Robin Bowles
Robin Bowles has worked as a nurse, newspaper columnist, executive producer of a morning radio talk show, and has been a director of a marketing and public relations consultancy. She was nominated for Businesswoman of the Year in 1986 and won the prestigious public relations' National Golden Target Award for the Most Outstanding Project of the Year in 1989. She is also a member of the Australian Institute of Management, the Public Relations Institute of Australia, the Melbourne Press Club, Women Chiefs of Enterprises International, and she currently holds a Private Investigator's licence.
Since the publication of her best-selling book, Blind Justice, Robin Bowles has continued to make a name for herself as Australia's number one true-crime writer with her subsequent titles Justice Denied, No Justice, Taken in Contempt and now with her latest book, What Happened To Freeda Hayes?
However, while Robin has received critical acclaim for her extensive research into the underbelly of some of Australia's darker mysteries, she has also been threatened, had her dog poisoned, her car vandalised several times, a private detective follow her on more than one occasion and even had to relocate with her husband to a more secure address.
Despite all this, Robin is adamant that she will keep writing books about social justice issues; examining institutions (the police force, the justice system, the international rights of children) that appear to have fallen down on the job they were supposedly set up to do - looking after us.
"My drawers are brimming with pleas from people asking me to 'write their story next' . . . Almost everyone you meet has a story to tell about some event in their lives which genuinely 'wasn't fair'."
Robin sees her controversial approach to investigative research as being that of a concerned member of the community who holds a mirror up to these institutions and asks, 'Why has this gone wrong?'
"As I have no formal training, I don't feel bound by legal or journalistic conventions, which upsets both lawyers and journalists at times. (Not to mention the police!)."
As a full-time writer, Robin receives a huge amount of satisfaction and mental stimulation from finding, meeting and sharing the experiences of people whose stories contribute to the success of her books.
