Full Biography
I was born and raised in British Columbia, Canada. As far as I can remember, trips to the library, books, and reading have always been a part of my life. As a teen, I pulled all-nighters in school, reading rather than studying. I earned a Bachelor of Sciences in Cognitive Systems from the University of British Columbia, despite skipping classes to read on the bleachers at the indoor swimming pool. I did a brief stint in my field before realizing I could not sit at a desk and analyze data for the next 45 years of my life—at least not yet. I told myself I might get an office job after I'd done all I needed. However, I had no idea what I needed to do. I knew I always wanted to see more of the world, so I started with travelling. (Back then, YOLO was still cool and was the recurring motto during this period of my life.)
I went on a two-month trip to Western Europe, and when it was over, I wanted to keep going. Unfortunately, I had spent most of my savings during my travels (to my father's horror, my new motto became 'You can always make money, but you can't make time'), so I needed a plan. I discovered the most economical way to travel was to become a flight attendant. I applied, and after many, many rounds of interviewing, Emirates Airlines hired me, and I moved to Dubai. There, I went on my first African safari, sipped sweetened Moroccan mint tea, climbed the Great Wall of China, fasted during Ramadan, watched Shakespeare at the Globe theatre, and had many more unforgettable experiences. More than that, I was lucky to have met colleagues plucked from all over the world, just like me. I saw how they lived and what they ate, and I learned their views on life, family, love, and relationships. The diversity in culture and language is what I miss most about Dubai. Then in April, I went on a fateful holiday to Phuket, where I met my Australian partner on holiday. Two years later, I left the Middle East and moved to Tasmania.
Due to his job, my partner and I lived in remote-central places in Tasmania. Although I loved the wild rawness of the land and found my new lifestyle challenging and exciting, I was lost without the stimulus of city life. No malls, no bars or clubs, and for the first time in my life, my friends were not a phone call away. Life suddenly got very quiet. To keep busy (and sane), I cooked, exercised, and read—a lot. I hadn't read that much since grade school. Trips to the library, where I would fill up my giant tote, became, once more, a common occurrence. In time, I began to appreciate the quiet. I saw its value as my mind became unbusied and made room for creativity. The leap from reading to writing was a gradual and natural progression as the more I read, the more I began to feel restless and craved activeness. The idea of writing was daunting but—because I had no expectations and nothing to compare it to—I didn't overthink it. I googled online writing courses to learn how and where to start writing fiction. I spent a few hours to a day comparing syllabuses and prices before settling on the Novelry's 'Ninety Day Novel Course'. I figured, the worst that could happen is that I wouldn't have a book in ninety days and would be exactly where I was, anyway—albeit a few hundred dollars lighter. As Nike tells us, 'Just do it.'
Hello, I'm Monica Vuu
Long story short..
My writing journey began in 2019 when I migrated over to Tasmania.
At the time I wasn’t working, so I spent my days reading. Somewhere between Salem’s Lot by Stephen King and Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates I decided I wanted to challenge myself to write.
I enrolled in an online course at The Novelry and off I went.