Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe - Take Your Pick

Hello to you all

While some of you may have visited my websites or blogs in the past I have decided to combine all my adult sites and my young adult site into one and will blog in categories so that I can regularly entertain and inform you, but make it easy for you to choose what you wish to look at or ignore as irrelevant.

This introductory post will include a bio about me and an outline of what you will find within the pages of this website.

Who is The Elective Creative?

I am Dionie McNair, a 60+ lady living in Adelaide, South Australia with my feline fur-baby. As a hopelessly eclectic person I choose to dabble in multiple creative activities.

I am a published author in several genres, an artist, a maker of imitation Faberge eggs, egg carver and creator of French Flowers with my specialty being Australian native flowers.

On the side, I read, walk, swim, garden, cake decorate, embroider, and last, but most importantly I am a mother and grandmother. I am very blessed to have three grown up children with wonderful partners and four adorable grandchildren with whom I have close relationships.

The Author

I love to tell stories and have always wanted to write but afraid I wouldn’t be any good I wrote in secret for several years. At 24 I joined Eyre Writers Inc, a creative writing group in the seaside town of Port Lincoln and finally became brave enough to share my work. My first attempt at a novel was a 100,000 words family saga novel.

My book was not published and as I spent more time with the writers group I discovered why. While the story seemed intriguing the actual writing was raw, wordy, and lacking in finesse. Wanting desperately to become a writer I set out to improve my writing by attending workshops and classes whenever they were offered. And improve I did.

After a workshop on 'How to write a Mills and Boon', I embarked on a new direction—writing the romance novel, but even with significant improvements in her style, publication remained elusive.

After studying children's literature at university I wrote the first draft of a Young Adult novel, but despite several redrafts, it remained unpublished.

For a while, life—raising three children, a marriage breakup, and studying—got in the way and writing was temporarily abandoned. I went onto work in marketing and fundraising for five years and then moved to Volunteer Management with a large not-for-profit. But the stories remained in my head and eventually one cried out loudly to be released onto paper. So I took up the pen again (or the computer keyboard, as it was this time).

After being made redundant from the job I loved in 2011 she became a carer for her frail, vision-impaired mother and turned to fulfilling my dream of becoming a writer. Two years later, my first book was accepted for publication. It was a heart stopping moment and the realization of a lifelong dream.

The only problem I had was which genre. I couldn’t choose so now I write 4 genres all featuring a different pen-name.

Writing as Cassandra Hawke I tell love stories—sometimes hot and spicy, sometimes sweet and romantic. Most are set in Australia, making the most of the wonderful landscapes, people and places.

Writing as Emily Tyler I can indulge in my first love—fantasy. Creating fantasy worlds and creatures can keep me intrigued for hours and I have to be careful not to let this development swamp the creation of the novel itself. As an artist I derive great pleasure in drawing and painting my fantasy creatures.

Writing as Dionie McNair I enjoy the challenge of writing for young people and tackle both fantasy and contemporary stories. (click on the link to be taken to my YA website).

Writing as D.L. McNair is still a work in progress. Under this pen name I intend to write thrillers and crime, with my main character, a Crime Scene Investigator. My debut novel in this genre will be set in Antarctica after my amazing visit there in 2017.

The Artist

My original focus as an artist was to create my own images of fantasy creatures from my imagination. Not unexpectedly I have gone on to dabble in drawing everyday images and painting in gouache, oil and water color. I have published a companion coloring in book for my series The Dykarin Prophecy. As my work and ability develop you will find my work on (Gallery 247)

Cover handpainted and photoshopped by me

The Egger

Egg decorating in Faberge style was something I wanted to do since childhood. I eventually got the opportunity to take lessons. Now I decorate eggs with my own designs making dioramas, multi-egg flowers, and painting images on the outside. I also carve eggs, though this takes a delicate hand and I often find I break more than I finish, but will keep trying.

Emu egg diarama filled with miniature sturt peas made of air dried clay.

French Flowers

Originally my mother’s hobby, I nagged her until she taught me. After completing the mandatory beginning flowers I have graduated to the more complicated blooms with a focus on Australian native flowers. By studying real flowers and dismembering them I have made patterns to allow me to re-create their beauty and uniqueness. My favorites are the Sturt Desert Pea, the Paper Daisy and the Hibbertia Scandens. I am currently working on a Waratah and a Kangaroo Paw.

Original design for Sturt Peas in silk.

Discover (or re-discover) your MOJO at 60 +

I decided to add this section to my blog because I am over 60, and have learnt many hard, but valuable lessons, on my life journey.

Watching others aging around me has filled me with angst about my future: some people seem to do it well while others do it badly, struggling with their situations and limitations. These unsettling scenarios have me determined to age to the best of my ability. Of course, many things I may face will be out of my control but it is my intention to hone to perfection the things I can control.

While I do not claim to be an expert in any of the subjects presented, nor am I a medical professional (always consult your trusted medical professional before making major changes to your lifestyle or health), I will talk about my personal experience and struggles.

Issues such as managing to live a good life despite depression, bullying, child abuse, domestic violence, heart attacks, weight loss, exercise, diabetes, better aging and working with the limitations age imposes on your body, setting goals and working toward them will be touched on. Each post will provide some links to further and more qualified information or help.

I have some amazing inspiration from several older friends and acquaintances in their late 80’s and 90’s that live full active independent lives, including one lady who died at 105. She was still driving at 100.

These amazing people make me believe we can do this aging thing better than a lot of us do.

Xmas 2013, 55. Sometimes the only way is up. 180 kg, diabetes, celulitus, and heart attack pending

post heart attack. 160 kg and struggling with weight reduction