Sharks, Sequins and More: Home Fires Author, Fiona Lowe, on Her Adventures in Motherhood

Sharks, Sequins and More: Home Fires Author, Fiona Lowe, on Her Adventures in Motherhood

About the author

Fiona Lowe has been a midwife, a sexual health counsellor and a family support worker – an ideal career path for an author who writes novels about family and relationships.  A recipient of the prestigious USA RITA award and the Australian RUBY award, Fiona’s books are set in small country towns, feature real people facing difficult choices and explore how family ties and relationships impact our decisions.  Fiona spent her early years in Papua New Guinea where, without television, reading was her best form of entertainment – inevitably leading to a lifelong love of books.  Fiona Lowe lives in Western Victoria.  Visit her website to find out more.

Purchase a copy of Home Fires here // Read our review of Home Fires here

Words // Fiona Lowe

For me, motherhood is best summed up by the statement ‘children take you to places you never expected to go (and often without a compass!)’.

The first time I was in uncharted territory was trying to build a train set and make it into one continuous loop. It just about did my head in, as did a lot of Lego. But over the years, I got quite good at construction.

The day I found myself in a Mexican standoff arguing with a two-year-old about potty training was a defining moment. Sometimes if the kid’s not in danger, the best option is to step away. The moment I gave up, he started using the potty. It was a lesson I had to relearn over and over. Another was ‘some days just give up what you’re trying to do and go play with them’. Magic moments abounded when I did that…and then I’d forget and need to learn it all over again.

The day he wanted a pet rat was a red-letter day. My immediate gut reaction was, ‘no way, never ever.’ Turns out, ‘Fancy Rats’ make excellent pets. And the best bit? They only live for about 2 years.

When one son, at 12, got an iPod and filled it with classical music I had a ‘where did this kid come from?’ moment. Over the years, he’s introduced us to a completely new music scene.  Although I’ll never be an opera fan, I have a new appreciation for the Romantic composers.

Before kids, I was heard to say, ‘No kid of mine is doing calisthenics and I will never sew sequins.’ Number two son was dancing from when he could walk and I did sew sequins once or twice.

One of the best never-expected-to-go places was swimming with a whale shark. I wasn’t keen but I also didn’t see the point of spending eight hours on a boat while the boys did the swim. Being in the water metres away from this giant fish was one of the most amazing moments of my life.

So, take the journey with your kid(s) and embrace the shark-infested waters and the swamps, because you just never know when you’ll find yourself on top of the mountain sharing the vista. It’s worth it every time.

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                      Fiona Lowe
                      About the author

                      Fiona Lowe

                      Fiona Lowe has been a midwife, a sexual health counsellor and a family support worker; an ideal career for an author who writes novels about family and relationships. She spent her early years in Papua New Guinea where, without television, reading was the entertainment and it set up a lifelong love of books. Although she often re-wrote the endings of books in her head, it was the birth of her first child that prompted her to write her first novel. A recipient of the prestigious USA RITA® award and the Australian RuBY award, Fiona writes books that are set in small country towns. They feature real people facing difficult choices and explore how family ties and relationships impact on their decisions.When she's not writing stories, she's a distracted wife, mother of two ‘ginger' sons, a volunteer in her community, guardian of eighty rose bushes, a slave to a cat, and is often found collapsed on the couch with wine. You can find her at her website, fionalowe.com, and on FacebookTwitter and Goodreads.

                      Books by Fiona Lowe

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