I’m outside this morning, soaking up the rich natural energies around me and being. Words are filling my mind, budding a journal entry étude of existence. It is very fitting, really, as this journal entry posits itself snugly in the world of My Story Meadow. The project where my journey as a professional author continued to thrive all those years ago …

Hello, My Story Meadow, you have become such a significant part of my spiritual growth. I remember the first time I set you up, as a blog. I was a relatively new mother at the time, during a mass pandemic. In all the busy, loving times with family, the one thing that I needed was a chance to write my poetry. It was so amazing to sit there and write, to have the bravery to express and share my poetry … online. The first poem I ever shared with you and our Readers, was a poem called “Meadow Play.” It reflected on the significance of the meadow as a metaphor for the vast array of inspiration and journey of writing. It was the beginning of a wondrous journey that I never, ever anticipated would occur. As I continued to share my works, I was so blessed to be joined by Readers from so many countries around the globe. Readers who were there, interested in our journey and showing so much support. Readers, who have been there from our very humble beginnings, continued to expand and are still there today, sending their positive rays of light to us as we continue our journey.

You are a main reason why many Readers enjoy connecting with us, My Story Meadow. Jointly, we provide opportunities to learn about the techniques and art of writing here. Many Readers and writers have witnessed the journeys of my publications here through our etudes: from initial ideas, inspirations, to draft excerpts, right to professional publication stage. All Story Playscapes publications have had parts shared through this project as they continued to develop. We are eternally grateful to all our Readers, thank you. Such amazing support cemented our joint role, My Story Meadow, in providing opportunities for global literacy and theatrical accessibility and development. We moved here, to our newly founded business, named Story Playscapes, in the same year and continued our Romantic journey together in writing and publishing.

Let’s recap an excerpt from a poem that I have published, called: “Whispering Wind:”

“Whispering wind,
a quiet breath
exhaled across years
of tiny, fragments of light.
Glowing in the breeze,
like silent fireworks,
accentuating my wanders
through life’s debris.”
 
-Susan L. Marshall (2024): ‘Whispering Wind’ in Bare Spirit: The Selected Poems of Susan Marshall. Story Playscapes, Melbourne, Australia.


My journey as a writer took its first steps outside as a child, when I was surrounded by the wonders and energetic motions of nature.  I could say that I embodied my connections, letting them take flight in both written word and theatrical performance work. Those connections, so vital to my growth of autonomy and artistry, were fondly named my “playscapes.”  The excerpt from my poem above, called Whispering Wind, is based on my spiritual connection with the kinetic energy of leaves on trees, swaying in the breeze. A playscape that I have always felt calming and familiar; a motion that I return to at needed points and one that has followed me on my journey and wanders through life. My love for my playscapes has led to the formation of my business name: Story Playscapes, which reaches its positive rays of light out to Readers, writers and theatre artists across the world.

My professional publication: Bare Spirit: The Selected Poems of Susan Marshall, is one that holds very special significance for me. This poetry collection contains poems that I shared with Readers here, My Story Meadow, when I first began sharing my poetry in 2020, onwards. I will always cherish the support that Readers provided as I shared and continued to grow as an artist. It has been such an amazing achievement to have this collection published by Story Playscapes in 2024. It is mind blowing that it is recognised as a Popular Psychology publication and is also an Amazon Best Seller. What lingers is the wonderful connections that I built with readers as I developed this collection and my essential spiritual growth.

As the years have progressed, I have been very fortunate to be able to continue to share my metaphysical artistry with Readers and other artists. I favour being able to draw upon my metaphysical philosophies to provide unique ways of viewing every day moments and connections. This is evident in all aspects of my work, be it via general communication with readers; here at My Story Meadow; at our Romantic Spirit Alight Readers’ Garden as well as in my professional publications.

My metaphysical philosophies involve me drawing upon a range of genres to create works. My first novel, the metaphysical mystery (also known as a literary mystery): Adira and the Dark Horse, began its life here with you, My Story Meadow. I remember fleshing out excerpts as short journal entries and bringing private detective Adira Cazon, Girl and Sophie to their early stages of life. It was a great feat, completing my first novel. I wanted to explore my passion for heritage trade further and researched the history of trade on the ancient Silk Road, which formed the city of Mira. Contemporary life experiences in Melbourne City helped me to create the world of Redbank.

As I continued to world build the novel, I connected with Readers from across the world, who were so interested in heritage trade, some even sharing photos of their own work in heritage crafts with us. I became very interested in the role of the feminine spirit in the silk trade and worked to flesh that out in the novel. Once I had completed my final draft, we shared a final Playscape Portfolio with our Readers. I did not anticipate that the folio of photos of my playscape interactions, accompanied by quotes from the novel, would be so overwhelmingly received and supported by so many new Readers across the globe. Thank you so much. Adira and the Dark Horse was published in 2024, the first book in ‘An Adira Cazon Literary Mystery.’ I look forward to sharing Book 2 with readers in the future.

We appreciate that Readers are drawn to Story Playscapes for many reasons. Many enjoy the focus we provide on wellbeing and spiritual connection / journey. Many visit our Romantic Spirit Alight Readers’ Garden, a space here on our website (platform) dedicated to nurturing the wellbeing of the reader. It is in this space, that Readers also immerse themselves in quotes from our professional publications. It has been an honour to see that quotes and inspirations from our publications have also inspired the work of fellow artists across the globe. If our publications can reach people and bring light or inspiration to their day, that is very heart touching. Thank you so much.

I remember sharing a number of scenes from Fleur of Yesterday, here, My Story Meadow. It was lovely that it captured the hearts of Readers and gave me the confidence to take that plunge and finally reveal the theatrical style that I had been working on for so long: Theatre Playscapes. A style that has been developed, in response to the pressures of individualism in our globalised world and positions the vital wellbeing of the young adult at the centre of theatre. Fleur of Yesterday is the premiere publication (published 2023), that introduces the style. The publication is also monumental, as it shares the principles and conventions of the Theatre Playscapes style, through the accompanying article: Theatre Playscapes: A New Theatrical Style. This is followed by the second dramatic literature in the series: All the Hope We Carry, (published 2023), a play that is a tribute to the war survivor and works to inspire the growth and resilience of the young adult. It is accompanied by the article: Theatre Playscapes of Hope. The Theatre Playscapes series is one that I am continuing to develop, as I wish to continue to support the growth and artistry of young adults through theatre.

 In 2024, I decided to put my metaphysical artistry to the test, by immersing myself in the energies of winter here in Melbourne. Wild Soul: Contemporary Classical Winter Poetry was a publication that I shared here at My Story Meadow (mostly as journal entries), as I continued to work away at it. As I completed the poetry and reflected on my special connection with Florence, I realised just how significant and unique my metaphysical artistry was. It was an art that carried great purpose and responsibility: to reach and connect with others; to share new ways of looking at life and the human condition; to care for wellbeing; to alight the Romantic spirit; to value the important roles of classical artistry and its connections to contemporary life … to value life itself. I wrote the Wild Soul: Contemporary Classical Winter Poetry collection with my heart and soul; braving some of the coldest and wildest wintry moments you could imagine. A rawness and vividness revealed itself in my writing … a voice that had come to full fruition, establishing my unique contemporary metaphysical writing style. It was an honour to witness Wild Soul: Contemporary Classical Winter Poetry become an Amazon best seller and a #1 Hot New Release. It was also heart touching that the publication remained a Hot New Release at Amazon from pre-release right through to the end of its new release stage.

We have been very honoured to be able to collaborate with the amazing talents of Ryan Marshall on our professional publications. He is a world class book designer, with more than 2 decades of professional experience, who has been very attuned to our work here at Story Playscapes. It has been a privilege that Ryan has professionally designed our publications and we look forward to continuing our collaborative journey with him in the future. Thank you Ryan.

The simple act of sharing that I began with, has evolved into much growth and development for us here at Story Playscapes. We are very thankful to be able to distribute our professional publications through Ingram Spark Books. We are also very honoured that so many book retailers, in more than 200 countries and territories around the globe, make our books available to readers. Thank you.
 
We have so many more publications to share in the future. Many Readers are greatly anticipating the completed publication of Princess Zyra’s Lost Storm, which I have shared my journey about here at My Story Meadow (mostly as journal entries). This book is a children’s fiction, for ages 7-9, a contemporary metaphysical myth, which has not only involved me writing its story in verse: a rich lyrical and narrative mix of poetry. It has also involved me illustrating it too! A new era dawns for me as an author and debut illustrator … I look forward to the publication being completed and available in the coming future.
 
Another popular publication that I am working on is called Hour’s Desire, which is a contemporary metaphysical science fiction / romance. A story that has been a hit with our Readers as excerpts, inspirations and concepts have been shared here. Chardy and Ellidy’s journeys are continuing to progress and we look forward to sharing that publication in the future. Readers can view my current list of writing projects at the bottom of this page. Readers can also join us on our Story Playscapes pages on Facebook and Instagram, to join our continued Romantic journey in writing and to also be promptly informed whenever I share a new writing etude.

I cannot express enough my fondness for Story Playscapes, who after 5 years, is now an established Australian publishing house, that produces contemporary metaphysical publications in a range of genres, for a range of Readers (children, young adult, New Adult and Adult). You, My Story Meadow and our Romantic Spirit Alight Readers’ Garden, both are vibrant, immersive and long lasting spaces for our global readership and larger community. We are so proud to have established our solid brand and vision and to continue to nurture our Readers. We are also honoured to continue to have the support of Readers, our collaborators, the literary community, our distributor: Ingram Spark and book retailers. It is mind blowing to me, today, that after such humble beginnings, our professional publications are available in book retailers in more than 200 countries and territories across the globe. In fact, it makes me teary to consider what a wondrous journey we have already undertaken 🙂

In the literary community, Story Playscapes’ publications are listed and available to research through the prestigious AustLit database here in Australia and are available to borrow and read at many libraries, including the National Library of Australia. You can discover more about publication borrowing availability in librairies, through World Cat. At Goodreads, Story Playscapes publications are highly popular: Australian Poetry, Metaphysical Poetry, Metaphysical Fiction, Romantic Academia and New Adult Fiction. Our publications are listed on Google Books and can be reviewed there, as well as through platforms such as Library Thing, Book Hype, Past Forward.org and Tertulia. You can also read my Reading Biography at LIbrary Thing.

Our journey so far, has taken a lot of focus, connection and vision and cannot have been achieved without the support of our Readers, collaborators, the literary community, Ingram Spark, our distributor and book retailers. We are eternally grateful.
 
Thank you so much, everyone, for your support of us here at Story Playscapes. We look forward to our continued writing and publishing journey with you all through time.
 
Happy 5 years Story Playscapes!

Shall we publish this journal étude, My Story Meadow? Why not? It is, is it not, a time to celebrate? Let’s consider it shared and published. I’ll even officially mark its special date below. The date we formed Story Playscapes together, in 2020.

Susan L. Marshall
Founder, Contemporary Metaphysical Literature Author & Artist, Story Playscapes
7 July, 2025