Mrs Woods, a physiotherapist who owns clinics with her husband, began writing in an unlikely way.
“It was as corny as it sounds, but I became an author after I had a dream about a book,” she said.
“I had never written anything at all.”
After waking from the dream, she began writing by hand and produced close to 50,000 words in just a few days.
The road to publication for her first book was far from straightforward.
Mrs Woods spent years refining her manuscript, hiring her own editor, and submitting it to every literary agent in Australia who accepted fiction.
“They all rejected it over a two-year period, every last one of them,” she said.
Then came an unexpected turn.
“I got a phone call out of the blue from a literary agent saying, I’m still thinking about that book I rejected. Has it been sold to anyone else?” Mrs Woods said.
The agent signed her, and within six weeks, she had a contract with HarperCollins for her debut novel, Love at First Flight.
Mrs Woods has since moved from writing romance into contemporary general fiction, though love remains a thread throughout her work.
“There is always a love story in my writing,” she said.
The Cairo Bridal Shop draws on her own heritage ‒ she was born in Egypt and immigrated to Australia as a child ‒ and honours her grandmother, a bridal dressmaker.
The novel follows three sisters living above a bridal shop at the foot of the pyramids, whose mysterious disappearance forms the central mystery.
“Nobody knows where they are, except for the old seamstress, who used to live with them above the shop, and she is the keeper of all the secrets,” Mrs Woods said.
The book is structured around six brides, each a retelling of the lives of ancient Pharaoh queens.
“The story has some mythology and history, and covers the modern history of Egypt since the revolution of 2011,” Mrs Woods said.
“It has some romance.
“Most of all, it is really about the relationships that the women have with each other, the three sisters.”
The author event is free, but bookings are required and can be made through Collins Booksellers Echuca or by contacting the library on 5481 2400.
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