Shirley LaPlanche
journalist / photographer / author
About me
My career as a journalist, photographer and author has been like my life … chock-full of successes and failures, but never dull. At school in New Zealand, I told a vocational guidance officer that I wanted to be writer and she looked at me as though I’d said I wanted to fly to the moon! Well, I did fly … all over the world, connecting with foreign places and people, taking part time jobs to finance the next leg of my journey – training horses in England, a movie extra in Tunisia, on a Kibbutz, barmaid in Canada – always keeping a diary to store away experiences and knowledge.
Once settled in Australia I started writing as a freelancer covering everything that quirked my interest from sailing to real estate investment. My first foray into mainstream media was as a stringer for The Bulletin magazine (sadly now no more). Then an Editor at The Australian newspaper in Sydney followed by a 3-year stint researching and writing for the Australian Tourist Commission (now Tourism Australia). This steady part-time work gave me a regular income while allowing me the freedom to travel again, writing and selling stories on travel, photography, skiing and golf.
My passion for the outdoors led to my first book – Stepping Lightly on Australia, A Traveller’s guide to Ecotourism. It was published by HarperCollins in Australia and Globe Pequot Press in the US. It was a leader in the field of ecotourism and led to commissions to contribute stories to a Canadian book called Travel Unlimited – Uncommon Adventures and a book covering the South Pacific region called World Travel, A Guide to International Ecojourneys.
And now my first book of fiction – The Fatal Path – which is part The Dry with the relentless tension of The Girl on the Train and the cinematic drama of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane.
I like giving talks about my experiences as a self-published author and the steps to writing a thriller – The Fatal Path – so if you would like me to talk to your group/club please contact me.

Contact Me



