About | Nola Smith Author

One Life, One Chance, No Regrets

I was born and raised in the West Australian gold-mining town of Kalgoorlie along with my eight siblings. I gained a teaching degree in Perth before heading to coastal Esperance where I met my teacher husband, Denis. We spent an amazing thirty years working and bringing up our four sons in this awesome community.

On moving to the city in 2010, we built a new life in Palmyra and love living close to Fremantle, the Swan River and the beach.

When I recently retired from teaching, the wonderful parents at Aubin Grove Primary, gave me a loaded visa card to use on some amazing experience whilst on my 4 month trip to Central/South America.

However, it returned intact.

What to do with it?

Since forever, I'd wanted to write a book but, in the past, niggling self-doubt and lack of time had shut that idea down. I was passionate about literature and loved teaching English to my students but could I successfully write a fully fleshed-out novel?

I didn’t think so.

Having retired, time was no longer a problem and there was a solution to the self-doubt – upskilling. I researched courses to enrol in with the Australian Writers' Centre to improve my writing skills and to teach me how to go about completing a novel. Finally, the visa card was put to good use and I stepped out of my comfort zone.

Bingo!

My journey to becoming a published author had started.

Remember -

It's never too late to learn new skills.

On the Couch Questions and Answers

If you want to ask me a question, click here - contact page and send it through. I'll post your question and

my answer below.

Go on - ask away.

* Who's your favourite YA author?

I'm a huge fan of Vikki Wakefield as she writes incredible realistic stories about underdog Aussie teenagers. I love her writing style.

* What's your favourite book?

By far, the best book I've read is 'The Book Thief' by Markus Zusak. The imagery is so unique and the story is heart-breaking.

* Do you have a dog?

Yes. I have a labradoodle dog called Ziggy. Fluffy, the cute dog in 'Enough Is Enough',

is based on her. Ziggy is an excitable, circle-turning ball of fluff with the memory of a

goldfish. We love her to bits.

* Where do you get your ideas from?

From everyday life. I feel great empathy for the underdog and want to give them a voice. With 'Enough Is Enough' I'd read about the sad scenario of young, unmarried girls in the 50s, 60s & 70s having to give their babies up for adoption because society thought it was so shameful. This haunted the girls, causing them terrible grief for the rest of their lives. They felt shame when they shouldn't have.

* Have you written other books?

Yes, but they're not been published at this stage.

I've written a Junior Fiction chapter book called 'Moonstone Magic' about an exuberant imp fairy born without wings who longs to be like other fairies. The book is her journey of self-acceptance, discovering the power of friendship, and finding her inner strength.

I'm currently writing another YA book about an angry, grief-stricken Manhattan teenager Tessa, ripped from her privileged life to live in Australia where she confronts down-to-earth Aussie girl, Darcy who forces her to work out what's important in her life.