I live in Perth and in Singapore. I love both these towns. There’s no question that Singapore has served as an inspirational impetus to igniting an old passion – creative writing. Like a lot of women‚ perhaps‚ it has taken a long time for me to get going! Virginia Woolf most famously wrote that in order for women to create “they need money and a room of their own” In 1929‚ when Woolf wrote this‚ she was trying to understand how women could produce great works of literature. What seems obvious now – that‚ unlike their male counterparts‚ women were routinely denied the time and the space to produce creative works – was a revolutionary assertion at that time. In the light of what women had to overcome– household duties‚ child rearing‚ financial and emotional dependence on husbands – it recast the accomplishments of women in a new and far more favourable light and forced people to realise the harsh truths about their society. Of course life for the creative single woman is very different now. But even in 2008 I am not sure that all that much has changed for women who are wives and mothers – and also want to write. Time and space are still hard to get hold of. Let’s not forget‚ though‚ that writing can start at any age. The great Catherine Cookson began writing at 44‚ Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin at 40. So though the years have accumulated far faster than I would wish‚ they have led me to this city at a time when I have both ‘money and a room of my own’ the selfless support of my husband‚ children who are in my heart but also in another country‚ and the time to follow the passion. My first book‚ The Red Thread‚ grew out of time spent guiding the Peranakan Museum in Singapore. Wandering among the artefacts of the Peranakan lifestyle and gazing at the old wedding photographs‚ a germ of an idea began to grow about the life of a young man‚ almost fresh off the boat from China‚ marrying into such an alien world. Tending this little germ was a wonderful journey of discovery‚ about the lives of all the different peoples of the past‚ about Singapore’s rich history and about what I could do. So if you are a reader‚ happy reading. If you are a writer‚ happy writing. If you want to write to me about women‚ writing‚ books‚ passions‚ space and time‚ please do. Dawn Farnham

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