Born: 16th August, 1968 Melbourne, Australia
Resides: Yinnar South, Vic
Occupations: home dad, truck driver, delivery person, landscape gardened, professional musician, masseur, waiter, counsellor, program developer, teacher, webmaster, group facilitator, consultant, youth worker and author (finally!).
Family: Robyn (wife ... nearly 40 ... yay!), Jennie (13), Belle (11), Bryce (4)

Scot writes:

I'm lying on my bed with a chewed Bic trying to write a little story about me. It's hard work. I want to say 'I'm a nice bloke ... read my books' but it's difficult to say that and not sound like a total wanker.

When I die - in a hundred years or so - I want to be burnt out in the bush on a big pile of logs while my loved ones have a few drinks and laughs, and warm their toes by the fire. Maybe even cook marshmallows. I believe my body is a shell for my soul and that we live on after our body dies. I believe in reincarnation, but I wouldn't ask you to. That would make me a total wanker.

I believe in soul mates and love at first sight. When I was little my dad told me that when I met the person I was going to marry, I'd know. I fell in love with Robyn the Wonder Witch when I first met her. There was something behind her eyes, a knowing. A remembrance. We're still married. We have three kids and we're planning to have our tenth wedding anniversary at the Taj Mahal. Dad was right.

I had a few false starts though, relationships that fit in the category of 'interesting learning experiences'. I was on my emotional L-plates so that was okay. I had to learn how to fight fair. I had to learn how to stand toe to toe and be angry with the one that I loved. I learned to be angry and get over it.

I love listening to people's stories, especially the old and the young. Young people dream big. Old people have lived.

I wore a dress, fishnet stockings and lipstick to my mate's 70th birthday last year. I liked it. I'm not going to make it a career or anything. Probably just a hobby.

I love the bush, the desert, and the sea; big fat rivers, lyrebirds and hard rain. I love swimming in the nuddy and looking at the night sky from my swag. It makes me feel anything is possible.

I've surrounded myself with beautiful people who find it easy to laugh and cry and actively go about sucking the marrow from life. I thrive on campfire conversations and veggie gardens. I love building things. I built a huge dunny.

My most recent reads are John Marsden, Tim Winton, Colleen McCullough, Edward de Bono, Sally Dingo, Herman Hesse and Ralph Waldo Emerson.

I play Didjeridu. I work in schools, talking about writing and life and stuff. If I had a mission statement it would be something like ... 'To encourage people to take good risks and write their hearts out'.

Is that too wanky?

www.scotgardner.com