About the Author 

Extract from the foreword of ‘The Gateway’, an anthology by the author, published in 2003. 

“Asha Martin has great abilities although she is hampered by a vision impairment that was apparent shortly after her birth.

At 16 Asha attained a Professional Children’s Writing Diploma through the Australian College Of Journalism in March 2000. She also won the Shugg Memorial award in the same year through TASCARE; an award for young people with disabilities who enhance or influence others with their attitude and initiative.” 

Asha has been volunteering as a Teacher Aid and writing her next novel from her comfortable home in Richmond, Tasmania.

1 - Read a sample. 

The sun shone brightly through the front door, highlighting the boxes stacked three high. Julie rang Alley before the last of the boxes had been loaded onto the truck.

“I will be at the house in an hour. Can you come and help me with the boxes?”

“Yeah, sure I can, I’ll see you there.”

“Oh and just wait until you see my room, the view is fantastic! I even have a window seat so I can sit and watch the sun go down.”

“Wow, that sounds so cool. I wish my room faced west.”

“It will be wonderful! We can see each other after school!”

“Yeah, I had better let you go, you know? So you can finish packing and whatever.”

“Thanks, Alley, and as you would say it,” Julie changed her voice to mimic her friend’s, “I owe ya one!”

Alley laughed, thinking ‘she can’t beat me at my own game’ and in her best plum-in-her-mouth, posh tone she replied, “No, thank you very much but lunch would be just fine.”

They hung up amidst fits of laughter. 

Julie went back to her room to see if she had left anything behind. She gazed around the room, looking so bare and empty now, and sighed deeply as she remembered all the good times she had had in that room, playing cubby house with Alley or dress-ups. ‘Would it be the same in the new house?’  

They were moving into the old house just down the street from Julie’s best friend, Alley, who had told her that the house used to belong to a couple of ladies now living in a retirement home. The girls were ecstatic that they would be within walking distance of each other. The excitement had been building for weeks.

Still, Julie was full of mixed emotions as she walked out the hall and down to the truck. She smiled as she remembered the sleeping bag monster game, running up and down that hall, trying to catch each other with a baggie over their heads.

‘Crazy’, and now that she thought of it, a little dangerous too but they had been fun times. She was sad to be leaving the house she had grown up in and had so many memories of, and yet she was glad to be moving closer to Alley. Now she could spend a bit more time with her, doing homework – or at least, that’s what they wanted their parents to believe.

After loading the last of the boxes of stuff into the truck she climbed into the car with her mother. Julie looked out of the window at the now dark, silent house.

As the new house loomed ever nearer, the feelings of regret and loss faded, to be replaced by a feeling of happiness and a tingle of excitement. Alley was waiting for Julie on the steps of the new house as the car pulled up.

“Hi, Alley!” Julie called enthusiastically as she all but fell out of the car and opened the boot.

“We need to get these boxes up to my room. It is going to be fantastic being so close to each other!”