Squally's Epic Tale of Mischief and Mirth

Well, have you ever wondered? Puzzled out the goings on in your life? Well I often do. I remember things as if they were paintings in watercolour, where things blend together in swirls and strokes of life's brush. Something's however are vibrant acrylic on my canvas, 3D in places as if layered on with a palette knife. Those moments are my life's foundations, they define the breaths I take and the dreaming that never leaves my heart.

One such masterpiece was created almost twenty years ago. I had just moved back in with the parents (this happens from time to time between adventures). A new suburb in the making. A quiet street with three houses tucked up close to one another. Number 3, that was me, new house, new garden, same old parents. Next door at number 5 was a glowing beauty named Lula and her bouncing baby girl. Her husband worked in the mines. One door down at number 7 lived a sparky, effervescent girl with her new son and her childhood chum, Lolly.

All four of us bursting with life and promise, all a little different, all a little bit the same. Two new mums and two ex-actresses. There was no way to know how far those simple friendships would take us.

Let's scroll forward in time to a charming watercolour, a sunny summer day in the quaint town of Fremantle, Australia. Bums on seats, food in bellies. Minds full of potential.

This is how Writing and Scrabbled Eggs began. Two wayward friends with passion for teaching, creativity, availability of reading material for remote communities and inspiration and guidance for the humongous writing community on the net. We puzzled over what writers might need to know in this fast changing publishing world. We found our driving passion in helping remote communities get access to stories. And then we dreamed. We dreamed of this, here and now. We dreamed of traveling, helping, inspiring writers and showing them new ways, easier ways to learn and reach their audience.

We scoffed down our food, soaked up the atmosphere and plotted.  Lolly the educator and Squally the communicator.

So that's who we are. The student and the pimp. The teacher of Montessori and the online, lucky wench who got to play with brand new authors, never published (until they all were).

That's who we are and this, this right here, is where we begin.

Lolly's Little Story

Two friends talk over breakfast.

Both love reading. Both dabble in writing. Both have something to offer each other and potentially others in these areas.

This is the birth of 'Writing & Scrambled Eggs'.

When I was but a young university student, studying media and philosophy, I lived on an amazing street in a nondescript suburb. Here I lived with my best friend from high school, Lou. Her husband worked away, so our living arrangement was of mutual benefit. I helped her out with the her young son and kept her company whilst I had a roof over my head. Lou would be our magnet, the force that brought us all together.

Next door was another young mum with a FIFO husband. This is the fabulous Lula. One of the most patient and caring people I have ever met. Lula's our cornerstone.

Now the way I remember things, our next player had been living on the street before me whilst I lived in Melbourne. When I returned from Melbourne, she funnily enough had just left for Melbourne. So I heard her name a lot without having met her. This would be the infamous Squally.

I only have a mental photograph with a written label attached as to my first encounter with Squally. I remember her standing in Lou's kitchen with a big cheesy grin. The label attached to this mental photograph reads 'brash and loud'. This is how my brain classified and filed away this first interaction. Goodness knows what she said or what she was wearing, those details were omitted by the processes of my memory.

What I can tell you is this person became one of my best friends who I absolutely adore. Our friendship has lasted the test of time, distance and stubbornness (an affliction we both suffer).

Now I am on my way to be being a Montessori teacher. What I love about Montessori is how the children learn and the materials that they use to understand abstract concepts. It occurred to me that this could be adapted to assist emerging writers with their craft.

Ms Squally on the other hand brings another set of skills to the breakfast table. A complementary set of skills to say the least. Her natural networking abilities, support strategies and promotional know-how are just some of the things that make her special to many writers.

Back in January we had scrambled eggs for breakfast and walked away with some ideas of what we might like to achieve. This is a baby step towards that...