Patterns of Being was created with today's busy reader in mind, as the story can be read in a couple of hours, but there are imbedded layers of meaning that can be returned to at will. Poetry allows much more to be said in a few words, while the lyric verse lends itself to an open form which is easy to read on a screen. The fictional story is based loosely on historic events in South Australia around the trial of Rupert Maxwell Stuart for rape and murder in the mid 1900's. The protagonist, Annie, returns to South Australia after studying in the US and remembers her childhood and the way she has constructed her world view to move forward. This is a deliberate effort to move beyond opposition and negative emotions without denying the presence of adversity. It is a story about dealing with grief and touches on issues of justice, gender, race, PTSD, military service and individuation. Set in the South Australian landscape, the haunting imagery conjures archetypes as they emerge from Annie's settler psyche. Readers are invited to take this journey with Annie and reach their own conclusions. About the Author: Heather Sladdin has a PhD in Creative Writing from The University of Adelaide. She graduated magna cum laude from SFSU with a BA in Creative Writing. She worked in marketing, recruitment and publishing before teaching Creative Writing, Communication and Media Studies at UniSA and SAIBT. She has previously published a poetry anthology titled Flow with co-editor Richard Hillman and she has two collections of poetry titled, rooms of discovery and the grammar of grapes. You can find out more about Heather Sladdin, past publications and her works in progress at www.heathersladdin.com.au.