Frederick Atwoood turned to writing in seriousness after his retirement from a managerial position with Telecom Australia, the company with which he'd been employed most of his working life. As a young man he was a leading cyclist in local West Australian competitions and wrote sporting articles for local newspapers. While with Telecom he was seconded to NASA to assist with telecommunications for the Apollo Seven space probe. His novel Annie's Story is inspired by the experiences of his grandmother including her journey to the West Australia goldfields in the 19th century. [Source: Amazon.com, Annie's Story, 'About the Author', at http://www.amazon.com/Annies-Story-Frederick-Atwood/dp/1907732179 ]