About

Hi,

If you've found your way to this page, you must want to know a bit more about the person behind What Makes Your Heart Sing (and hopefully more books soon!)

So here it goes...

My name is Amy. I am a mother to 3 beautiful daughters - the reason I wrote What Makes Your Heart Sing. I live on the coast of the beautiful little island that sits underneath Australia, known as Lutruwita/Tasmania.

I didn't set out to be an author. My very first childhood dream was to be an archaeologist, digging up bones and lost cities in mysterious, far away places. As I got a bit older I wanted to be a ballerina, dancing on stage in front of hundreds of people. And then I thought about being a teacher (like Miss Honey from Matilda, of course.) Throughout high school I imagined myself as a psychologist, specifically for children, helping them through difficult times. I actually did end up going to university straight out of college and studying a bachelor of education, but something didn't sit right with me. So after a year, I changed my mind and studied naturopathy for a couple of years, while I worked in many different places - from an organic whole food shop (shout out to Eumarrah, my favourite job ever!) to a nursing home, caring for people with dementia, in between travelling to different countries. The last proper "job" I had before my first child was born was as an early childhood educator in an early learning centre.

As it turns out, none of what I imagined to happen in my life ended up happening... but I think - no, actually, I know - I like this life that I'm getting to live better than any I could've planned. And it is only now that I realise the one thing that has been consistent throughout my life, the thing I turn to when things feel tough and when life is full of joy -  writing.

What Makes Your Heart Sing began as a message I wanted my daughters to carry with them always. Especially on the days they might feel lost or unsure of themselves. I wanted it to serve as a reminder that the things that light them up, the things that make their hearts sing, matter more than anything the world might tell them to be instead.

It was only when I shared it with people I loved, and watched their faces as they read it, that I thought: maybe this reaches further than just my girls.

Bringing the book to life with the extraordinary Lindy Longhurst, whose hand-painted illustrations are nothing short of magic, was one of the great joys of this whole adventure. Seeing her art breathe life into my words still makes MY heart sing every time I flip through the book. 

I am still the girl who wanted to do all those weird and wonderful things, who has now grown into a woman who believes deeply in children, and all human beings, in their instincts, their wonder, and their right to know themselves.

I walk on the beach most mornings. I write when I can. And I am endlessly, gratefully surprised by where life has led me.

If this book finds its way into your home, I hope it becomes one that gets read again and again; dog-eared, well-loved, and a little bit magical.

Amy x