Serena Kirby, ARR.News

To say that a bushfire can turn a normally rational person into someone on the verge of becoming unhinged is an understatement. Experts say that panic is a normal response and that you never know how you’ll react until a bushfire threatens your community, your property, your loved ones or your life. But the experts also say that being prepared can greatly reduce panic so here are some valuable tips and points of advice.

Mark McHenry is a physicist, an innovator and an explorer of clean energy solutions. He’s worked on research projects in America, the Philippines and Mozambique and is an Associate Professor at Murdoch Uni’s Harry Butler Institute ... Mark is currently putting his physics knowledge into numerous food and energy projects and one of his studies involves truffles.

Spring is in the air and for many of us that’s a good enough reason to feel happy. But what really is Happiness and how do we get more of one of life’s most desirable emotions? Regional psychologist and Happiness Coach, Mahsa Anderson, gives us the lowdown on this uplifting feeling.

“I was really interested in wood fired kilns so I needed space and wood - lots of it.  WA’s Great Southern region was the ideal place and I was drawn to the area’s beautiful landscape. I was, and still am,  inspired by it and I believe the energy of the landscape permeates through me and comes out in what I create”: Jonathon Hook.

Holly Throsby was a musician, singer, songwriter way before she was an author. She’d released five solo albums, toured extensively and been nominated for several ARIA awards before she shifted from writing song lyrics to writing story sentences ... Australian Rural and Regional News contributor, Serena Kirby spoke to Holly recently about her latest novel, Clarke, the writing process and asked about advice for would-be novelists.

First-time author, Michael Thomas, never set out to write historical fiction; he was planning to write his memoirs. Michael was born and raised in WA’s northern town of Carnarvon. It’s a tough, remote part of the world and Michael grew up moving through regional WA as the son of an outback shearer ... Michael and Serena Kirby spoke about character voice, language, the adding of female story elements to balance the book and the importance of telling some of lesser known parts of Western Australia’s history.

The Map of William is the first book by West Australian writer Michael Thomas and it’s certainly a darn good read. It is also not the book that Michael set out to write but I’m sure glad he did ... Set in 1909, The Map of William is a gripping and fast-paced tale of 15-year-old William Watson, his father and a band of colourful companions as they undertake an expedition through WA’s north-west to map water sources.

“Freeriding is an extreme, high speed, aggressive sport. It's all about big mountains and steep slopes. To me, it's far more interesting than snowboarding down the same run over and over again. Where’s the challenge in that? In freeriding you go to places others don’t go."

Renee Pettitt-Schipp is the author of the award winning collection of poetry The Sky Runs Right Through Us and her latest offering, The Archipelago Of Us, is her first work of prose ... Renee recently chatted with Australian Rural and Regional News contributor Serena Kirby about her early interest in writing, her love of poetry and what she has in the pipeline as future works.

This new book is a travel narrative that recounts Renee’s 2016 return trip to the Indian Ocean Territories ... and it’s hard not to fall in love with the paradise she describes in such exquisite detail ... It’s fair to say that when this book starts it’s easy to be lulled into a sense of calm, wonder and delight but as the chapters progress there’s a shift from the beauty that surrounds Renee to the real reason for her trip and the story she needed to tell.