How to write: be inspired by nature

Mother Nature can weave magic into your story if you let her.

In my role in media liaison at The University of Western Australia I have the wonderful task of writing about some of the fabulous research that goes on there.

I was lucky enough to meet some amazing scientists who are working hard to save the honeybee, which accounts of one-third of what we humans eat. And some of their passion for bees rubbed off on me.

I also met other scientists who are researching the love-potion created by a Western Australian endangered orchid, the zaspilothynnus, to attract its pollinator, a tiny wasp. The orchid has evolved to look and smell exactly like a female wasp!



The pretty orchid that is a love-cheat

Bees and orchids wove their way into my latest novel, Stella's Sea. The main character, Stella, was a beekeeper until her daughter's tragic death caused her to leave the Western Australian country town where she was living. Her love of nature is the only thing that keeps her alive in the awful months that follow the death of her only child. I began writing Stella before meeting the bee and wasp scientists and was pretty bored with her. I even thought of ditching her altogether. But a wise and dear friend suggested I make Stella a beekeeper and suddenly the magic started.