My Short Interview With Sandy Gillman, A Proud Mother Of A Toddler

Sandy Gillman recently joined Vocal in 2025. She has already written over 47 stories. She received multiple Top Stories. She is a proud and proactive mom of a toddler.

Mariann: Where are you from?

Sandy: I was born in Maitland, a small town in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales, Australia. I only lived there until I was five, but I still have some relatives living in the area and visit now and then.

Mariann: Where do you live now?

Sandy: I live in Perth, Western Australia, with my son and my husband, whom I have been married to for four years.

Fun Fact: Sandy's son is 18 months old, and his birthday is 1 day before hers.

Fun Fact: A week after she got married, she and her husband sold almost everything they owned and drove across Australia for 30 days before settling down in Perth, Australia, to start a family.

Mariann: What do you like about your country?

Sandy: I love that every state is different and has its unique appeal. I live in three states of Australia and all the others. I've liked each one for various reasons, but my favourite part of any place I've lived was always the beaches, which is why I am so in love with Perth.

Fun Fact: Sandy has an obsession with "Big Things". One of them is the cover picture of a Giant Kangaroo. She loved giant roadside attractions.

She has kept track of 17 of them, including fruits, vegetables, and animals.

Mariann: What attracted you to become a writer?

Sandy: I honestly had never thought about becoming a writer. I intended to help other parents. I'd seen a lot of questions in Facebook groups and forums asking about people's experiences with sleep training and hiring sleep consultants for babies. My husband and I had a rough couple of months last year, and we eventually hired a sleep consultant and sleep trained our son. There was so much information to share about our experience that I decided to document it all. At the time, sharing your Vocal stories in many of those groups was classed as self-promotion and not allowed, so in the end, I'm not sure how many people I helped. I wrote my first story as a two-part piece, as it was pretty long. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and wanted to continue. After that, the ideas just kept coming to me, so I kept writing.

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Fun Fact: Sandy is a member of a monthly book club. They meet at the local pub, drink wine, and talk about the book of the month.

Mariann: What word would best describe you?

Sandy: Unfiltered

I say (and write) the things people are thinking but are too polite or tired to say out loud. Sometimes, I don't even realise I might be saying something offensive.

Mariann: What do you do to prepare yourself when writing your stories?

Sandy: I make an iced latte and sit down — lol! I don't think much preparation goes into my writing. I often get ideas when I'm out with my son, so I'll make notes on my phone as they come to me. But once he's asleep, I just get started.

Mariann: How would you describe your writing space?

Sandy: A total mess. I'm hunched over my laptop on the lounge right now. I've got a blanket over my knees because it's freezing. My iced latte (yes, I still drink them in winter) is sitting on a doughnut pillow next to me, and my breast pump is balancing on the end of the lounge. My laptop broke a few months ago, and I'm unable to move it, so I work here instead of in my office. However, I like it. I'm just waiting for my lucky break so I can afford a new one.

Mariann: How did you find out about Vocal? Why did you join?

Sandy: Once I decided I wanted to share our experience with sleep training, I Googled websites where I could publish my story. The two leading platforms I came across were Vocal and Medium. Medium requires a paid membership if you want to earn money from your writing, and since I was only planning on writing one story, I chose Vocal because it was free to join and start publishing. I quickly fell in love with both writing and the Vocal platform. Once I had the funds, I paid to upgrade to Vocal+ as it appears that my writing is a permanent endeavor now.

Mariann: Do you plan to write a book someday? What's your favorite genre to write?

Sandy: At this stage, I have no plans to write a book. I’m happy just writing short pieces as they come to me, and I can’t see a natural path for them to evolve into a book. While I enjoyed writing a few fiction pieces for some of the Vocal challenges, non-fiction is my strength, mainly when I write about my (hopefully) relatable parenting experiences. I also don’t feel like I have the time for that right now. I only have a couple of hours a day to work on my writing, and I’m currently looking for part-time work now that my son is at daycare.

Mariann: Who is your favorite writer on Vocal and why?

Sandy: Tale That Breathe at Night. I love horror, and they always take it to the next level.

Mariann: On which social Media do you share your stories?

Sandy: I share my stories on Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Threads, Instagram, and X. So far, I've found I've had the most significant response on X, so I am focusing more of my energy there.

I've started cutting back on Threads as it hasn't been very successful for me, and it's a lot of work managing all these social media accounts.

Mariann: What is the best thing about being a parent for you?

Sandy: Seeing all the new things my son learns and does every day. His language development has been amazing, probably thanks to me and all the books we've read together.

The other day, he pointed to a number 80 on a building and said, "Eighty. I was so proud and impressed! Of course, the only word he seems to have trouble saying is "Mama." He'll say "Dada," and "Jas," the cat, but rarely get "mama."

I hope you have enjoyed my latest interview with Sandy Gillman. She is an Awesome mom for sure. If you're interested in experiencing a mother's journey of parenting a toddler, read her stories.