are ‘The Big Brass Key’ by Ruth Park, ‘The Box In The Attic’ by Barbara Euphan Todd, ‘A Horse Called Butterfly’ by Thurley Fowler, ‘Caddie Woodlawn’ by Carol Ryrie Brink, ‘Anne Of Green Gables’ by Lucy M. Montgomery and ‘The Velvet Room’ by Zilpha Keatly Snyder to name but a few.

I read in so many different genres and tended to pick up nearly any book I saw. It made buying presents for me very easy. I continued to read in various genres through my teenage years and kept many of those books as well. Although I tended to read more fantasy and horror than other genres by that age.

I still read in numerous genres and can’t see a book without wanting to pick it up and check it out, tempted to start reading immediately. And I continue to collect many of the books I read, much to the protests of my groaning bookcases.