A little bird in my inbox

A little bird has just flown into my inbox, thanks to my dear and long-distance friend Benita.

It made me think about inspiration—where it comes from, and how our own deep-seeded thoughts have a way of breaking the surface of our everyday and sending us scurrying to the keyboard and, in Ben's case, her sketch pad.

I have been trying to whittle down a novel-sized idea into a short story for a uni assignment. It has involved a lot of research to capture a specific time and place—the Melbourne Benevolent Asylum in 1856, the Yarra River, and the Goulburn in the Murchison district.

It's an historical fiction story a tragic twist that helps us understand love, loss and learning to continue on life's journey. 'Everything flies and goes away' is a love story that starts with a Blue Wren feather, once believed to protect the bearer from drowning, and how our memories can both nurture and haunt us.

Photo courtesy: Marlo and Beyond Images of Australia by Helmut Kummer

Incidentally, Ben is working on a rock series of drawings in her own university art studies. I share my house and home office with rock samples, thanks to my geologist husband. He, of course, is delighted at Ben's choice of still life.

Photo courtesy: Benita Murray