OVERVIEW:
Whenever I open a magazine, book or newspaper, I have to smell the pages, as if addicted to the smell of paper and print.  Like the nectar of a beautiful flower, that smell means something very special to me.  This habit attracts some peculiar looks, but makes me feel special in that I can appreciate something as mundane as the smell of a book.
Books, writing and reading have always been in the forefront of my life.   I have always kept diaries and journals.
I have travelled extensively and experienced life to the full.  Please see my blog www.sootieshack.blogspot.com. 

In 1976 – 1979 I completed a Freelance and Creative writing course in the U.K.
And in 2008, I did a revision in Short story writing (UK).

In 2008, I resigned from the hospitality industry to concentrate on my writing. 

In 2009, because of the interest I was experiencing, I focused on writer development coaching.

I am a member of the Freelance Writers Association of G.B.

PAST MEMBERSHIPS:
E.C.I. (European Coaching Institute)
COMENSA (Coaching & Mentors South Africa)
Rotary International (Ballito - South Africa)
Lions International (Durban - South Africa)
West Sussex Chamber of Commerce
Durban Chamber of Commerce & Industry
H.C.I.M.A.(Hotel, Catering & Industrial Management Association of G.B.)
SKAL International

BUSINESS WRITING:
I have written Operational procedure, Staff training and development booklets for hospitality groups in East and Southern Africa. 
Besides these, I have been involved in the writing of business plans, sporting project management plans, sporting and social event programmes and brochures.

PUBLICATIONS:
I have had articles and/or features published in the following magazines/newspapers.
Your Family, The lady, The Writing magazine, Writer’s News , Personality, Complete Yoga, Farmers Weekly, Yours, Daily News, Natal Mercury, Sunday Tribune, Cape Argus, Cape Times, South Coast Sun, North Coast Courier, Mountain Echo, Advertiser, Natal Witness, Bugle (Ballito), Dispatch (East London), Herald (Port Elizabeth), Brighton Argus, West Sussex County Times, Arusha Times (Tanzania)

I write a Monthly column in Mountain Echo (Underberg, Kwa Zulu Natal)

I hold Expert status on the website E-zine.

NOVELS:
I have completed two books and am presently researching my third.
• Outdoor living lifestyle book – UK.  So many submissions, but never published.
• The Loving Bush - In 2001 I completed a manuscript for a lighthearted adventure/love story.  At the time, we had lost our business in Tanzania with the 9/11. I have never had the heart to continue with the final submission.
• Presently researching a Non-fictional book on the 'History and Development of Lifesaving in South Africa'.