Profile
I was born and raised in the very heart of the Barossa Valley. This well-known winegrowing region of Australia was settled by Lutheran families from Silesia and Saxony in Germany two years after the foundation of South Australia in 1836.
My elementary education I received at the Vine Vale Primary School before, at the age of thirteen, I moved to Immanuel College at Camden Park, Adelaide. After five years of study there I received a Commonwealth Scholarship for advanced studies at the Adelaide University where I graduated with degrees in History and Education.
For two years I taught History and German at the Enfield High School in Adelaide, as well as conducting courses in Conversational German at three Adult Education centres. As a result of these activities I won a Goethe Institute Scholarship for language and culture studies in Munich, West Germany.
In February 1971 I left for Europe on board the Italian passenger liner Marconi and arrived in Naples four weeks later. Soon after completing my studies in Munich I travelled widely around Europe before I was accepted by the Education Department of Lower Saxony as a teacher of English and German at the Humboldt Grammar School in Hanover. In addition, I taught English at the Volkswagen Plant as well as at the Town Hall.
Meanwhile, a stray moonbeam was squeezing its way through the reeds searching for somewhere to spend the night. However, unable to find a suitable spot, it finally came to rest on her forehead.
- Selene
In the summer of 1974 I moved to Hamburg to pursue postgraduate studies in History, as well as accepting a teaching post at the St Georg Grammar School. At the same time I began a three-year course in Conversational French at the Institut Français which led to frequent visits to France to study the culture and language.
Since settling down in North Germany much of my time has been devoted to lecturing and research. This, in turn, has involved a good deal of travel. Apart from several trips around the world, I have mainly been devoting my attention to Scandinavia and the Alpine countries.
Inevitably, my work and thought have largely been influenced by German culture. Indeed, it was from Saxony that my great-grandfather emigrated to South Australia in 1850 so it is by no means surprising that I have returned to my roots. Occasional visits to the tiny village of Eulowitz in Upper Lusatia have served to strengthen family ties.
Writing in one form or another has been my passion since early childhood. However, it was not until I arrived in Europe that I devoted myself to this pursuit in a serious way. Since the early seventies I have been keeping a Journal, but it was not until the end of the last century that I began writing novels. The first one, Bengt’s Last Summer, was originally published in London and has since seen the light of day here in continental Europe. From then one thing led to another.
Landscapes have always fascinated me and it is from them that I largely draw my inspiration. Whether in Northern Europe or beyond the Alps, the rich diversity is something that caught my eye the moment I set foot on European soil. This, together with people and their cultures, continues to provide the background to my books.
The very nature of writing is the theme of my latest novel Alpina which is set in the Alpine resort of Badgastein, Austria. Accompanying a writer through the cycle of the seasons, it reveals the extent to which people and landscapes influence the creative process.
The themes of my books have been drawn from the problems confronting European societies at the beginning of the twenty-first century. German reunification, of course, has been one of them, together with the effects of modern technology.
As Europe draws closer together, the various shades and nuances are reflected in my novels, short stories and journals. Indeed, these are exciting times for writers and dreamers.
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