How It Feels To Float is aimed at teenagers and above, and deals with challenging topics like grief and mental illness, but with an underlying aim to show people talking about it is okay.

"I just wanted to create a conversation about loving those who are broken and having compassion for those who are struggling because sometimes they do not have words for how they feel," Fox said.

"I think it's important that ... we develop a way to not be afraid or ashamed to talk about these issues.

"When we're our most broken is when talking helps tremendously."

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The author lives with complex post traumatic stress disorder after a challenging childhood, which often meant her confidence in her writing took a hit.

The main character for her book Biz first appeared eight years ago, prompting Fox to write a "kernel" of the story - about 17,000 words - but she was unsure where to go with it.

It wasn't until she re-read her words two years ago in Bulli Beach Cafe she felt confident enought to see the story through. Although her own life story is very different to that of Biz, experiences dealing with grief and mental health were woven through the pages.

Multiple publishing houses became interested in the book, which is now available in Australia, America and soon to be on bookstore shelves in the Netherlands.

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Along with the love and support from her family, it was the Illawarra writing community that also helped Fox through completing the manuscript.

She formed a weekly writers' group with University of Wollongong PhD student Donna Waters, Chloe Higgins, Julie Keys and Hayley Scrivenor.

After years of chipping away at sentence after sentence, the group became a "community" for Fox, and also opened her eyes to the abundance of writers in the Illawarra.

This year will see Fox, Higgins and Keys with their names in bold print at the book store.

"Suddenly there I was in a group of writers and I had been very lonely as a creative person for many years," Fox said.

"I found a place with like-minded people who get it when you're sitting here thinking 'oh my gosh am I ever going to get published' or 'oh my gosh this story sucks'.

"Just that knowing that we're all sitting at tables putting our hearts on pages."

How It Feels To Float is out now through Pan Macmillan Australia. RRP: $17.99