2024 - 2025 Committee
President/Member Secretary -
Rochelle Miller
Rochelle has led several teams in the past, while working at a Registered Training Organisation and in other job roles. This has included coordinating courses where students completed their training locally, along with an international field assignment. Rochelle also physically led several student teams on their required field trips, which included ongoing mentoring and coaching.
Her current aim is to facilitate learning spaces where people will feel empowered to move forward with their goals. She believes that anything can grow in the right cultivated environment.
Rochelle has a passion for using story, journaling and coaching as a pathway for personal development. Her current work in progress incorporates both fiction and a guided journal to assist people in working on their mindset goals.
When her pen is not furiously scribbling notes of story sparks or coaching ideas, Rochelle loves to spend time in her garden, going on adventures with her husband, or challenging herself to actually win that next game of Scrabble!
Vice President - Louisa Wright
Louisa is an aspiring author, writing across various genres including children’s, YA and adult fiction. In 2016, she published an article in the Gold Coast Bulletin, which led her to join a writer’s group. A year later, she contributed 3 adventure stories to the anthology Mystery, Mayhem and Magic.
Louisa is originally from the UK and emigrated to Australia by herself 14 years ago. She has worked in Vocational Education since 1997 and is also a qualified trainer with a life-long mantra of ‘Learn & Grow’ as she is always learning. Louisa is passionate about supporting others on their creative journey. She joined the committee 3 years ago and has held the positions of Secretary, Publicity Officer and General Committee Member.
Louisa is excited by the opportunity of the Vice President role this year to co-lead the GCWA into the ‘Think Big’ projects by accessing grants and sponsors to bring amazing events to the association members in 2024-25.
Louisa is currently focused on two exciting projects: Escape to Utopia – Mystery of the Lost Corner, an adventure novel for children aged 9-12, and Rollercoaster, a women’s fiction novel. She lives on the Gold Coast with her two beloved fur babies and finds inspiration for writing by the ocean.
vicepresident@goldcoastwriters.org
Treasurer/Social Media - Steph Laverie
Secretary/Publicity Coordinator -
Kasia Radzka
Kasia has been writing some form of fiction since primary school (a very long time ago) and has independently published several books, including crime thrillers, urban fantasy (under a pen name), and recently small-town romance set in the stunning Granite Belt. During daylight hours, she works in financial services.
When she’s not weaving tales of love, crime, or suspense, she’s likely enjoying a glass of wine with friends, training for a marathon, fine-tuning her dancing skills to 80s and 90s hits with her besties, or keeping the kids out of trouble.
She believes in finding inspiration in everyday moments and loves exploring new places and meeting new people. You never know when the next idea will emerge.
She’s looking forward to being a part of GCWA to connect with local writers, inspire and be inspired, and help grow the Gold Coast creative community.
secretary@goldcoastwriters.org
publicity@goldcoastwriters.org
Editor - Jackie Washington
Jackie is an editor with more than 20 years’ experience in both fiction and nonfiction. She enjoys working closely with writers to shape their words into clear, meaningful stories, and has a particular interest in helping emerging authors gain confidence in their voice.
Although no longer editing full time, Jackie continues to take on selected freelance projects and values the creative collaboration each one brings.
She joined the Gold Coast Writers’ Association to stay connected to the local writing scene and contribute to a creative community she is proud to be part of.
Speaker Coordinator - Rochelle Agius
Rochelle has worked as corporate trainer (or in training/human resource-based roles) for 25 years. She has always been a creative person, with interests in photography, dressmaking and English. Her passion for travel has taken her all around the world (she even worked as a training officer onboard large cruise ships).
Rochelle honed her writing skills, mainly from necessity, in her previous work as a policy writer and in her studies at TAFE and University.
She has an absolute love for reading books, so much so that she created a book club called Read, See, Chat. Book clubs have broadened the genres she reads, and she welcomes everyone to join.
Rochelle joined the Gold Coast Writers’ Association 3 years ago, previously holding a different role on the GCWA Committee. Through GCWA meetings and events she has gained the knowledge, confidence and motivation to start writing herself and has commenced composing a romantic-comedy novel. Her dream is to publish her book.
Website Manager - Sandra Mayer
Sandra Mayer is a long term Gold Coast resident with a background in retail.
Her writing journey started with poetry in her teens and has evolved into different avenues and genres. Sandra has now 19 children's picture books, two children's chapter books for 7 to 12-year-olds, and one erotica novel, as well as screenplays. Her projects at the moment are children's picture books and her second erotica novel.
Providore - Chris Shaw
Police are seeking a man in relation to the importation and supply of a large quantity of tea and coffee. It is believed the suspect, a former locksmith, fled Sydney in 2020 and is currently hiding out in the Tugun area where he now poses as a support worker.
It is alleged the suspect is responsible for several short stories after hacking into an online writing course in 2022. Authorities have since recovered a stash of notebook-noodling confirmed to have been done throughout years prior. Although there is no clear motive or genre, there does appear to be occasional links to humour.
Members of the public are urged to secure all forms of reading material; not to leave drum kits unattended; and to remain vigilant around coastal areas at all times.
Patron - Andy Mc Dermott
Andy’s first novel, The Tiger Chase, was launched in San Diego in 2004 which was followed by a US book tour, including appearances in LA and Las Vegas. As well as being the author of four titles in the Gold Coast Detective Scotty Stephens murder mystery series, he has also published the first book in the Joe Dean American Detective in Australia series: Flirting with The Moon, as well as a new edition of The Tiger Chase. At this time of writing, he is finishing off book 5 in the Scotty Stephens series and is preparing the first book in his new speculation fiction series, The New Templars, as well as a children's story
called The Last Tiger.
Andy was born in Nottingham, England. A naturalised Aussie, he has lived on the Queensland Gold Coast since immigrating to Australia in 1989 with his wife, Jane, and two young children. He is a patron and ex-president of the Gold Coast Writers Association and the CEO of Publicious Book Publishing.