The Book Launch Event for The Harper Effect

Thank you to everyone who attended the book launch for The Harper Effect in January. What a great turnout and the panel of elite athletes were so inspiring and entertaining. For those of you who couldn't make it, we had an inspiring chat with a panel of amazing local young athletes. The reason they were part of the launch is that The Harper Effect is written in the world of professional tennis, and so I wanted to show people that Harper is not a fictional character who can never be emanated, and the panel of elite athletes are real life, living and breathing Harpers who live in a world of elite sport, just like Harper. I hope that my novel and the elite teens inspire you to chase your dreams, whether they're in sport or in music, academics, cooking, art - whatever your aspirations are. This debut novel is set in the world of tennis, but that's just the coat hanger on which the plot hangs. Ultimately, it's an inspiring and heart-warming story of a girl who learns to win from a boy who has lost everything. Think Karate Kid or Million Dollar Baby, mixed with the movie Wimbledon. Our panel of elite athletes talked about finding their motivation from within rather than from external things. They talked about what they sacrificed to achieve what they must achieve, from chocolate to boyfriends to social media while at competitions, and they talked about their parents giving them support, but not pushing them, giving them accountability and choices. It was so lovely to see what Harper has to go through reflected in the very real lives of these athletes. Thanks to Jane Larkin (our Commonwealth Games Nominee), Kristina Lane (our QLD U18 tennis captain), and Chloe McLennan and Annelise Jefferies, two amazing triathletes, for their participation and for supporting the launch. We wish you all the luck in the world in all that you choose to do.