Valerie is known as Australia’s queen of romance and is recognised as the media spokesperson for all things romantic.
Valerie was first published by Mills & Boon in 1982 and has since become a highly successful writer with over 70 novels, translated into 26 languages selling twenty five million copies internationally.
Valerie’s short stories are regularly featured in national magazines and she has released numerous non fiction publications including a romantic handbook, I’II Have What She’s Having.
A qualified trainer and counsellor, Valerie held Australia’s first romance writing workshop in 1988, which led to the founding of ‘Romance Writers of Australia’.
Valerie conducts seminars and workshops on creativity and all aspects of the writing craft based on her two best-selling guides for writers: The Art of Romance Writing and The Idea Factory.
Valerie has been the recipient of a number of awards for her community contributions and dedication to helping new writers achieve their full potential.
In 1988, she was presented with a Bicentennial Medallion from the Society of Women Writers, Australia. During the 2001 Centenary of Federation, Valerie was honoured with a figure in the Peoplescape, a unique art installation celebrating the lives of notable Australians.
A life-size figure representing her achievements was displayed among a gallery of 2,000 such figures on the lawns of Old Parliament House, Canberra during November 2001.
In 2004 she received a certificate of appreciation from the Chief Minister of the ACT Government for her work following the devastating Canberra bushfires of 2003 when she arranged for over 2,000 new books to be signed and donated by her fellow authors around the world to community members who had lost everything in the fires.
She mentors new writers through the Valerie Parv Award, created in her honour by Romance Writers of Australia.
Valerie migrated to Australia from England with her family as a child.
She has been happily married for 38 years to Paul, a former crocodile hunter, cartoonist and illustrator of many of Valerie’s non-fiction books, who she met in a hardware store.
Valerie part owns a coffee shop, where she works several days a week. Valerie volunteers at Canberra’s National Zoo and Aquarium, where she guides tours.
She draws on these and other aspects of her life for many of her novels.
This year’s Australia Day theme is ‘Droving Days and Australiana’.
This theme was chosen for a number of reasons including the demise of the Travelling Stock Routes from the RLPB, the success of Baz Luhrmann’s film ‘Australia’ and the prevalence of drovers who have been using the stock routes within the shire during the last year.
This year’s Australia Day Ceremony will feature all the old favourites of the Grenfell Town Band, BBQ breakfast, damper, flag raising, national anthem, bush poetry recitations and presentation of Australia Day Award and prizes to the Grenfell Christmas Lights winners.
As well this year will feature some new attractions such as an ‘on the day’ children’s drawing competition with the theme ‘gold’. There will be three classes; infants, primary and high school with butchers paper and textas provided and there will be prizes for winners in each class.
A whip cracking demonstration by Sheree Logan and John Smith will be a highlight as well as a performance by Sing Australia.
So join the rest of Grenfell in Taylor Park from 8am on Monday January 26th 2009 for some Amazing Anecdotes, Uplifting Unity and Spirited Singing as we celebrate everything that makes Australia great!
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