About Mazzy Adams
Once upon a time, as I scurried through life, I tumbled into a crazy melting pot of creativity. For several years I dabbled, crafting songs, Aussie bush poetry, puppet plays and drama sketches. I met a whole lot of interesting people that way.
I stirred the melting pot and added fresh ingredients during my formal Creative Writing studies through Tabor Adelaide. I wrote pages and pages of mediocre (and some promising) first drafts and subjected them to soul-destroying slash and burn edits. I raised short fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction and my debut novel—the first of many, God willing—from the ashes.
Along the way, I adopted Mazzy Adams as my penname. I chose Mazzy because it means ‘precious’, and Adams to represent all humanity; a name to reflect my passion to write for the enjoyment, blessing and benefit of every precious reader.
With loads of practice, perseverance, hair pulling, neck strain, friendly encouragement from nagging co-conspirators and a growing portfolio of published pieces, I evolved into a bona fide author and genre rebel.
Hi there!
At other times, I use my (occasionally weird and unruly) neural pathways to think outside the box as an Educational Consultant and Tutor to help my students tackle their own academic and creative writing challenges and aspirations. As much as I love the idiosyncratic nuances of English, I’m all too aware of its capricious nature, especially if it happens to be a student’s second language.
Finally, my wonderful husband, amazing children and delightful grandchildren make my otherwise ordinary life most extraordinary. For that, I am eternally grateful.
But there’s more …
As an independent publisher, my Mazzy Adams author persona relies on the ‘original’ me …
What’s in a name? I seriously pondered that question before choosing my penname. I’ve always loved my given names; they mean ‘pure joy’. My beloved sister chose them as a prayer and a blessing over my life. But guess what? Etymology reveals Catie (Catherine) also means ‘each of two’.
So that’s what I’ve become. Mazzy Adams: Author and Genre Rebel, and …
Catie J Sercombe: Independent Publisher and Creative Designer.
About Catie J
My interest in desktop publishing and design layout surfaced when MS Publisher, ClipArt, and IMSI MasterClips had to be installed with a CD. I was a home-school supervisor by day, and designed training manuals, flyers, and newsletters at night while the children slept.
To this day, my mischievous muse interrupts my sleep!
With a pragmatic passion for precision in presentation, upskilling with quality contemporary design and image software was the next logical step to becoming the driving force behind Zest N Zenith Creative & Academic Group’s publishing and design adventures.
It also allows me to nurture the ‘Art’ part of ‘Art and About’, finding beauty in the abstract and the ordinary and converting everyday grunge images into aesthetic treasures.