A. Very much so.

It’s a funny process – the idea drops into my awareness and doesn’t let go until I write it down. And then the next idea drops in and the process repeats. It’s like the ideas use my hands to be solidified into a book.

I also gain deeper insight as I am writing. Having said that, with both of my books I felt that I was really familiar with the content and processes I was describing – but on both occasions, in the following year, life gave me ample opportunity to practice what I had written. I don’t know how many times I told myself – I literally wrote the book on that! Both changed my life and my way of understanding it in profound ways!

A. It does feel wonderful! It takes so much creativity and work to publish a book, it’s nice to know that it has brightened someone else’s life. It makes it all worth it!

A.  Each book has its own stand-alone theme. “Passion to Thrive” is a women’s empowerment book, and “Your Body is the Portal to your Soul” is an everyone’s empowerment book.

What makes my heart sing is seeing people thrive – and that is the overarching theme of both of my books.

A. I go through phases.
When a book has me by the scruff of the neck, I spend several hours a week on it.

For me, writing is a pleasure and an outlet, a way of discovering how Life unfolds, so I don’t see the point in forcing it or scheduling it. There are so many other parts of my life that require me to be disciplined, I don’t need writing to be in that category!

A. I write a newsletter that contains new content, which can be new writing, or a link to a podcast that I have been a guest on, as well as events that I offer. You can subscribe on my website.

I also have a very prolific youtube channel @irisangellys,  that has a lot of content to support the books as well as other unrelated material.

I have a facebook and an instragram channel, but I am doing a bit of a socials detox, so I am not super active on these channels.

I love doing author events, too.

A. I did rewrite my first book, and it became a much better book for it, with the benefit of a few more laps around the sun and some hindsight. Having said that, writing new thoughts is much more interesting, so I am not intending to revisit the experience! I am happy with my books as they are. When I go back to reading them, I surprise myself by thinking “Wow, that’s really good!”. I did the reading of “your body is the portal to your soul” for the audio book, and I found a few things I wish I had noticed when I edited, but on a whole, it was a very affirming experience.

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A. I am married, 20 years this year. We don’t have children.

We had a beautiful dog (he is on the cover of “Passion to Thrive”), but he passed away about 18 months ago, which is such a horrible experience as anyone who has gone through that process knows.

A month later, the cat moved in. She was supposed to be minded by us for 3 weeks, but she decided she wanted to stay. She is such a beautiful and sweet little being, and I am very grateful for her. She keeps me company while I write.

Isn’t it amazing that these animals choose us for their guardians? I definitely don’t feel like I own my pets.

A. I am a chiropractor (30 years) and applied kinesiologist (22 years), which is my “day job”. I love being in practice.

I also run workshops, which I would have started in about 2010. I first became an author in 2017; I launched my first book the day after I became an Australian citizen!

A. My hobbies are all creative – painting, singing, playing guitar. Dancing.

Once I discovered that cooking could be creative, I started enjoying that too. Every so often I get bored with my own cooking and try a new type of cuisine or recipe or spice,  and then I am off on that tangent for a while till it becomes a staple and I get bored again.

I am lucky to live near the ocean, so I can get the beach often.

I love my yoga too.�

All of these support my life and wellbeing, as does the writing.

A. I have illustrated stories I created as a child, so clearly writing has always been a part of my life.

With regards to writing, I just start writing – and then it becomes clear that there’s a book in it….

A. I read voraciously!

I remember in particular a story about a luminous fish that lit up the entire harbour community and made everyone so happy. It was stolen, and everyone got sad. So a diver went and found it and restored it to the harbour and happiness to everyone. I can’t remember the name of the book though it obviously left a lasting impression.

A. I have a home office, but usually I end up at the dinner table!

A. Writing was the easy part.

I have a brilliant editor; she makes that part super easy and enjoyable.

All the other aspects of publishing were the tricky ones!

A. My husband recently finished “your body is the portal to your soul” and said how good it was with something like awe in his voice. He hasn’t read “Passion to Thrive” yet.

My mother is my unconditional number 1 fan.

A. Originality.

What I have to say I can only say how I say it.

A. The easiest way is to sell to people who already know me, because they already know what I offer is really valuable.

Getting to people I don’t know is a bit of a mystery to me!

A. My editor.

A. About a year.

A. My first book, “Passion to Thrive”, is about different female archetypes. Many of us were brought up to think that we had a particular role to play in life, and that life should unfold in a certain way, and then go ahead and follow those scripts.

If they don’t align with what lights up your soul, this is the recipe for unhappiness at best.

“Passion to Thrive” presents different ways for women to be in the world – to try on new roles, to see what it lights them up, to play with, to make different choices and so find a life that is truly aligned and authentic to their souls.

There are also interviews with 8 different women in the book, all of whom have overcome incredible difficulties in life and gone on to thrive and be happy. Many have given me the feedback that these stories were super inspirational.

My second book “Your Body is the Portal to your Soul. Your Body has the answers, make it your best friend for life!” is largely based on my own experience and on what I have observed in my professional life.

Our bodies know what they need to thrive. They try to tell us with different sensations that most of us have been taught to ignore or suppress, making our relationships with our bodies one of indifference (at best) or of hate (at worst). Our bodies are the ONLY beings that we are guaranteed to spend the rest of our lives with – and most of us have an abusive relationship with this very being! This book is about how to understand what our bodies are trying to tell us, and then act to give them what they need, so that they can thrive.
And then it is possible for us to thrive in our bodies and our lives.

Our bodies are such miraculous, intricate, incredible beings. They deserve our love, care, respect and nurture. And when we do, they become a much nicer place to live! And then we can truly enjoy the rest of what our lives offer us.

A. The one thing that has helped me throughout my life is practicing gratitude.

Gratitude is magical – the more grateful you are, the more you will have to be grateful for.

With enough practice, you can even be grateful for the tough times while you are going through them, because you know that when you come out on the other side, you will have grown and evolved in ways you couldn’t predict and enjoy your life so much more.

Gratitude is also an energy that lights up the body. If you can find just one thing in your body that you are grateful for, and allow yourself to focus on that for 5 minutes, notice how much better your body feels afterwards!