Featherstone 
Write … and Hike Like a Flamingo
Sitting in a seat on the edge of the room at a one-day literary festival in Castlemaine, I saw another person wander in, perhaps a little nervously like me, and jokingly said, ‘this is where the introverts sit.’
That’s how I met Melinda Charlesworth.
The writing community is even smaller than you think
Back in September 2024, a book order pinged in via my website. Look—It’s Your Book! (my book on writing and publishing non-fiction) was heading via AusPost to someone named Melinda Charlesworth. Her name seemed familiar, perhaps from writing community socials, but we’d never really crossed paths.
Fast forward to July 27, 2025. I’d been pet-sitting in Castlemaine, working remotely from a cosy home with a velvety black cat whose claws were long as a lion’s and would clamp down on my arms whenever I tried to keyboard. Didn’t get much writing done!
That day, I’d made my way to a beautifully curated mini writers festival at Buda Historic Home. The festival was run by the wonderful Kristin and Graham from Northern Books. Within minutes, Melinda and I shared names and both our eyes lit up.
“I have your book!” she said.
She’d come to Look—It’s Your Book! through a recommendation from author Sarah Martin, Dear Psychosis (2024) and Dear Carer (coming in 2026). The two had met on a pitching course run by Alex Adsett, and now regularly Zoom-write together (proof, if you need it, that showing up to the writing community pays off in ways you can’t predict.)
The Book That Needed Its Title
During the breaks between poetry and author talks, Melinda told me about her book project, turning 50 and vowing to complete 50 hikes in a year. She spoke about gathering a crew of women to achieve the goal alongside her and how their calling card in the Australian bush became not kookaburras, but pink flamingos. The manuscript was many drafts in but not yet complete. The memoir was vivid and funny and thoughtful. But the working title wasn’t doing it justice.
We talked about the words. What the book was actually about beneath the hiking boots and the aching legs. What made the book different when other books about hiking exist, and the Camino Francés has practically its own genre. And that’s how the book came to be named:
Hike Like a Flamingo
From Title to Manuscript to Endorsement
In January 2026, Melinda got back in touch:
‘I cannot tell you just how incredible your book has been – thank you for creating such a valuable publishing resource’.
She’d also done something I actively encourage in Look—It’s Your Book!: reached out for endorsements (model student Melinda!). To people she knew, and people she didn’t. She sent me the first section of her manuscript. Then, on my request, more.
For someone whose idea of a hike is a walk to the kettle, I got swept along with her on the trail, for her book ‘is a love letter’ to the friendship of women and also the finding of space and self in midlife. My endorsement:
“A joyful reminder that sometimes the most important thing we carry is each other.”
True of women on trails. True of the writing community.
April 20: Book Mail Arrives
An Australia Post satchel. Inside: a beautifully wrapped book, a Hike Like a Flamingo branded postcard, a bookmark, and the most memorable book promo items I’ve seen in a long time. Two slim printed shoelace tags, the kind you clip onto laces. One reads Hike Like A, the other Flamingo. Every hike, every walk, every time you glance down at your boots, there’s the title and the feel of the book, encouraging you on.
On Self-Publishing and Choosing Well
Books like Melinda’s take a long time to arrive in the world. First, you need to do the living of the experience. Then the distilling. Then the editing (helping her on this one was Meg Dunley), the designing (Emma Whitelaw), the publishing, the marketing, and all the decisions in between.
But self-publishing doesn’t mean doing it alone. It means you get to choose who you work with.
Melinda chose thoughtfully at every step. She did her research, she worked on her craft and community. The cover design by Emma Whitelaw captures the optimism and the addition to Melinda’s website of photos, kilometres counts, and a hiking playlist brings the book alive and add to the fun and authenticity.
So yay! Hike Like a Flamingo is available now at Melinda’s website, at her events, your favourite online and indie stores can get it in too, and I’m sure it will be popping up at trailhead shops and info centres near walking trails.
If you’ve ever done something slightly ridiculous in pursuit of a milestone, surrounded yourself with unexpected companions, and come out the other side surprised by what you learned (or want to!), this one’s for you.
And if you want some help tackling your actual book hike – I’m happy to walk beside you when needed!
Happy writing, walking and publishing all,
Anna