AUTHOR BIO
Jenn J McLeod was fifty when she started ticking things off her bucket list and so far she’s made that sea change, written that bestseller, and downsized her life to a 25-foot caravan named Myrtle the Turtle to do the big lap of Oz very slowly. A nomadic novelist since 2014, Jenn has penned six small-town stories, including the 2013 top-selling House for all Seasons. Her novels are life-affirming tales of friendship and family with a backdrop of country life.
Jenn wastes precious writing time posting travel pics and having fun on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, so do join her there: @jennjmcleod_nomadicnovelist
In addition to her novels, Jenn is published in short form and in industry magazines (including the Australian Literature Review’s ‘Novel Writing in Australia’ education series). She also maintains her own blog and loves connecting with readers online
Small town stories from the country to the coast.
(read on for more about Jenn, or find author and book images)
The not-so-brief bio
The way I started…
I was supposed to be a multi-disciplined musician (like my Dad), study at The Conservatorium (like my Aunt), be a famous opera singer (like my cousin Michael Lewis, Opera Aust– whose sons, Ben and Alexander Lewis, are now making their own musical mark internationally).
I chose to write — the computer my keyboard of choice — leaving the old upright piano to languish in the living room and the daddy long legs to weave their web around the piano’s soundboard and strings while I weave my stories.
The way I see my stories…
My stories are about small towns with big hearts and all the quirky, lovable Aussie characters readers enjoy. They are contemporary stories that embrace life, love and second chances as characters reconnect with (or sometimes discover) the country roots that run deep.
The way I see my world…
If we’re lucky, life will sometimes throw a second chance our way. Some people see it. Some people don’t.
Some shy away from it. Others, like me, grab hold with both hands and make every opportunity count. I’m no stranger to embracing a second chance and trying something different.
A city girl by birth, I discovered an affinity with the country in my early twenties while working my way across the heart of Australia, living out of a converted Ford F100 van. For three years I worked anywhere I could, doing anything I could; an approach that kick-started a diverse range of work experiences once back in Sydney, including a stint in a five-star hotel providing security for international celebrities and dignitaries (and collecting stories I can never tell!)
In 2004 I gave up my corporate communications/PR role, swapping Sydney’s corporate chaos for a little café culture and buying a small eatery, in a small coastal town, but with big plans to focus
on my writing and a new life in the country.
I still can’t play the piano like my dad (regrettably) but I’ve come a long way since my first writing attempt at age nine.
The Naughty Painter was about a pup whose penchant for paint tins gets him in a whole lot of poop! Later, as a romantic sixteen-year-old, I roughed out a storyline for ‘the greatest novel of all time’. But while the desire to tell a story was strong, I lacked the necessary discipline and passion. Luckily I discovered a writing organisation that changed my world.
These days, I still love dogs and my passion for storytelling no longer evades me. I spend my days, now a nomadic novelist in my fifth-wheeler caravan (I call Myrtle The Turtle), touring the country — my days spent writing heart-warming tales of the Australian country that weave intricate tapestries of friendship, family and love, contemporary human issues and small-town life. Stories and characters that will make you laugh, maybe even cry, but definitely embrace a second chance.