53

Los Angeles, fourteen months later…

Throngs of fans waved and screamed from the roadside as the limousine rolled slowly forward in the long queue of limousines delivering stars of the big screen to the theatre where the Academy Awards ceremony was to be held. Erin remembered the same intense excitement flowing from the crowd of spectators who had turned up at the premiere of The Mythical Horses of Mirrima, four months ago.

It amazed her that so many people cared enough to wait hours to catch a glimpse of their favourite celebrities. Even children had nagged their parents into coming to see her, simply because she was the author of stories they loved.

Before she’d married Peter, she’d hated feeling like a performing monkey in a zoo, but under his guidance, she’d learnt not to mind being stared at.

Just be yourself. Whatever buzz other people get out of seeing you doesn’t have to touch what you are inside, Erin. Think of it as brightening their day. Like a rainbow. That’s not a bad thin