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Marg Annis was born in Drumnadrochit near Loch Ness, Scotland. Her family moved to Glasgow, then London. At the age of 22 she decided to emigrate to Australia as a A$20 tourist. She didn't intend to remain here but circumstances changed and he ended up as an Australian.

Her eldest child became seriously ill and Marg spent 10 years rehabilitating her. She has worked as manager of a veterinary lab and then as the first ever female field officer for CSIRO Wildlife Research Division in Canberra. Life in Canberra (Australia's Capital) was better, as there were more suitable conditions here for her daughter's treatment and schooling.

Marg has earned a Bachelor of Science degree (BSc) in health education and worked in Broken Hill as the RFDS (Royal Flying Doctor Service) Education Officer. She then did a Master of Education (M.Ed) at Canberra University and also a G.Dip. in Professional Writing while finishing her thesis. She got hooked on writing at that point.

She has won 2nd prize in an international writing competition, followed by twelve other first & second prizes. She has worked as journalist/editor for a rural corporation and edited/published The Birth to Bacon Series, educational kits for the rural industry. They are international best sellers (on a small scale). She informs me that the video Mating & Reproduction is a joy to behold.

Marg has had articles published in The Canberra Times, The Land, Social Alternatives, as well as some fiction published in Redoubt literary magazine.

She recently felt inspired by WVU's August Fiction '98 to revamp an old story Old Fashioned Courtesy.  Courtesy is published in Not By Chance, an anthology compiled of 10 Australian works.

She is a member of Canberra Multicultural Writers Group. A group of 22 people from differing backgrounds, they have received a grant from Healthpact to publish a collection of works. The project is currently with the editor and will be published in January '99. Another story, Alice in The Kadimakarais, which was also written while completing Fiction '98, is currently with a Canberra publisher.She has good reason to expect it will be published.

Marg tells me that Fiction '98 was "One of the most thorough courses I've done."She is now writing a fast track book The Compleat Louse in Word Slingers group.

You came from Scotland, what was your first impression of Australia?
Endless brown dirt and grey green gum trees and so bitterly cold. It was mid-winter when I arrived.

You have full life. What is the one thing you would change if you could?
I wish people would understand that writing is hard work and can be isolating.

How does your life affect your writing?
I grew up in a crisis-ridden family so dealing with crises, which can be frequent in my life, doesn't affect my writing. I rewrite it all into a story.

What is it like to have an article/story accepted?
I've actually had a lot published as I also wrote the National Newsletter for the rural industry with a subscription of 6000. I'm used to being published.It was more of a surprise when my boss burst into my office waving The Canberra Times summer read section shouting, "This is a bit torrid."

Do you create your characters based on the attitudes,physical characteristics, and emotions of real people?
I observe a lot and people often talk to me in quite unexpected situations. I don't know why. A bearded lady accosted me in Woolie's veggie section and we had a D & M conversation about hard carrots and what to do with them. This has to be turned into a story. It's an amalgam of all those things you suggest churning around in my brain and then a story suddenly pops out.

What form of writing do you do? And why?
I write short stories, which generally end up as comic. Life generally strikes me as full of oddities compared to the way I and others think it should be (i.e. the carrots).

Could you tell us a bit about your current project The Compleat Louse?
[While] in Word Slingers group, I got lice presumably from my children and the hysterical reaction by some people to this prompted a short story.

What made you want to start this project?
I'm a research biologist by training and had worked on tracking the life cycle of the British Rabbit Flea as it behaved here prior to introduction of the Spanish flea. The British flea thrives in cool damp conditions. The Spanish flea likes it hot. I am interested in insects so I researched everything I could about lice which became fascinating as they've had such an effect on history, sociology and so on. I'm up to Chapter 6 - Pubic Pets.

How long do you spend writing?
Around 3 hours a day now I'm writing a book.

How much research do you do prior to starting a project?
I enjoy research so I do it as I write and as needed.

What advice would you give to an aspiring writer?
Write and write until something appears that makes some kind of sense to you. Join a group or form one to get feedback. Don't talk about it too much. Just do it and prune later.

What do you think is the most enjoyable thing about writing?
I can please myself and it happens to appeal to others; that's great and if it pays that's the jam.