Reader to writer a winning switch for Suzanne

It’s never too late to explore a passion, according to Footscray author Suzanne Gaskell.

Gaskell last week won the short story category of the 2013 Lord Mayor’s Creative Writing Awards, announced by Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle.

Her story, A Break in Trust, won Gaskell $1000.

The story follows a mother giving birth in a dilapidated building in Russia and her retreat to Melbourne, where her child is a reminder of a troubled past.

Gaskell, 65, said she had always loved reading but only turned to writing in recent years.

“I think there’s a writer in all of us; it’s just a matter of starting,” she said.

Gaskell said writing could be a very intense process, but every time she peeled away more of herself, her writing got better.