FIONA HARDY’S new book, How to Tackle Your Dreams is a warm and funny celebration of following your dreams, wherever they lead.

We caught up with FIONA to discuss her childhood, the women’s league and following your heart.

Homer faces various challenges at home and at school but finds comfort in sewing – what can you tell us about his personal journey?

While in my first two books, my main characters Hayley and Murphy were very clear on what they were passionate about in life, Homer’s a bit less sure than his classmates. He’s always been pretty much entirely about football, but last year, after his parents’ relationship broke up, things changed. Homer was spending a lot of time with his grandfather, who works as a tailor, and finding that it wasn’t just fun because he was away from the drama at home – it was fun because making rad things to wear can be an excellent thing to do. So it’s not great timing that his mum joined the AFLW just as he got into a whole new pastime – how can he convince everyone that even though footy’s awesome, maybe he’s got other interests too?

In what ways did your own childhood inspire this story?

I think trying to find a balance between all the things you love is a challenge no matter how old you are – and for me at that age, playing netball, writing stories, and attempting to read every book on the planet was a lot of confusion all at once. I also remember thinking I was the weird one out of all of my friends, kind of like how Homer feels misunderstood, but when you grow up you discover that literally everyone you know is worried about being an impostor – everyone! I wish I’d known earlier that we’re all just pretending to know what we’re doing.

Homer’s mother plays for the AFLW – what can you tell us about the women’s league and its importance?

When I was a kid, I didn’t know any female football players – not even my friends played. There were no women players on TV. All I knew were a lot of enthusiastic women who loved the game and wished there was more of it! The fact that my 10-year-old daughter has grown up in a world where, as far as she can remember, women and non-binary folk have always been out there playing football – it honestly fills me with such joy, and makes me think that the world really can change.

Why should you always follow your heart?

Some days it will feel hard, some days it’ll be easy, some days you’ll watch somebody else get more goals or make fancier clothes or write more successful books than you (sob). But there is only one person who can do the thing you love like you can, and that’s you – and trust me, you’re not the only person who loves the way you do it.