Growing up in Mortlake in the 1980s Andrea Rowe was an Olivia Newton John "wannabe" inspired by the Xanadu film's roller skating scene.
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Now based on the Mornington Peninsula, she is a children's author inspiring young skaters with her latest book, Sunday Skating, which was released in June.
Rowe went to school in Warrnambool, and is related to the "half of the dairy and spud farmers of Koroit, Killarney, the Moyne and Port Fairy" areas.
She will return to the south-west for a book tour and school visits across Warrnambool, Mortlake, Koroit and Port Fairy between September 5 and 10.
"I moved away during my primary school years but I've never thought of myself as moving away because I come back constantly and the region is really in my DNA," the author said.
Rowe said as a child she skated up streets and driveways with her friends.
"I was an Olivia Newton John Xanadu wannabe growing up, I thought I'd fly," she said.
"I'm 53 now and I'm more a walk-stepper skater.
"I'm a skate mum - my children are skateboarders."
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Rowe runs junior workshops showing children in regional areas how to write, also teaching them to see their hometown through a writer's eyes.
"I always say you're living in story backgrounds," she said.
When she's not writing children's books, Rowe is a copywriter.
She started her media career in regional radio journalism with Warrnambool-based station 3YB before moving onto copywriting.
Her work has taken her to France and Canada where her work was translated into French, and the United Kingdom and United States of America.
Rowe's 2021 release, Jetty Jumping, won the Children's Book Council of Australia's 2022 Book of the Year: Early Childhood category.
She said Jetty Jumping tapped into her south-west upbringing.
"Roaming the wharf, hanging out at the farm - so a lot of the books I write tap into that sense of freedom and children having their own agency with activities in the outdoors," Rowe said.
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Lillian Altman
Lillian is an experienced journalist who joined Warrnambool Standard in late 2021. She has a particular interest in writing stories on the arts and culture, health, education, breaking news, police stories, as well as human interest and profiles.
Lillian is an experienced journalist who joined Warrnambool Standard in late 2021. She has a particular interest in writing stories on the arts and culture, health, education, breaking news, police stories, as well as human interest and profiles.
