Carol Eckersley
Australian Carol Eckersley is a former journalist who had a passion for writing at a very young age. Her father produced her first story book, "The Lost Colt", when she was only 8 years old to encourage her towards being an author. While Carol is currently working on adult fiction, "My Mom's A Princess" is her first children's ebook.
Carol's books are published by Sentimental Bloke Holdings International, in dedication to her father Brian Coppin who was an avid reader and loved the Australian outback, particularly the Kimberley region of Western Australia and its vibrant town of Broome.
Carol has had an adventurous life, including growing up alongside Aussie wildlife and traversing the Atlantic ocean twice in a 43 foot sailing boat. She became known among American expats in Paris for reading English news for a local Parisian radio station. But when it came time to settle down and have children, Carol decided to keep away from cities and returned to the beautiful, but quiet, seaside village of Yallingup, Western Australia where she raised her two sons, Luke and Tarkin.
Currently Carol lives in Washington state where her creative inspiration for writing thrives. She works seasonally as a portrait photographer and runs environmental Facebook sites, including Choose Animals, Choose Oceans, Choose Skies and Choose Forests aimed at inspiring others towards sustainable living and protecting the planet for future generations.
"I think doing two trans Atlantics just brought home how small the planet really is. As a child you are led to believe the Earth is enormous. But in the Atlantic where I noticed sheets of plastic floating on the surface of waves, I began to realise that was not quite true. It feels good to now try to do something towards protecting the planet and all it's amazing creatures."
While Carol has lived in several places around the world, including a stint in Mykonos, Greece, Carol credits her Italian heritage with helping her writing and photographic creativity.
"My great great Grandfather hailed from Venice and I feel right at home among the Italian people. I think I inherited that strong Italian visual sense and certainly my sailing skills come from the Italian side as my grandfather was a sailor on those big old wooden ships of times long past. The first time I went to Italy, in my early twenties, there was an almost overwhelming feeling of being home. It's also evident in my great love of fashion and food. So it's strong in the genes and only tamed by an Australian bohemian need to relax occasionally and walk around in bare feet, ideally on a white sandy beach."
In her spare time Carol likes to ski and hike in Colorado and the stunning Pacific Northwest of the USA.
"My latest passion is visiting waterfalls after the snow melt and with more than two thousand waterfalls in Washington I am never going to get bored visiting them, particularly with my camera in hand!"
