As Easy as ABC

Last year had a number of highlights, one of them being winning the 2007 'Voices on the Coast' writing competition for my children’s novel, Crackpot, and as a result, securing an agent. In fact, the certificate of the win is staring straight at me as I write this… No publisher has picked Crackpot up yet, but according to my wonderful agent, Sheila Drummond, it’s ‘early days’.

So what does this year bring so far? A February highlight was having my step parenting stories read on ABC Radio National on the Lifematters program, which airs every weekday morning from 9-10am.

Arriving at the ABC studios in Southbank was pretty exciting, and as a bonus I was early enough to have a coffee from their canteen and THE COFFEE WAS FABULOUS! I took it as a sign of good things to come. (I can always gauge the rest of my day by how good my morning café latte is.)

As I put on my Sennhieser earphones and began the sound check in the Tardas recording booth, I felt right at home, recalling other such fine experiences back in the good ol' days when I worked in the music industry.

‘One Take Trembath’ (or close enough to!) left the studios 40 minutes later, walking tall and feeling pumped. All I had to do now was wait for the three consecutive days the following week when the stories were to feature on the program. ...And on the Friday I was to participate in the regular talkback segment alongside author Dolla Merrillees (The Woodcutter's Wife: A stepmother's tale). (See details below on Dolla’s book.)

Pre-recording is easy; it’s the ‘live-to-air’ stuff that’s a bit freaky. So on the Friday morning of the week my stories were aired, I returned to the Tardas, knowing that I couldn’t do any retakes and OHMIGOD! IT’S A NATIONAL AUDIENCE!. As my fall-back position I had written a few notes down, to be sure I wouldn’t slip up and say something I’d later regret. I also didn’t want to fill up my speaking times with ‘ummmmm’, which personally, drives me up the wall – especially on the radio.

So although my hands were shaking as I savoured the yummy ABC coffee (early again!), by the time I was plugged in, sound-checked and the red light was on, I felt comfortable and relaxed and completely forgot about the invisible audience.

All went well. Dolla was a great co-conspirator and guest on the program, and Richard was, as always, astute and sweet-voiced. (More honeyed than glucosed.) In fact, I loved every minute of it, from signing in as ‘self’ at reception (in answering the question: ‘who are you representing?’), the fab coffee, and of course, my friend Tardas. Give me a microphone anytime – it brings me more comfort than chocolate or teddy bears.

Yep, I can most certainly put that experience down as ‘one of my highlights’ for this year. I like to think it’s just the beginning…

The Woodcutter’s Wife: http://www.bookworm.com.au/shop/scditem.asp?ProdID=136515

ABC RN Lifematters step parenting talk back: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/lifematters/stories/2008/2174139.htm