Vicki Bennett is a bestselling author of 27 books for adults and young people. Most of her books are internationally successful and have been published in numerous languages. Her latest book, The Little Stowaway, published by Scholastic Publishers in 2018, is a story about a little French orphan who was smuggled to Australia in an oat bag.
Her books include:Â Programme to Succeed, Mirrors – An Adventure into Ourselves, Take Me To My Garden, Mummy?, Making Dreams Come True, I’ve Read the Rules, Now How do I Play the Game?, Life Smart, The Effective Leader, Signposts for Life and What Do Women Really Want?
‘I fell upon writing in 1982.’ Vicki said, ‘my first visit to the United States found me at a conference in San Francisco, in a whirlwind of professional speakers where positive mental attitude was the currency of the day.
‘Surrounded by the likes of Zig Zigler, Og Mandino and Jim Rohn, the questions most asked were; “So you’re from Austria?” and, “Have you got a book?” “A book? No, do I need a book?” “Sure, you do, you gotta have a product.”
‘So on the thirty-six hour flight home, I put ten of my speeches together and voila: Programme to Succeed was born. This was self-published and sold over ten thousand copies, mainly at big conferences in Asia and America. Happily, my captive audiences bought this book voraciously.
‘From that platform I found a literary agent and my next two books were shaped, I’ve Found the Keys, Now Where’s the Car? and a children’s book, Making Dreams Come True.
‘After a grilling and lengthy editorial process, I asked my editor at that time, “How did you know that I could actually write this?” “I didn’t,” was her sanguine reply, “we just loved the title!”
‘Even with twenty-two non-fiction books up my sleeve, I’m still learning to write. It’s now in my blood, compulsive and compelling, my personal therapy. God I wish I had paid more attention to touch typing classes.