Wagga-based author Sharon Brummer will share her work at the Curious Rabbit on Friday. Photo: Supplied.
South African author Sharon Brummer is growing to love her new life in the Riverina, although she’s still not convinced about the merits of Wagga Beach.
“I was very surprised when I first saw a sign for Wagga Beach,” she said, reflecting on her first visit to the sandy riverbend once named ‘Australia’s 9th best beach’.
“Then when I went down there, I wondered, how much did they pay for that sign!”
Sharon recently migrated to Australia from the seaside community of Mossel Bay in South Africa’s Western Cape Province, so perhaps she can be forgiven for her lofty expectations of an award-winning beach.
“Mossel Bay is a beautiful little town and it’s very culturally rich with a lot of artists and writers, which was right down my alley,” she said.
“It was such an inspirational little seaside town and I just couldn’t stop writing and wrote all my books there.”
The accomplished author has written and published nine books in several genres including crime novels, children’s books and poetry and will give a Writer’s Talk at The Curious Rabbit in Wagga on Friday (25 October).
“I love writing and I’m very fortunate because it comes to me quite easily,” Sharon said.
“Once I sit in front of the computer, my fingers seem to do the thinking.”
Sharon moved to Australia last year to be closer to her son and grandsons but explained it was a difficult transition precipitated by back-to-back family tragedies.
“In December 2020, my eldest son passed away on the Gold Coast and we were obviously totally distraught,” she said.
“We couldn’t even come out for the funeral because of COVID, so it was almost two years later that we came out for a memorial.”
Sharon said her husband Pete was deeply affected by the death of their son Geoff and never recovered.
“He passed away on Geoffrey’s birthday two-and-a-half years later,” she said.
With her life in turmoil and an ocean separating Sharon from her youngest son Shane in Wagga, she decided to leave Mossel Bay for the Riverina.
“I arrived in November last year and I was very unsettled for the first couple of months,” she said.
“But now that I’ve joined the Booranga Writers’ Centre, I’m feeling much more inspired and I’m writing again, which is really great.”
Sharon is looking forward to sharing her work at this month’s Booranga Writers’ Centre event.
“I’m going to read a short story and a couple of my poems, including a special poem I’ve written on Wagga Wagga, which I think people will enjoy,” she said.
Looking to the future, the busy grandmother is enjoying spending time with her family and settling into her new home and is hoping to find an Australian publisher for her previous novels.
“Releasing my books in Australia will be my first project, but most definitely after that I will sit down and start writing again. I’m most drawn to writing thriller and crime stories.”
You can meet Sharon at the Curious Rabbit on 25 October where several of her books will be available.
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