Born under a pylon of the magnificent Sydney Harbour Bridge (or close enough), and into a childhood of running wild with her brother through the bush edging the northern bays of the most beautiful harbour in the world (and threatening to lay flat any of her brother's friends who attempted to block her crossing the proclaimed "Robin Hood" bridge essential to this wild running), Cheryl grew up to enjoy a second life in the UK and a third in France (almost a fourth in Italy; she's greedy). Forced to leave her beloved bush at a young age and partake of an education, Cheryl began a colourful school life that eventuated in back-row poker, missing school to join protest marches and numerous visits to the principal’s office (on the days she was at school). 

 

The only avenue for the wild, the tempestuous and the creative was the arts and/or art therapy: so she trained in graphic design and copywriting and later completed a degree in psychology and post-graduate study. Since then, by some quirk of fate (and a bit of knuckling down) Cheryl has written scripts, written and produced a 16mm short film, and has become a successful author with a major literary award nomination and international publication of her work. She also blogs and gives talks on writing and the psychology of creating through her business Wild Self. 

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What's the UK, France & Italy bit? 

The UK connection? That's due to an English mother which makes Cheryl a dual British-Australian citizen. She loves the UK for its history, the green rolling-ness of its countryside and its strong arts culture and ... Robin Hood lived there. Added to this mix is a French husband and lots of French family, making the land of the Gauls another home. A first book written about the hilltop villages of Abruzzo in Central Italy, along with great Italian friends and a love of the culture, makes Italy a fourth delight. Cheryl's key interests? Writing, politics, art, history, architecture, philosophy, photography, travel ... life!

 

Writing being a portable craft, Cheryl spends part of the year in Sydney, part of the year in Oxford, UK, and any remaining weeks in the countryside of Italy or France, working on her books or hunting for the quirky and the absurd, the weird and the inspiring, or the achingly beautiful to photograph 

and put to pen. 

 

© All photographs and artwork copyright Cheryl Hardacre