“Whenever I would read a book that I really loved, I'd be like, 'Oh, I wanna do that'," Katrina Roe remembers thinking as a young girl growing up on a farm outside Carrathool, population 99.

At just five years old, she announced that she wanted to be a writer, like her favourite Enid Blyton. It was the sort of declaration adults often smile at politely before moving on. But her mum, Rosemary, always encouraged her creativity, such as sending in her drawings to the school newsletter.

But for Roe, the signposts seem almost impossible to ignore.

One of the earliest pointers came in 1989 when, as a Year 9 student, she won the Henry Lawson Prize. More than three decades later, she still describes the experience of going away on that prize camp with fellow writers to Gulgong as "a game-changer". It was an early affirmation that her love of words and storytelling was not simply a hobby but a genuine talent. "One of my big turning points," says the author.

From that point onward, nearly everything in her life seemed to point in the same direction. She's an author, podcaster, and broadcaster (well-known to Orange listeners from her time at WIN and the ABC Central West here many years ago).

When reflecting on her varied career, Roe identifies the common thread that runs through all of it. “The common ground is storytelling,” she says of the various media she works in.

That desire to create has expressed itself in different ways throughout her life. During the COVID years, when much of the world was locked down and many creative outlets were restricted, Roe found another avenue for self-expression through music, performing in a covers band and embracing a different kind of storytelling. Creativity often emerges to fill a gap, she finds: When one area of life feels diminished or constrained, another form of expression rises to meet it.

But, of course, creative ambition does not always sit comfortably alongside practical concerns.

As a young woman contemplating her future, Roe worried about the realities of trying to make a living through the arts. “But I was not someone who was ever going to be able to live paycheck to paycheck."

When she discovered radio, everything changed. “I wanted that stability, and so radio was actually my way of like, 'Here's a job I can do that's creative, uses my brain, but I can still get a paycheck every week'."

What followed was a highly successful radio career that ultimately took her to Sydney, one of Australia’s most competitive media markets. She built a reputation as a broadcaster and communicator. It solved the conundrum of making art vs making a living. Especially once she was married to a fellow journalist, and they had started a family.

Yet throughout those years another ambition remained quietly in the background: Writing fiction.

So she turned her hand to that, with a twist. She wanted her stories to reflect inclusivity, inspired by her brother Charlie who has cerebral palsy. Her children's books reflect modern themes such as allergies, asthma, phobias, and disabilities. Her books — with titles such as 'Marty's Nut-Free Party', 'Emily Eases Her Wheezes', and 'Gemma Gets the Jitters' — resonated deeply. And won a string of awards from the industry.

Even though they decamped to the Riverina, a busy work and family life got in the way. Apart from a marketing job with a regional library, also typical "soccer mum" stuff. So it's been nearly eight years since her last book.

"I'm actually more creative when that financial pressure is off, so if I'm working in another job that pays the bills, then I can just do what I wanna do for the love of it."

That freedom eventually became one of the driving forces behind her latest children’s book, 'The Stolen Bairn', involving fairies, folklore, and magic. “I wrote the book I wanted to write.”

It followed the questions and themes that genuinely interested her. Yet beneath the fantasy elements lies something far more universal. At its heart, 'The Stolen Bairn' explores questions of identity, belonging, and sisterly love: "Who am I?"

The story, aimed at 10-14-year-olds, is deeply influenced by Roe’s Scottish heritage, her family history, and travels to Edinburgh. Throughout the book there is a palpable sense of ancestry and connection, an awareness of those who came before us and the ways their lives continue to shape our own.

If readers imagine such stories emerge from idyllic writing retreats overlooking misty Scottish glens, Roe quickly dispels the illusion.

Her creative process is remarkably practical.

Ideas are captured in iPhone notes while waiting for kids to finish violin lessons or soccer training. Snatches of dialogue, plot twists, and observations are recorded whenever inspiration strikes.

Finding uninterrupted writing time is always difficult. Having a dedicated workspace where they currently live "is a game changer... the ability to shut the door." Usually early mornings before the others rise is her prime creative time.

We talk about what drives her as a writer, and she reflects on the question of why writers write at all.

“I think maybe life would just be easier if I stopped and I just lived a normal life without writing in it, just enjoy going to the pub on the weekends — and not try to write books. I think that it must just be something deep within that you want to share stories. And I do love the process of writing.” And reading.

“I love a good book so much, you know?” She’ll leap at anything by Liane Moriarty, and also enjoys historical fiction and crime fiction. “And I think it's whatever you enjoy and appreciate, is the thing that you're going to really aspire to. So I think there is a part of me that if I didn't write, I would just regret it.”

That observation perhaps explains why the five-year-old girl who dreamed of becoming a writer never abandoned the idea.

See Katrina MacDonald Roe at the Orange City Library, 2:00pm, Saturday, June 27. Tickets are free, but bookings are essential. Insta: @katrinaroeauthor