The right story, well told, can change your life.

I love courageous stories, the kind that make you laugh, and weep, and hope. Stories for brave hearts.

I'm in the storytelling business as an author and writer. I write what I call ‘braveheart’ books for girls aged 11 to 14 because I remember how it felt to be that age.

When I was that age, I went to boarding school, made some big decisions, dealt with a lot of stuff, saw a lot of life and took a lot of walks beneath a lot of mountain night skies.

Some of the books that I loved in those years spoke to me and helped me through. They were like my friends. Writing is the gift God's given me, so I want to write books for girls that comfort and amuse and delight and inspire.

What’s unusual about me

I was born in Australia but when I was 3 my parents moved our family to Pakistan where we lived until I was 16. We had regular visits back to Australia, but I really only liked it for its TV programs, chocolate and grandparents, none of which we had in Pakistan.

I went to a British day school for primary and then an international boarding school for most of my high school, which was equal parts amazing fun and horrendous terrible. I know what it feels like to be a bit of an outsider, to have your friends leave, or to have big upheavals in your life.

When I came back to Australia with my international, half-American, half-English accent everyone wanted me to "say something - it sounds so cute!" (Now I sound like more of a regular Aussie. I tend to adapt.)

Random facts

  • I've wanted to be a writer since I was seven years old.

  • I love chocolate cake, and I really hate bananas.

  • My favourite colour is turquoise blue.

  • I wish I'd done ballet or tap dancing and I'd still like to do ballroom lessons one day.

  • I'm not very good at sport. I get all confused when they pass me the ball!

  • I used to have my nose pierced.

  • I'm married to a guy who has red hair and we used to have a dog with the same colour fur. None of our four kids ended up with the red hair. They all started out blonde, just like I did. Actually, they all started out bald, just like I did, and then turned blonde.

Cecily Paterson, author of 'Love, tears & autism', shares her experiences parenting a son with autism.

Brydie welcomes local children's author Cecily Anne Paterson this week, to celebrate the launch of her early YA novel for 9 - 12 year old girls, Lola In The Middle. It's the third in Cecily's Kangaroo Valley School series from Wombat Books.