Biography. Pat Toomer Pat Toomer is a lifelong reader with an eclectic taste in literature ranging from Louisa May Alcott to whodunnits and everything in between. A career in Nursing and Midwifery, then later, a Degree in Social Work, informs the strong emotions felt during her career, introduced into her writing. Along with a colleague, Pat initiated an older women’s theatre group, the ‘Silver Sirens.’ A career highlight for her, proving that one is never too old to try new things. Her first book-length manuscript follows soldiers returning from the First World War with tuberculosis, and the woman who cared for them. Pat is a former judge of the Primary School section, and now coordinator of the Laura Literary Awards, that attracts over three hundred entries Australia wide. The young O’Reilly family in the harsh 1880s Western Australia, is her novel in progress. ...