On Our Own Tracks

Hi Gretta

I just came back from Katoomba where I met you, very briefly, for the first time outside the library. I thought you were much younger than you are (I was thinking late teens, not university student) but it didn’t take very long, exchanging comments via your iPad, before I realised how smart you were. Something about you really struck me – perhaps it was because you’re like one of my characters come to life. (I once wrote a book called ‘Evil Genius’ where one of the main characters, Sonya, is a maths genius with cerebral palsy who communicates through various technological devices and, I swear to God, I always imagined her looking like you.) Or perhaps it was because you struck me as a nice, interesting, impressive and very polite person. (You thanked me for asking if you were alright – do you remember?)

Anyway, I was so struck that I came back home and googled you and found out you really WERE a smart, impressive person – that my first impressions about you were absolutely correct. I also found out that you were studying journalism at university. And since I’m a writer myself, and was a corporate journalist at one point, I decided I’d write to you and make contact, just in case there’s ever any help I can offer with your work.

Even if you’re not interested, I just wanted you to know that you made quite a powerful impression.

I hope it’s okay writing like this to your website, but I’m not on Facebook!