Good Reading Magazine Blog

Q&A with Catriona Rowntree

Wed, 01 May 2013 11:20:00 --1000

Catriona Rowntree earned the title 'Australia's most travelled woman' after more than 18 years at the helm of Australia's favourite travel show, Getaway. In addition to her media roles, Catriona is always involved in community work. She is a passionate advocate for Australian wool, Landcare and children's charities. When not in an aeroplane, Catriona lives with her husband and two children on their farm in rural Victoria.

What were some of your favourite books when you were growing up?
Both my Nan and Mum instilled a love and value for reading in my brother, sisters and I. Weekend mornings would be bundled up in Nan’s big bed with a pile of books for her to read to us. Each night, Mum would read us a story then Dad would follow this up with ‘an imaginary (ie crazy, funny, bananas) story. My point is, we all just love to read whatever we can get our hands on. But I will admit, that at around the age of 9 I became obsessed with Ghost Stories. My favourite being a book The Phantom Cyclist that I was awarded as a ‘Good Progress’ prize one Speech Day (Mum gave them a tip off about my interest). I still have it, I still get chills and I love that!

What’s your favourite kind of travel/holiday read?
So much depends on the company and the location. Recently on a Getaway trip to South America, I needed a break from the heavy history I was devouring and dipped into the fantasy world of the Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho’s ‘Brida’. Just adored it’s message. But if I’m on holiday with my family, I kinda love a good memoir or biography, to learn from another’s life can be wonderful.

What can you tell us about your new book, A Grandmother’s Wisdom?
‘Cheat notes on life’, that’s what I believe you can attain when you are willing to listen and learn from our elders. Why not make the navigation of your journey easier, by picking up some tips from someone who’s already sampled it. My Nan was like the oracle of Delphi to me, offering guidance, advice and support, but in a completely non-judgemental way…so I thought maybe I’d share her story to you.

What inspired you to write A Grandmother’s Wisdom?
Don’t look at me. I thought I’d be writing a travel tips, or Lovely Lobbies of The World kinda book. But I had a publisher contact me and say she’d loved how over the years, I’d often refer to the advice my Nan would give me. I didn’t even know I talked about her so much, but we had such a symbiotic relationship…anyway, the publisher wondered if the two of us would consider writing a tips style book, sharing the advice, my Nan had given to me. We just thought we’d jot some stories down for my teenage nieces, I hoped the challenge would be a distraction from her ailing health, I prayed it wouldn’t end up being a memoir.

Considering the personal nature of your book, did you find it challenging to write at times?
Near impossible. Not only did my co-author and subject matter pass away half way through writing, but I gave birth to my second child soon after, I went back to work, my Father became ill. It was just too much. Everytime I tried to go to my room to write my babies would want to be magnetised to my thighs! It was an emotional and phyiscial challenge…but Praise the Lord I finished it! Allelulia.

What was your best experience while writing A Grandmother’s Wisdom?
Finishing it! Is that too honest? I just couldn’t bear to feel these strong emotions for another day, but I knew I had to honour my Nan, I had to document for my Mum and my own children the story of this remarkable woman.

Of all the wisdom you received from your Nan, which do you think has been the most valuable during your adult life?
In hindsight, her daily example of being so kind to others, her patience and dignity was so inspiring.

What are you hoping that readers will take away from A Grandmother’s Wisdom?
That being loved by one person can be so empowering, love can make you bold. It doesn’t have to be a Grandparent; it can be the faith of a good friend, a wonderful colleague, but knowing you have that one person in your corner, being that one person is sometimes all you need.

Do you have any plans for another book in the near future?
That’s up to you, the reader. I’m keen if you are.

Q&A with Honey Brown

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 10:10:00 --1000

Honey Brown lives in country Victoria with her husband and two children. Her book, Red Queen, was published to critical acclaim in 2009 and won an Aurealis Award, and The Good Daughter was longlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award and shortlisted for the Barbara Jefferis Award in 2011.

What were some of your favourite books when you were growing up?
As a teen I enjoyed trashy romance novels. Although I do remember reading Rich Man Poor Man and wishing it would never end. It swept me away and felt like my first grown-up novel.

After you suffered through a horrific accident that left you a paraplegic, what was it that drew you to writing?
Because it was such a dark period in my life I don’t remember my exact thoughts or making a firm decision to write. It was natural perhaps to use creativity as an escape and also as a way to connect again with myself.

Which authors do you believe have been the most influential on your writing style?
JM Coetzee, EB White, Tim Winton, Hemingway.

What have been some of your most memorable experiences as a writer so far?
Winning the Aurealis Award, attending the Miles Franklin Literary Awards dinner, and answering the call that started it all – from the ABC, telling me that my story (Red Queen) was runner up in their unpublished manuscript competition.

Do you have any quirky writing habits that surface when you write?
If I’m writing dialogue I often mutter the conversation, or make the same gesture as the character. I imagine that would look pretty weird to anyone watching me work. I wish I wrote more light-hearted stories because I’m giving myself some serious frown lines.

What can you tell us about your new book, Dark Horse?
It’s about a woman and her horse trapped on a mountain with a dangerous stranger. I wanted to explore the idea of having to survive alongside a person you are afraid of. If fleeing or fighting isn’t an option, what sort of games would you play, and what lies would you tell, to stop the dangerous person knowing that you are afraid?

What inspired you to write Dark Horse?
I’m always inspired by lots of things – visiting local wilderness, reading about real life crimes in the paper, conversations, images, small things and events that come together to form an idea.

What are you hoping that readers will take away from Dark Horse?
I hope they’re entertained, and the characters seem real to them, the story feels true, and that my writing creates strong visuals that linger in their mind.

Do you have any plans for another book in the near future?
I’m writing my next book at the moment. While I’m in the creative mode I don’t like to talk about the story, I find that if I tell too much it takes the heat out of it and I lose the burning desire to get it down on the page.

Do you have any advice that you would like to offer aspiring writers?
Respect your reader. Write a ripping yarn.

View the book trailer for Dark Horse here: http://youtu.be/sbkGjjary8g

Q&A with Maurilia Meehan

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 09:55:00 --1000

Maurilia Meehan lives in a country town in south-eastern Australia, where she feeds red rosellas in the mornings and chases away huge white cockatoos at dusk. She is the award-winning author of five novels and many short stories, and her work has been translated into French and German. Her first novel was a finalist in The Australian Vogel Award and her second novel was a finalist in the prestigious Miles Franklin Award.

Why did you decide to become an author? Is writing something that you have always been passionate about?
I read so much that writing seemed a natural overflow, a way of continuing conversations with the authors. Then one day I clearly pictured a non-existent book I’d like to read, and so I started writing it myself. Writing was the best way I found to lose myself in another world.

What were some of your favourite books when you were growing up?
Alice in Wonderland, The Famous Five, What Katie Did (I named my daughter after the heroine) and from the age of eight The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley. I kept reading it over and over until I got to the part where a character says that you shouldn’t hit children. That was the climax for me. It was accepted back then to hit children, but here was someone who said it was wrong and I loved him for it. Perhaps unconsciously I learnt from that to give voice to ‘minority reports,’ the points of view of sidelined voices either from the past or the present-- usually women.

Do you have any quirky writing habits that surface when you write?
The smell of fresh ink in a bottle makes me want to sit down to write. I love to write first drafts with a thick-nibbed fountain pen, not the cartridge type. Then I use a retro orange type-writer for more drafts so I don’t get headaches from the screen. And I have a very small writing table otherwise I fill it with too many distractions.

What have been some of your most memorable experiences as a writer so far?
The joyful opportunity to follow up any type of research I feel like, with no restrictions. And then the conversations with so many interesting readers, book enthusiasts and other writers. Such conversations as this one!

What can you tell us about your new book, Madame Bovary’s Haberdashery?
We meet best friends, Odette and Cicely, who share everything, from being fans of Madame Bovary, the first sex and shopping novel, to sharing the same boyfriend in a ménage a trois. The two women live far from the Great World of brilliant marriages, career success, and getting and spending, in a world where everyday reality may be illusion. Cicely is an obsessive knitter and erotic novelist with no knack for relationships with men, Odette is a potter whose romantic adventurism puts her life in danger. Odette goes missing, and Cicely, who has read far too many Miss Marple stories, sets out to find her. It is not a straight detective novel, be warned, but rather for those readers who enjoy a joke about detective novels…and other things literary.

What was your most enjoyable experience while writing Madame Bovary’s Haberdashery?
My research. For my other titles this was more academic. Fury involved women in the French Revolution and The Sea People an early settlement at Sorrento, Victoria. But research for MBH was a dream. It involved rereading and thinking about Madame Bovary, and researching the life of Agatha Christie. Also, in the name of research of course I had to read all Christie’s novels. Before that I had never read any mysteries and it was a real pleasure for me to discover them.

And the worst?
About halfway through I was always tired in the day because of waking up at night with ideas that I had to write down. I have a special pen with a built-in light by my bed, but I always forget to put paper there. And then all the scraps of paper with illegible notes from the night before that I have to sort out!

What are you hoping that readers will take away from Madame Bovary’s Haberdashery?
That sounds a bit as if a novel is a class or a self-help weekend doesn’t it? It will differ according to what each reader brings to the novel, and that, hopefully, will include a suspension of disbelief and a sense of humour. Reading is a two-way process.

Do you have any plans for another book in the near future?
Oh yes, quite a prolific period for me-- for a change! I have Princess Diana and the Poison Pen on the go, and after that Mary Magdalene and the Bridal Chamber. I would also like to see Adultery reprinted under its original title, A Woman’s Guide to Married Men.

Do you have any advice that you would like to offer aspiring writers?
Chain read both fiction and non-fiction. Read books mentioned in the book you have just enjoyed, or books by the same author. There are plenty of Lists online too, other people’s favourites, to work through. And while you are actually writing, disconnect your computer from the internet, especially from pop-up messages! Even go retro and try using a typewriter—it will slow you down so much that your writing will necessarily become more concise and thoughtful.

Q&A with Jenn J McLeod

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 11:04:00 --1000

Jenn J McLeod quit Sydney’s corporate chaos to buy a little café in a small town and now spends her days running a unique, dog-friendly B&B on her NSW property and writing life-affirming novels about friendship, family and small towns in which country roots run deep.

What were some of your favourite books when you were growing up?
I don’t remember being a big reader as a child. With my dad a multi-disciplined musician, it was music – not books – flowing through my veins. I was the all-dancing, all-singing brat who, when not being pushed into impromptu performances, was hiding in my bedroom singing into a hairbrush.

On reflection, my earliest writing attempts were probably lyrics – those ‘angsty’ country ballads that tell an entire story of heartbreak and betrayal in a single song. I love how lyricists manage to squeeze so much emotion into a song. It’s called making every word count, which is something a novelist must do. So, except for a few thousands words, novels and lyrics aren’t too different. (There’s a joke I love – that if you play a country song backwards, the guy gets his girl and his job back, finds whatever he’s lost, quits crying and leaves the bar sober. Not sure that works for an author though!)

What led you to a career in writing? Was it something you have always wanted to do?
If you were to ask any of my teachers they’d tell you I was a born storyteller. (One of my earliest stories was: ‘How my dog ate my homework’!) A teenager when colour TV arrived, I was hooked on the box for entertainment, mesmerised by Hollywood (blame that brainwashing test pattern) and dreaming of my name up in lights – a Rogers and Hammerstein musical on Broadway perhaps; never on a book cover. Writing fiction didn’t make a blip on my radar until much later in life. I recall a couple of attempts in my post-pubescent years but just like my musical aspirations then, I had lacked the required discipline. (Although looking back at those now faded first writing attempts, there was no lack of hormone-heavy purple prose and , thankfully, life has helped me wrangle that self-discipline.)

Which authors do you believe have been the most influential on your writing style?
These days I’m drawn to authors for their specific styles: Lisa Heidke’s witty dialogue; Posie Graeme-Evans’ stunning scene setting, Sara Foster’s wicked weaving of plots and characters; Monica McInerney’s eclectic cast and clever characterisation; the mischievous Marian Keyes for the giggle factor, and Jodi Picoult’s tackling of real-life issues.

Authors who influence my writing are generally the ones whose books sustain my interest to the end – but mostly the ones whose books don’t (because they are the books that teach me what not to do.)

Did you notice any quirky writing habits that surfaced when you began writing?
Hmm, how many words do I get for this article?!

-I sometimes find myself unconsciously deconstructing movies and books out loud, which takes the enjoyment out of reading and makes me a very annoying movie companion!
-I refer to myself as a ‘method writer’. I become my characters. By acting out scenes I can more confidently convert actions, expressions and emotions into words. (I guess my writing satisfies the latent actor in me after all. Thankfully the all-dancing thing died with disco and the singing…? Well, I now save that for long car trips, but only ever with the windows wound up tight and the music on LOUD!)
-I can also confirm I talk to myself a lot when I write – especially heated arguments or those big reveal moments. I’ve also been known to use anything remotely human (or breathing) to assist me: the partner, the dog, the budgie (or as a last resort the bathroom mirror).

Quirky enough?

What can you tell us about your debut novel, House for all Seasons?
In order to claim an unexpected inheritance – the century-old Dandelion House on the outskirts of Calingarry Crossing – four estranged school friends return to their hometown and each stay a season to fulfil the wishes of their benefactor, Gypsy.

-Poppy, a tough, ambitions journo still craving her father’s approval;

-Sara, a breast cancer survivor afraid to fall in love;

-Amber, a spoilt socialite addicted to painkillers and cosmetic procedures;

-Caitlin, a third generation doctor frustrated by a controlling family and her flat-lining life.

It’s a story of unravelling friendships and of ties that will forever bind four women to each other and to the century-old Dandelion house.

What do you think was your best experience while writing House for all Seasons?
I think it was when someone read the entire novel for the first time and actually cried, despite me sitting barely a metre away from them the entire time asking repeatedly, “Where are you up to now? Are you crying yet?” (On reflection, maybe that was the reason for their tears!)

I also loved how the editing process pushed me to expand and grow the story and characters well beyond what I ever thought I could. I surprised myself when it came to dealing with structural changes and editorial suggestions. I wasn’t at all precious about it. I think because my aim was to provide readers with the very best experience, so anything that would do that was all right by me.

And the worst?
Realising after the first rough draft of some 50,000 words that I had sent my four characters off to an isolated house for a season each ON THEIR OWN! Oh for goodness sake! What was I thinking? Nice initial concept on paper, but solitary confinement hardly makes for engaging dialogue. Lucky for me the way forward came to me. I enjoyed the challenge and loved hearing my publisher describe the unique structure as ‘brave for a debut novel’. Yes, she had me at ‘brave’!

What are you hoping that readers will take away from House for all Seasons?
Mostly I want readers to remember the story (or a particular scene or character) and talk about it with friends in much the same way people talk about a favourite movie. House for all Seasons is four separate journeys of the heart: Surviving Summer, Tall Poppy, Autumn Leaves and Wynter’s Way, in which readers witness both the unravelling of friendships and a tightening of family ties. There are definitely lessons to be learned and should a reader discover something about themselves from a particular character’s journey, I think that would be pretty cool.

Do you have any plans for another book in the near future?
I had written two books before submitting to Simon & Schuster. The Simmering Season will be released next year. I am currently working on book three of my ‘Seasons Collection’.

Do you have any advice that you would like to offer aspiring writers?
Just do it! Join a writing group, attend a conference, believe in the dream, read widely, and don’t be afraid to get online. There is so much information and support. It's never too early to start writing and it’s never too late. Look at me! I’m a Linkedin, blogging, tweeting, Facebooking 53-year-old starting out at a time when fifty shades of grey makes me think about my hair colour rather than my love life. And if you're going to tell anyone you’re writing (and show them your work) toughen up to criticism and feedback. Oh, and learn patience. The publishing business is a long process with lots of blank spaces and scary silences.

Website: www.jennjmcleod.com

Facebook: /JennJMcLeod.Books

Twitter: @jennjmcleod

Q&A with Maria Goodin

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 10:22:00 --1000

Maria Goodin studied English Literature and French at the University of Kent and then trained as a teacher and as a counsellor. She now works at University College, London and also volunteers as a counsellor for a mental health charity. The Storyteller's Daughter is her first novel and was published under the title Nutmeg in the UK. Maria lives in Hertfordshire with her husband, son and cat.

Why did you decide to become an author? Is writing something that you have always been passionate about?
I started showing an interest in writing novels when I was a teenager. I loved Christopher Pike books, and I remember wanting to write a book along similar lines, but after writing a few pages I busied myself designing the cover instead. I was just stalling as I had no idea how to start the actual writing process. I made a better attempt when I was about seventeen, and half completed a novel about vampires. I tried to set my novels in the US, and they were full of misplaced Americanisms. There was nothing authentic about my writing; I was just trying to imitate another writer. I didn’t write any fiction again until I was approaching thirty and decided I really needed to knuckle down and see if I had any chance of becoming a writer. I scribbled a few short stories and had some success, then when one of my short stories won a writing competition I decided to turn it into a novel. I really enjoy writing when it’s going well, but like anything in life you’re striving to accomplish it can be hard work and frustrating. It’s the satisfaction of seeing my writing published that spurs me on

Which authors do you believe have been the most influential on your writing style?
I find it really hard to say who has influenced me. I no longer aspire to be like any particular authors, so any influence just happens at an unconscious level. I suppose as you read you are absorbing other people’s styles and ways of doing things without being aware of it. Tony Parsons has been my favourite writer over the last few years but I’m not sure he has influenced my style of writing in any way.

Do you have any quirky writing habits?
No quirky writing habits, but I envy those people who can scribble a few paragraphs here and there, on the bus or in a cafe. Unless I know I have at least three hours to myself I don’t even bother starting to write. It takes me a good half an hour to get ‘in the zone’, and most of that is spent reading what I have already written. It took me a year to write my first novel but I would work on it for an entire day every few weeks. That’s just how I prefer to write.

What can you tell us about your first novel, The Storyteller’s Daughter?
The novel is about a complicated relationship between a mother and daughter. In an attempt to deal with the harsh realities of life and protect her daughter, Meg’s mother, Val, has created a fantasy life for them both, based largely on her love of cookery. But the consequences of this leave Meg confused, desperate for the truth and clinging desperately to logic and reason. In the face of her mother’s terminal illness, Meg finds herself torn between discovering the truth before it’s too late, and remaining in the protective bubble of her fantasy life. It’s a novel about lots of things: how the unconscious mind fights to protect us from psychological pain, how we create our own reality, the lengths we go to and the things we tolerate for the people we love; the pain of loss; the legacies people leave, and the complex bond between mother and daughter.

What do you think was your best experience while writing your first novel?
I really enjoyed writing the fantasy parts of the book, the short self-contained stories that Meg ‘remembers’ from her childhood. It was fun to let my imagination run wild, and challenging to find ways of making these stories about food or cookery. It’s also nice to have a break from thinking about how the plot needs to progress.

And the worst?
The worst moments for me were starting a new chapter, because I only ever had a vague idea of what was going to happen next. That first line is going to shape how the chapter progresses, so it’s quite important and takes some thinking about. More generally, I would say the moments of writers’ block are the worst part of writing a novel, when you just can’t think how to go forward. That’s when the process gets really frustrating, when you realise two hours have gone by and you have written three lines!

What inspired you to write about the curious life of Meg May?
I was out one day when I thought I overheard someone say something about a baby being caught in a frying pan. I’m sure that’s probably not what they said (after all, why would anyone ever say that!), but it got my imagination going. Because I was training to be a counsellor at the time, the story was also influenced by my interest in psychological defences and the question of whether there is such as thing a reality, or whether reality is self-created.

What are you hoping that readers will take away from The Storyteller’s Daughter?
There is a line in the book that I think about often, where Meg is reflecting on the nature of time. She wants time to stop because she knows her mother will soon be gone, but of course her attempts are futile, and she describes time as slipping through her fingers like sand. This line often pops into my head at the end of the day. One more day gone, my children one day older, a day I will never get back. It sounds sad, and it is a bit, but it’s also important because there is no rewinding the clock in life. Someone who reviewed my book said it made them think about what was important in life, and if people take that away from the book that feels like quite an achievement.

Can we expect another novel in the near future?
I would love to write another novel soon. Watch this space!

Do you have any advice that you would like to offer aspiring writers?
Why not start out small? So many people want to write a novel but never even get started and I think that’s because it is such an overwhelming task. But my first piece of published work was a poem I entered into a competition run by an online writers’ forum. That gave me the boost to then go on and write a few short stories, and when some of those got published I wrote my book. Taking little steps and gaining some success is better than being paralysed by indecision and procrastination.

Q&A with Deborah Challinor

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 09:47:00 --1000

Deborah Challinor has a PhD in history and is the author of nine bestselling novels. Her new series begins with Behind the Sun, the first in a series of four books set in 1830s Sydney, and is inspired by her ancestors - one of whom was a member of the First Fleet and another who was transported on the Floating Brothel. She lives in New South Wales with her husband.

Why did you decide to become an author? Is writing something that you have always been passionate about?
I accidentally became an author. When I was writing up my history Ph.D. in the mid 1990s, on how New Zealand Vietnam veterans remember their war, my supervisor suggested I send a few chapters off to see if anyone was interested in publishing it (without all the boring bits on methodology, etc, of course). That book, Grey Ghosts, was published in 1998. One thing followed another and my first historical novel, Tamar, came out in 2002.
I’ve always been able to string a sentence together reasonably well, but until it actually happened I never imagined I’d actually write books for a living. It’s never been a burning ambition of mine, but now that it’s my job, I can’t imagine what else I’d rather be doing.

What were some of your favourite books when you were growing up?
C.S. Lewis’s Narnia books, in particular The Magician’s Nephew. I absolutely love the idea of the pools in the Wood Between the Worlds. I also still have this lovely book called Over the Hills to Fabylon by Nicholas Stuart Gray, about a city whose king can make it fly off over the mountains when he thinks it’s in danger. Ray Bradbury’s books are also great (though perhaps not entirely suitable for a child, but never mind), especially his short stories. My all time favourites are ‘Homecoming’ and ‘The Emissary’ from The October Country. I loved, too, Midnite: the story of a wild colonial boy by Randolph Stow, and The Muddle-Headed Wombat series by Ruth Park. I still have all those. There’s also a series I enjoyed, originally written by Robert Arthur and published as Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators, though it had nothing to do with Alfred Hitchcock, about three boys aged about 13. The stories have names like The Secret of Terror Castle, The Mystery of the Talking Skull, and The Mystery of the Green Ghost.
I read constantly as a child. I still do.

Do you have any quirky writing habits that surface when you write?
Not really. I don’t light candles, ring bells, talk to my muse or have to do things in a certain order. I do need peace and quiet. If I get really stuck (usually in the middle of a book), I’ll move the furniture around in my office. That often helps to get me going again. I like to write from beginning to end, not bits here and there. My mantra is ‘get it finished, then get it right’.

What have been some of your most memorable experiences as a writer so far?
Most of my memorable experiences come from the research I do. I’ve been horribly sick out at sea over the rail of a tall ship, nearly fainted from claustrophobia in a working underground coal mine, been driven around in a vintage car waving like the Queen, pranced around the Rocks in Sydney dressed up like an 1830s convict girl, tramped for miles through New Zealand bush to get to 19^th century battlefields, and I’ve been privileged to interview all sorts of different and fascinating people.

What can you tell us about your new book, Behind the Sun?
Behind the Sun is about four main characters – Friday Woolfe, Harriet (Harrie) Clarke, Sarah Morgan and Rachel Winter – who meet in Newgate prison in London and are transported to Sydney in 1829. Friday, at 17, is the eldest. She’s a prostitute, while Sarah is a trained jeweller – and a master pickpocket and safe-breaker. Poor Harrie has simply made a terrible mistake, while 15-year-old Rachel has fallen foul of an unscrupulous landlady.
On the ship out to NSW, something awful occurs and the girls realise they can rely on no one but themselves. They also make a dreadful enemy of vicious underworld queen Bella Jackson. When they arrive in Sydney they’re sent to the Parramatta Female Factory, to then be assigned to private individuals as part of their sentencing. But the unthinkable happens and not all of them leave the Factory, and what happens next could send them to the gallows.

How did you go about researching the historical context of your book?
I’ve read lots on the subject of transportation in the era I’m writing about, and everything I could find on women and transportation. Ditto London in the late 1820s, and Newgate gaol, and Elizabeth Fry, the woman who championed reform of women’s prisons. I’ve spent hours in the NSW State Library and the Mitchell Library, mostly looking at old street maps of Sydney and the Rocks, and I’ve poured over old newspapers online. I’ve walked all around the Rocks in costume, imagining I’m my characters, and been to all the relevant historical sites I can get into. I’ve also been to what’s left of the Parramatta Female Factory in the grounds of Cumberland Hospital in Fleet Street, Parramatta.
I’ve also researched the peripheral subjects that help to make up the colour and texture of a historical novel; costume, architecture, food, disease, social practices (etiquette, death customs, marriage, etc), transport, weather, geography, and flora and fauna, among other things.

Did any real life personalities inspire the characters in your book?
Sort of. My six times grandmother was Mary Anster, a convict transported on the Lady Julian(a) in 1789. She is very vaguely the inspiration for the character Friday Woolfe. Mary married William Standley, my six times grandfather, who was a marine on the First Fleet ship HMS Sirius, which arrived in 1788. Their daughter, Mary Standley, married James Lowe, a convict who arrived on the Minorca in 1801. Their daughter, Anne, married Henry Atkins Bonney, whose father Joseph Bonney had been transported on the General Hewitt (Hewart), which arrived in 1814. Joseph had left eight children behind in England, and when his wife followed him out to Australia, his son Henry accompanied her.

What are you hoping that readers will take away from Behind the Sun?
The story is about loyalty and friendship. I hope that comes through. I hope, also, that readers will see that not all female convicts were bad, and not all were good. They were just women, blown about by the winds of the times they lived in, doing what they thought they had to do to survive and, for most, paying an enormous price when they were caught.
I also hope that readers glimpse what life might have been like for convict women in London and in NSW in the 1820s and 1830s, though what appears in Behind the Sun is only my interpretation of what might have been. Nobody can say definitively what life would have been like then without having experienced it themselves, and even eyewitnesses would all have viewed, and reported, things in different ways.

Do you have any plans for another book in the near future?
Behind the Sun is the first book in a series of four. I’ve recently finished writing the second book, called Girl of Shadows, which is about the same characters, and have just started on the third. I also have a contract for a novel about two sisters caught up in the Vietnam War, and there’s a fourth book to write in my ‘Kitty’ series, which includes Kitty, Amber, and Band of Gold, which is also partly set in Australia.

Do you have any advice that you would like to offer aspiring writers?
Yes, loads. Read as much as you can, all sorts of genres, not just your favourite, and non-fiction as well as fiction. I read at least four books a week. Analyse the way writers plot their stories, what writing techniques they use, how they develop their characters – essentially, what it is they do that makes you enjoy the book. Or not enjoy it.
Don’t write what you think will sell or what publishers are looking for, write what you would really like to read – your passion will shine through. You don’t have to write what you know, because you can always find out about stuff. Or imagine it.
Don’t take too much notice of people who tell you what ‘the rules’ for writing are. There aren’t really that many rules. Probably the main one is that you need conflict. Reading a story without conflict is like not being able to burp – annoying and deeply unsatisfying. Some genres have certain conventions, and most publishing houses have a house style, but just write the way that comes naturally. If you need to tweak it a bit later, then so be it.
Join a writers’ group for support, companionship and to develop your skills. In my opinion being able to write well is approximately 15% natural talent and 85% craft, which you can learn.
Set goals. At the start of every book I set up an Excel sheet which tells me how many words I need to write a day/week to meet my deadline. I’d be lost without it. Make yourself write, even if you don’t think you can. A bad paragraph gives you something to work with; a blank page doesn’t.
Getting your work accepted by a traditional publisher can take a long time. Consider self-publishing. If you go down this road, do it properly. Pay for an editor and a good cover. You want your work to be as good as it can be. Then promote it like mad.

Q&A with Scott Bevan

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 09:00:00 --1000

Scott Bevan is a journalist who grew up in Newcastle, NSW. Scott has worked as a cadet journalist for The Newcastle Herald, a commercial radio presenter, a reporter for the 7.30 Report and, most recently, has become a presenter on ABC News 24.
After navigating Russia, Scott decided to come home via the river which ran through his childhood, the Hunter. He set out in his kayak and paddled from the Barrington Tops to the Pacific Ocean in Newcastle.

What were some of your favourite books when you were growing up?
My favourite books were those that took me to other places. Growing up in Newcastle, I used to watch the ships glide out of the harbour and past Nobbys and wonder where they were headed and what their destination looked like. So if a story transported me, I loved it; all the better if the story was sea-scented. I was particularly enchanted by Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island and David Lewis’ Ice Bird. I also loved time-travelling through books. When I was a teenager, I read a lot of Australian history books. And I enjoyed travelling to a place I could only dream of going to: Middle Earth. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings were, and remain, favourites.

Which authors do you believe have been the most influential on you writing style?
In some ways, my senior high school English teacher, Mr Carter, and those who trained and guided me as a cadet journalist at The Newcastle Herald had a large influence on my writing. For one thing, they instilled in me a desire to get it right, grammatically and factually. Alas, the desire is sometimes unfulfilled. I have been influenced by the muscular writing style of Robert Hughes, and by his erudition. I used to love the pleasure and pain of Paul Theroux’s incisive observations. And I aspire to be able to create such compelling pictures with so few words as Les Murray does with his poetry.

What have been some of your most memorable experiences as a writer so far?
The sum of experiences accrued while writing Battle Lines: Australian Artists at War was extraordinary. I had so many ‘pinch myself’ moments as I interviewed some of Australia’s best-known artists for the book. I would be sitting in their studio or home, talking about their experiences of creating art in the midst of destruction and conflict, and I’d often catch myself thinking, ‘How privileged am I to be listening to these stories?’

Paddling the Hunter River as research for The Hunter provided me with not only a wealth of stories but a belief in the decency and generosity of people. Imagine the scene from the perspective of those I would approach along the river: a mud-spattered, unwashed bloke carrying a paddle appears over the river bank, claims he’s writing a book and wants to ask a bunch of questions. And he wants to camp on our land! Despite that first impression, I was always welcomed. Writing may be solitary, but the research can be delightfully social.

Do you have any quirky writing habits?
My wife tells me she knows when the thoughts and words are flowing. I stick my tongue out. Apparently it looks both weird and funny. Yet another reason why writing has to be a solitary exercise.

And I’m probably the only writer who pounds the keys while listening to the best Australian album ever released - ‘Graffiti Crimes’ by Mi-Sex (okay, the band was from New Zealand but the album was recorded in Australia). I have caught myself playing air guitar while writing – and no doubt simultaneously poking my tongue out.

What can you tell us about your latest book, The Hunter?
The book is about my home region. I had a strong desire to reconnect with the Hunter while in Russia (I was the ABC’s Moscow Correspondent). I lived little more than a stone’s throw from the Moscow River. Perhaps it was while I stared at its ice crust each winter that I was prodded to kayak the Hunter River when I returned home.

The Hunter is about how the river has helped shape not only a region but also the nation. The Hunter has an incredibly rich history, and a fascinating and often controversial present. There’s a precarious balancing act being played out between a range of industries, from mining to viticulture and thoroughbred horse breeding. The competition for resources, including the river itself, is intensifying. As a result, the Hunter, I reckon, is a crucible for those elemental questions many Australians are asking of themselves: What will this country look like in the future? What do I want this country to be? And what price are we paying for the resources boom? I hope as people read this book, those questions are considered.

What do you think was the best experience you had while kayaking the Hunter?
I cherished the thinking time the river afforded me while paddling from its upper reaches to the sea at Newcastle. You have to literally go with the flow. So I loved having that time to think about the river, life, who I am and where I’m from.

And, as you can tell from my answer in question 3, I loved meeting people along the river. Especially when we talked over a bottle of wine!

And the worst experience?
Whenever there was not enough water to paddle, and both the kayak’s bottom and mine were being pummelled by the river’s rocky bed. In those moments, the ‘go with the flow’ meditative approach dried up – as did my patience.

What are you hoping that readers will take away from The Hunter?
As well as thinking about what they want this country to look like in the future, I hope readers are inspired to view their own home region in a new light. I hope the book encourages them to explore what’s in their own backyard. Afterall, my journey in The Hunter shows that you don’t have to be an adventurer to have an adventure. This book is not an armchair adventure. Rather, it’s a ‘get out of your armchair and have your own adventure’ book.

Do you have any plans for another book in the near future?
I do. Actually, the plans are being acted upon. But, as a wise newspaper editor once told me, ‘Don’t talk about it, write it!’ So I’ll wait till I’ve written it before I talk about it (and, hopefully, you’ll have me back).

Do you have any advice that you would like to offer aspiring writers?
With The Hunter, I initially thought I was following the advice of Ernest Hemingway: Write about what you know. Before setting off on this writing journey, I believed I knew the Hunter. What I learnt is how little I knew. So I reckon write about what you know - and be ready to acknowledge how little you know. The journey of discovery will enrich you as a writer, and chances are it will engage your readers as well.

Q&A with Julie Braithwaite

Mon, 05 Nov 2012 09:26:00 --1000

Clinical psychologist and mother of two, Julie Braithwaite has a Glock pistol pointed at her head during an armed hold-up in a poker bar. After stumbling across a late-night episode of Celebrity Poker some months earlier, Julie′s conventional, middle-class life has taken a dramatic turn.

What were some of your favourite books when you were growing up?
Childhood's End by Arthur C Clarke, Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse and Selected Poems of D.H. Lawrence were my fave's from my teen years. I have always been a bit of a thinker and devoured science fiction which transported me to new worlds and universes. Although Childhood's End is spare on character development, for me it was rich in gigantic ideas. Siddhartha was about personal journeying, lyrical and crammed full of the search for meaning, which matched my teenage angst. I loved that it was simple and complex simultaneously. Lawrence is still the only book of poetry I possess. I found his poetry joyous in its clever wit and wisdom. In contrast to my cerebral search for meaning I was also an avid reader of comic books. Ahhh ... The Ghost Who Walks ... strong, intelligent, fearless ...

Did you notice any quirky writing habits that surfaced when you began writing?
Consistent with the rest of my life I'm an obsessive writer. I have a notepad by the bed to jot down random gems that awkwardly arrive in the middle of the night. I'm also forever asking friends to speak slowly and taking notes when they are recounting stories (sorry about that!) for possible future use. Sleep is an inconvenience when I'm on a writing roll and I happily tap away until four in the morning.

What can you tell us about your debut novel, Switching Suits?
It's a journey-adventure book about an extraordinary year in my life when I evolve from being a respectable North Shore clinical psychologist and devoted mother to a poker-playing card shark. The book documents the threads of my life and how having an adventure in my own backyard meant enduring embarrassing scrutiny from my work colleagues, family and friends. (Perhaps I should have been more discreet and travelled to an Indian ashram instead.)

My adventuring escapades escalate when I brashly decide to try and beat the reigning NSW tournament champ Raymond for the season cup - despite having learned the game only a few months earlier. In 84 days I play 184 tournaments while lurching between trying to be a wise (but exhausted) therapist, an absent mum and a competitive poker player. I meet colourful characters (Hitman Rick, Loose Cannon Mick and Stockbroker Mark) and my emotional turbo-ride includes blush-able moments in strip joints, guilt as I try to stay connected to my sons from afar, and thrills from winning poker tournaments.

At what point did you decide to write Switching Suits?
As my adventure unfolded I found myself in situations which were so extraordinary, weird and foreign that I started making comments to poker pals and work colleagues about one day writing a book documenting it all. A year after I stopped playing poker so frequently I needed a new challenge and my book-writing obsession began.

What do you think was the best experience you had during your year as a poker shark?
Meeting fabulous people from a huge range of backgrounds along the way, and the value of being part of a community. And learning to be brave and step outside my comfort zone.

And the worst experience?
Staring down the barrel of a Glock pistol during an armed holdup.

What are you hoping that readers will take away from Switching Suits?
I hope readers will be inspired to look closely for adventures in their own lives, because one might be hiding in plain sight. If so, reach out and grab it. My adventure happened to be in the poker community, but it could have been anything. I also hope they will view psychologists and counsellors as real people and I hope they might think I was a little bit brave for stepping so far from my own comfort zone.

Considering the personal nature of your book, did you find it challenging to write at times?
Definitely. Writing this book relentlessly pushed me to new levels of discomfort once I realised I had to include hidden, personal moments of my life and describe emotions I felt. No more hiding behind my poker-face or my professional persona. The original story focussed on the poker community and was called Chasing Raymond. But as a writer I had to allow my story to be revealed if I was to bring readers along with me. Just as I encourage clients to be open and honest I tried to demand the same from myself.

Do you have any plans for another book in the near future?
Writing is my new obsession. I have three projects I'm working on: another memoir piece, a fiction novel and a light-hearted advice-giving book.

Do you have any advice that you would like to offer aspiring writers?
Be passionate about the story you want to tell - and just do it! Then edit, edit, edit. Consider every feedback comment, even if you ultimately discard it - the reader has responded that way for a reason. Then edit, edit, edit again. Above all, when you have something interesting to write about, write it.

Q&A with Marion van Dyk

Thu, 04 Oct 2012 09:02:00 --1000

Marion van Dyk is a first-time author. She was born and grew up in South Africa during apartheid and migrated to Australia in 1985. She lives in the Blue Mountains in NSW with her husband.

What were some of your favourite books when you were growing up?
As a child I read anything and everything. My favourites were the ‘Hardy Boys’ and ‘The Secret Seven’ series and the classics such as Robin Hood (because of Maid Marian) and Treasure Island and Robinson Crusoe.
In my early teens, my father wanted me to read more serious books that he felt would ‘improve my mind’ – books on politics and philosophy and so on. But my sights were already set on less salubrious books; trashy paperbacks like those by James Hadley Chase and Ian Fleming that found their way into our house via people who were boarding with us. I spent long periods in the toilet with pulp fiction, pretending to have ‘bowel problems’. Later I graduated to more ‘respectable’ books such as Wuthering Heights and Pride and Prejudice.
In my last year at school, I discovered D H Lawrence and devoured Sons and Lovers and Women in Love and when someone smuggled in to school a much-tattered, clandestine copy of Lady Chatterley’s Lover (banned of course in South Africa), we drew lots for who would read it next.

Who are some of your favourite authors?
The list I have come up with has taken me by surprise because they are almost entirely Australian. I love Kate Grenville, Murray Bail and Thea Astley for their elegant, understated prose and for distilling the essence of the Australian landscape; David Malouf and Richard Flanagan for excavating the human psyche and Peter Temple for writing cracking thrillers despite all the while asking uncomfortable questions.
The South African writers Andre Brink, J M Coetzee and Gillian Slovo are firm favourites, and I have to mention American author Cormac McCarthy who plumbs the depths of human depravity with such lyrical language. If you want to improve your vocabulary, read Cormac!

What have been some of your most memorable experiences as a writer so far?
What masochists writers are. In solitude we labour for months and even years over each word, sentence, comma and full-stop. Then we expose our work to the harsh light of day – where it is pushed, poked and prodded – expecting it to withstand the scrutiny. So, when Under the Skin was selected a finalist in the 2012 Finch Memoir Prize and I held my book in my hands for the very first time, it was an incredible moment of validation. Another electrifying moment was being interviewed live by Wendy Harmer on Radio National. And of course I cried when my family said they were so proud of me.

What can you tell us about your book, Under the Skin?
Under the Skin is the story of a young girl (me) growing up in apartheid-era South Africa who is neither black nor white. The racial laws of the country has consigned her to the ‘coloured’ group and she and her family are forced to live as second-class citizens, caught between two worlds. She and her family struggle to make end meet after they are forced to leave their home when their area is designated for whites only.
After relocating to a small ‘coloured’ township, she attends a school where, despite severe restrictions, her teachers fight against the odds to give their students an education beyond what the government has decreed. She eventually becomes head of a computer programming department, breaking through racial and gender barriers in the process.

At what point did you decide to write Under the Skin? Was it something you had been meaning to do for a while?
I started writing short stories three years ago, many of them loosely based on my life. At that time, my father (he died when I was sixteen years old after suffering for many years from a debilitating illness) had become increasingly present in my dreams; dreams in which I finally had the opportunity to speak to him, to tell him how much I loved him and how much I regretted never having taken the time to sit and talk to him as a solipsistic teenager.
In 2010, I woke up alone one night, my pillow drenched after another particularly vivid dream (my husband was in South Africa visiting family at the time). The next morning I took the decision to write about us and Under the Skin was born ten months later – a relatively short gestation.

What was your main aim when writing Under the Skin?
On a personal level, I wrote the book for my son who had just turned six when we migrated to Australia. I wanted to introduce him to my parents (my mother died eleven months after arriving with us in Australia and his memories of her have almost entirely faded). And I wanted him to understand what made me tick – how my South African life had made me the person I am.
More broadly I wanted to tell outsiders the story about us, the ‘coloureds’ of South Africa of whom so little is known, and the contribution we made to the struggle against apartheid. (South Africa’s first post-apartheid government had a ‘coloured’ Finance Minister and a ‘coloured’ Justice Minister, among others).

Considering the very personal nature of your book, did you find it challenging to write?
Surprisingly, no – it was a cathartic experience. I cried many, many times during the writing of my book, but I also laughed often at the absurdity of the situations we so frequently, unwittingly, found ourselves in. ‘Coloureds’ came about as a result of miscegenation when the Dutch – who had enslaved the indigenous brown-skinned KhoiKhoi – also imported slaves to the Cape from India and Indonesia. Then later, the French Huguenots and the British arrived on South African shores. As a consequence, our skin colour varies from off-white cream to charcoal-black and this frequently led, at first glance, to ‘misidentification’. We ‘coloureds’ are a masala – an exotic blend of spices.

What are you hoping that readers will take away from Under the Skin?
The title of my book comes from my father who often felt the need to repeat, when I was so obsessed with my looks as a teenager: ‘What you look like on the outside is unimportant. It is what’s under the skin that matters.’ He belonged to a political organisation (The Non-European Unity Movement) whose ethos was that there was only one race, the human race, and that governments used labels of ethnicity and skin colour to divide.
I hope my book will illustrate the hurt and humiliation that can sometimes be so casually inflicted on those we perceive to be different at first glance from us – the ‘other’. We all bleed when you scratch too deeply, under the skin.

Do you have any plans for another book in the near future?
I am about a third of the way into my first novel which is set partly in South Africa and Australia. The book will tell the story of a young white girl who comes of age just as Nelson Mandela is released from prison. She witnesses, and is complicit in, a terrible event, but remains silent. Years later, in Australia, she is forced to face the terrible consequences of her silence.

Do you have any advice that you would like to offer aspiring writers?
Read widely across many genres and read well. Write a book you’d want to read. If a particular book really resonates with you, think about why it does. How has the writer crafted her book to suck you in, to make you want to read on, to turn the page. Make every word count; take out what isn’t necessary. And above all, write. The more you write, the easier it becomes (so I’ve been told).

Q&A with Majok Tulba

Wed, 19 Sep 2012 16:02:00 --1000

Majok Tulba lives in Western Sydney with his wife and children. He is CEO of the charity SudanCare; has had a film as a finalist at Tropfest; and has won a NSW Premier's/ CAL Literary Centre Fellowship.

What were some of the stories you grew up with in Sudan?
Folk tales and legends.

Who are some of your favourite authors?
Kate Grenville, Waris Dalie with ‘Desert Flower’ and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, who wrote’ Half a Yellow Sun’.

What have been some of your most memorable experiences as a writer so far?
Meeting the NSW Governor General for the Literary Awards, and meeting other authors like at the Writers Festival in Melbourne recently.

What can you tell us about your latest novel, Beneath the Darkening Sky?
I really got inside the character of Baboon as he tried to keep his humanity despite all the awful experiences he had.

At what point did you decide to write Beneath the Darkening Sky? Was it something you had been meaning to do for a while?
At first I wanted to make movies as a form of storytelling, but meeting some friends in Africa again and realising many of them had been killed in the war after being taken as child soldiers, I decided I had to write for the ones who have no voice.

What was your main aim when writing Beneath the Darkening Sky?
To expose the sinister nature of the taking of the boys and their desensitisation into war and death and destruction at the loss of their humanity.

Considering the very personal nature of your book, did you find it challenging to write?
Of course, I’ve seen many of the things in my country that I had to write about and it’s deeply challenging to record it sensitively.

What are you hoping that readers will take away from Beneath the Darkening Sky?
That no matter the circumstances you have to be true to yourself and evil can’t be allowed to win.

Do you have any plans for another book in the near future?
Yes, I am working on my second novel.

Do you have any advice that you would like to offer aspiring writers?
Persistence to believe you have a story to tell and keep working at it and refining your storytelling skills.

Q&A with Natasha Lester

Wed, 05 Sep 2012 10:15:00 --1000

A few years ago, Natasha Lester gave up her job as a marketing executive for Maybelline cosmetics to return to university and study creative writing. She then completed a Master of Creative Arts as well as her first novel, What is Left Over, After, which won the 2008 T.A.G. Hungerford Award for Fiction. Her short stories and poems have been widely published in journals such as Overland, indigo journal and Wet Ink.

Why did you decide to become an author? Is writing something that you have always been passionate about?

I have always loved to write - my mum has kept the evidence of this in my very own Mr Men book that I wrote and illustrated when I was about seven, an Enid-Blyton knock-off story called ‘Toys Alive’ that I wrote when I was about ten and a poem called Seasons that I was incredibly proud of because I had used what I thought were grown up words like ‘absurd’ and ‘cascade’. There are many other literary masterpieces of mine lurking in her spare room.
I decided to become an author because I have always loved to read and I hoped I might be able to make readers lose themselves in my books in the way that I love to become lost in a really good story.

Which authors do you believe have been the most influential on your writing style?

Joan Didion and Margaret Atwood are my two favourite authors and both of them have influenced the way I write. All of Atwood’s books are in some way about storytelling and I suppose this influence is quite evident in my two novels as they both look at the power of storytelling in some way.

Didion writes perfect sentences - spare, beautiful and to the point and I continually aspire to write a sentence that is as perfect as one of hers. It’s what keeps me going as a writer sometimes - always striving to come closer to the kind of writing that I admire.

Do you have any quirky writing habits?

Only that I always write between 12.30pm and 2.30pm every day because that is when my children are asleep. I have a 2, 4 and 6 year old and so only one of them is at school full time. Ever since my oldest was about six months old, I have escaped to my study at nap time and done nothing but write, otherwise I would never find the time to do it.

What have been some of your most memorable experiences as a writer so far?

Firstly, meeting readers who are so appreciative of my writing and who say lovely things about it. It is always nice to know that your words have moved someone and I love it when readers send me emails or talk to me at an event.

Secondly, in a review of What is Left Over, After in The Age, the reviewer described me as a remarkable Australian talent and likened my writing to that of Sonya Hartnett, who is another of my favourite authors. That was a pretty special review and I often remind myself, when the kids are pulling each other’s hair and screaming, that someone thinks I am remarkable!

Since your first book, What is Left Over, After, was published you have received a number of accolades for your writing. How does this recognition make you feel?

I think the best thing about receiving accolades is when they come at a time when you feel as if everything you’ve written is awful. Then, getting the news that you’ve been awarded a grant or a residency is very motivating; it makes you believe in yourself and in your writing once more.

The best accolades are the emails or Facebook messages I receive from readers - it’s wonderful to know that your book has touched someone in the way you hoped it would.

What can you tell us about your latest novel, If I Should Lose You?

It’s a story about how far a mother might go to save her child. It’s a love story that looks at head-over-heels romantic love and the everyday love of marriage. It’s a story about a woman who was one of the first female heart transplant surgeons in Australia and what kind of person she had to become in order to be taken seriously in her job. It’s a story about organ donation and how we can reconcile the taking out of someone’s heart - the symbol of their having loved someone - and place it in another’s body to save a life. It’s a story about art and romance and art and life and which of these might have more power for someone who has lost all that is wonderful in their life.

How much research did you have to do into organ donation and the role of nurses specialising in this field?

I flew to Sydney and met with doctors and nurses at St Vincents Hospital for my research and gave them a copy of my first book in exchange for information - I’m not sure it was a very fair exchange; I think I probably got more out of it than they did!

I was a little nervous doing the research at first because I wondered whether people who spent their time saving lives would be at all interested in talking to an author. But they were, and they were very generous with their time and the information they shared. I spoke to transplant cardiologists, medical research fellows, donor coordinators, transplant coordinators and transplant patients so I was able to see how the whole process works from all points of view.

I was especially lucky to meet a female heart transplant surgeon - there are only six in Australia - and I was able to talk to her about not just the details of her job, but also how she managed her life when she worked with such intense focus for such long and demanding hours. She has two children and whenever I complain about balancing writing with the needs of my children I think about her and what an amazing job she does.

What are you hoping that readers will take away from If I Should Lose You?

I hope it makes them think about what it means to love another and what it means to be alive - and at the opposite end of that, what it might mean to lose someone you love and what really lies on the other side of life. I hope readers explore their strongest feelings, whatever they might be. In the book, part of that exploration is to do with a mother’s feelings for her child and how feelings of love can be pushed to their very extreme edge; it is these intensities of emotion that I try to unravel in the book - to see how someone might behave in relation to someone they love when they are pushed to their emotional limits.

I also hope that readers are uplifted by the story of two strong women who both excel in many parts of their lives, but who also fail in others. I don’t think there are enough books with strong central female characters and I would like it if readers seek out more stories like this after reading mine.

Can we expect another novel in the near future?

Definitely. In fact, I have just finished typing the words ‘The End’ on the first draft of my next novel. It still needs a lot of re-writing but the basic shape of the book is there, so hopefully it won’t be too long away.

Do you have any advice that you would like to offer aspiring writers?

Just that the most important part of being a writer is to actually sit down and write. Turn up at your desk every day and write something. Some days it will be rubbish, but other days it will be great. The more you write, the better you get at it. I don’t believe in waiting for inspiration, I believe in simply getting words down on paper and as part of that process, the inspiration will come.

Q&A with Emilie Richards

Thu, 16 Aug 2012 09:58:00 --1000

Emilie Richards is an American author of over 50 contemporary romance novels. She worked as a therapist in a mental health centre, before becoming a parent services coordinator for families enrolled in Head Start and then working in several pastoral counselling centres.

Emilie and her husband have three grown sons and a daughter. When not writing or quilting, Richards enjoys traveling and turning her suburban yard into a country garden.

What were some of your favourite books when you were growing up?
Little Women, Jane Eyre, all the ‘Oz’ books—which I read over and over again. I read my way through the children’s section of our library, shelf by shelf. My mother loved to read and read to me so often as a child that I had developed a real love for it by the time I was old enough to check out books on my own.

What led you to your career as an author? Is writing something that you have always been passionate about?
I always enjoyed writing in school, in fact it was probably my very favorite activity, but I did very little because of the way my classes were structured. At the university I took a creative writing class just for fun and loved every minute of that, so when I finally had an opportunity to spend a few months writing after the birth of my fourth (and final) child, I began with enthusiasm. I never expected to make writing a career, but that’s the way it evolved after I sold my first novel. And I’m delighted it did.

Which writers do you believe have been the most influential on your writing style?
Louisa May Alcott, perhaps, because of the way she intertwined characters’ stories, something I love to do.

What have been some of your most memorable experiences as a writer?
Visiting New Zealand where one my novels was being filmed for German television and spending time on the set there as well as doing some wonderful sightseeing. Also living and traveling in Australia doing research for several novels I set there. While living in Adelaide I ranged as far as Broome, Darwin, and Cairns. As a bonus I got hooked on memoirs about life in the Outback, and We of the Never Never is still one of my favorite reads.

How do you feel your background as a therapist in a mental health centre has affected your writing?
I think both therapists and novelists are people who like learning about others in depth and digging for the pivotal details of their history. Learning to listen for the “real” story behind what a client says is also an important skill for a novelist dealing with imaginary characters. Both careers also require a certain amount of imagination, because it’s important for a therapist to “imagine” herself living the life of the person who’s talking to her and trying to figure out what pieces are missing, or how that person was affected by events. The same for a novelist.

What can you tell us about your latest novel, One Mountain Away?
One Mountain Away is the story of a woman who looks back at her life and realizes that by striving to give her family everything, she gave them nothing of herself. While she can’t heal all the wounds she’s caused, she sets out to try to make up for some of her mistakes by reaching out to others. In the process she discovers the person she was meant to be and has some surprising reconcilliations.

What was your inspiration?
This is a difficult time for many people, and lots of them need a helping hand. While I think the government and philanthrophy are important, I also think this is the time for ordinary people to reach out to those around them and offer whatever they can. I wanted to write about that, but most important, I wanted to tell in-depth stories about women and their relationships with each other and with the men in their lives. One Mountain Away is the beginning of that series, ‘Goddesses Anonymous’.

What would you like readers to take away from One Mountain Away?
If they can only take away one thing, I hope it’s this, that it’s never too late to change or make amends for past mistakes. It’s never too late to reach out to the people you love.

Can we expect another novel in the near future?
I’m just finishing Somewhere Between Luck and Trust, the second book in the ‘Goddesses Anonymous’ series. Luck and Trust are actual townships outside Asheville, North Carolina, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, where the novels are set.

Do you have any advice that you would like to offer aspiring writers?
I think Charlotte Hale, the main character of One Mountain Away and I would agree on this one. If you want to write, do it. Don’t let your fears stop you. Take the plunge.

Q&A with J T Ellison

Fri, 03 Aug 2012 11:23:00 --1000

J T Ellison is the international award-winning author of seven critically acclaimed novels, multiple short stories and has been published in over twenty countries. A Deeper Darkness is the first book in a brand-new series for J T Ellison, following her successful 'Taylor Jackson' novels.

What were some of your favourite books when you were growing up?

I was a precocious child and an early reader, and loved all kinds of books, from Nancy Drew to Madeline L’Engle. I was fascinated with Arthurian legend, so anything and everything that was set in Camelot. Here Be Dragons, by Sharon Kay Penman, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle, Forever, by Judy Blume. My least favorite was The Thornbirds. I had very long hair and my mother used to tell me if I didn’t let her brush it I’d get lice like Maggie’s daughter. I balked and made her cut it all off. A wonderful source of drama for a child, truly. I like the Greeks and their mythological stories as well – all of my books have a mythology and fairy tale theme to them.

What led you to your career as an author? Is writing something that you have always been passionate about?

Not surprisingly, I’ve always been a writer, though I took a rather large detour after college because my thesis professor told me I wasn’t good enough to get published, and I believed her. I came back to writing in 2003, and I have been very, very lucky. I’ve suffered from rejection just like everyone else, but I was never derailed by it. This is such a subjective industry – if you believe the good you have to believe the bad. When I got started, I wrote a novella I thought was a book and sent it all over New York, and promptly received thirty rejections. I realized something was wrong, did some research on the industry, figured out my mistake, took the story and reworked it, and that book caught the eye of my agent very quickly. That first novel never sold, but my second one did. Perseverance is absolutely vital if you want to be a writer.

You’re an international award-winning author of eight critically acclaimed novels and have been published in over twenty countries. How does this success make you feel?

It’s incredibly humbling, the idea that people I’ve never met read my books and connect with them. I’m thrilled at the way my career has been going, building from book to book, and I work very hard to make sure it continues on that path – meeting deadlines is paramount, and since I do two books a year, I’m almost always on the train – writing, editing and promoting at the same time. I’m very grateful to my readers – they’re allowing me the freedom to write full time, to explore new worlds and new characters, and supporting me through it all.

What have been some of your most memorable experiences as a writer?

So many wonderful experiences: Winning the thriller award in New York last summer. It was an insane night – I was dreadfully ill, had laryngitis, a wicked case of nerves, and two of my literary heroes were in the room: John Sandford and Diana Gabaldon. To win a prestigious award in the presence of two of the writers who shaped me was incredible and gratifying. The very first Thrillerfest in Phoenix, 112 degrees and all the people I’ve only ever heard of there in the flesh; meeting Lee Child and having him react with, “Oh yes, I’ve heard your name.” I was floored. What? How? OMG!!! Allison Brennan talking to me like I was a real writer. The moment my agent called to tell me I had my very first deal – and not just for one book, but three. The day my agent called to tell me he wanted to be my agent. The first time I finished a book – Christmas Day, 2003, at my parents’ house in Florida, and the exhausted realization I’d finally done something special. But the very best was the very first sentence I ever wrote with intention to follow it with another, and another. I finished that paragraph and began to cry. There’s true magic in intention.

Do you have any quirky writing habits?

I wish. Truly, I do. Some of my writing heroes have these great idiosyncrasies that drive their writing. Me, I’m just a get down to work girl. I’ve been messing with my process over the past two years, looking for ways to streamline, but outside of the need for a laptop and a god cup of tea, that’s about it. I do try to shoot for 1000 words, or 5 pages, a day. That keeps me on schedule.

What can you tell us about your latest novel, A Deeper Darkness?

A Deeper Darkness is the first book in the Dr. Samantha Owens series, a spin off from my Taylor Jackson books. Sam is a regular in the earlier series, and she’d been lobbying for her own book for a while. Sadly, in order for her to standalone, she had to lose all encumbrances from the earlier books, so as the novel begins, we are two years post losing her family. The book became so much more than I ever expected when I allowed Sam to become hurt and vulnerable – I see her as a heroine instead of a hero like Taylor, if that makes sense. She’s very damaged, yet still so resilient and strong. It was an eye opening writing experience.
The thing with losing it all – you have to gain something in the end. Sam has two men vying for her attention in this book – Detective Darren Fletcher, and the enigmatic former Army Ranger Xander Whitfield. They are her path to redemption.

What was your inspiration?

For a subsection of the plot itself I was inspired by a real-life incident involving the death of a brave young man. My third cousin and former high school English teacher, Dave Sharrett, sent his son to Iraq. PFC David H. Sharrett, II was killed in a friendly fire incident, tragically shot by his Lieutenant, who left him behind in a field to bleed to death instead of bringing him back to base. The tragedy of the case was compounded by the Army cover up, and it has just been resolved. I dedicated to book to “Bean”, as we all knew David, and I’m still heartbroken over the situation, for all involved. And the only way I know how to deal with heartbreak is to write about it.

What would you like readers to take away from A Deeper Darkness?

That it is a story of hope. We are all such fragile creatures, existing in a rather cruel world, yet we overcome our heartaches and fears to live rich, imaginative, content lives. Sam and Xander are destined for happiness, they just have to be tortured a bit first to appreciate it fully.

Can we expect another novel in the near future?

Yes! Edge of Black is the next book in the series. Sam finds herself in the midst of a terrorist attack in Washington, D.C. and the race to find the suspect is compounded by the fact that Xander Whitfield may know who that person is, and Darren Fletcher isn’t going to let his feelings get in the way of justice.

Do you have any advice that you would like to offer aspiring writers?

Read. Read. Read. I’m always astounded when people say they want to be a writer, and I ask what they’ve read recently, and they say they don’t have time to read. Every single successful fiction writer is also a huge reader.
I have a section on my website called For Writers, which has several articles on getting and staying published, and a list of books I recommend. But honestly, reading is the best way to learn the craft.

Thank you so much for having me!

Q&A with Nigel Allsop

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 09:43:00 --1000

Nigel Allsopp has worked with dogs and animals in the military and in specialist areas from Customs, Police, Corrective Service and Federal Aviation Security and Zoos. He has also lectured widely and is sought after as a guest speaker on the topic of working dog and exotic animal training and management. Nigel has written several books on War dogs and Police dogs and is a vocal ambassador for the establishment of Animal Memorials to recognise their role and contribution in all Wars.

What first made you want to work specifically with dogs?
As a kid I worked on a farm riding horses and working with dogs and that’s where my interest was sparked. Later I joined the Army as a paratrooper and noticed these dog handlers walking around, tracking us down on escape and evasion exercises having a great time and I thought that would be an interesting job. Nearly twenty-five years later my experiences and training (mine and theirs) has stretched from dogs to exotic animals of all sizes and species, from elephants to polar bears and dingos.

What is the best experience you’ve ever had working with dogs?
There's been a few from an operational aspect. One that stands out is when we were tracking a missing child in winter, in heavy bush at 2 in the morning, with most hope lost. My dog Baron tracked and searched for over 10 kilometres. And then in the near pitch black bush, I felt Baron stop and then a tug on the 20 foot line. I turned my torch on to find him wrapped around a shivering 7 year old child. Baron, a giant of a German Shepherd, all black with a mean attitude to match, was beside himself playing like a puppy around this child. I often wonder if without a dog’s scenting ability how long it would have taken to find that child, or would we have simply been too late?

On a private note- the answer is every day. Every day no matter what has happened, your best mate is waiting for you, wagging its tail happy to see you.

...And the worst?
I have lost a couple of dogs operationally, one died from a knife attack that was aimed at me; and the other when military dog handlers were told that after an overseas deployment the dogs they had served with would not be accompanying them home. Heart breaking.

Have there been any specific dogs who have made an impact on your life?
All of them - however two spring to mind. Firstly my current police dog, Venus, a black female Labrador. She is more than my work partner she is a family member, and off duty, she is outside my wife and kids, my best mate.

Second was a dog called Rudy the Mascot of the Military Police Dog unit I served with in New Zealand. Rudy was a terrier/sausage dog cross. She was 10 feet tall in her mind and the boss of all 20 odd German shepherds in the kennels. She ruled the roost and we were inseparable.

What can you tell us about your new book, K9 Cops: Police Dogs of the World?

There is a lot of interest in Police things in general, you can turn on the TV most nights and find a cop show on some channel. However, not much has been written about police dogs, they work behind the scenes in many cases unknown to the public. Police dogs are even a bit of a mystery to a lot of police. It's a hard job to get into in the first place with up to 10 years waiting list in a lot of forces. Our Police dogs serve the community silently and there are few monuments for them that speak of their deeds... I hope that in K9 Cops people understand what police dogs do for them and the community at large.

K9 Cops is not just about Australia’s front line K9 fighters, but the world’s. In the book there are real life stories compiled from all over the world and these stories sit beside facts and images to provide an insight into what it takes to be a handler and how dogs get trained for this role and what they do.

Researching the book must’ve led to some interesting anecdotes. Could you relate one for our readers?

While a Military Dog handler I was tasked to guard the cold tarmac of an airfield awaiting the arrival of The Pope’s plane. The tarmac was marked with sprayed lines that didn’t mean much at the time. Well several hours into the shift my dog needed to go to the toilet and did so on one of these markers. It was a bit runny so I thought I would deal with it later.

When the Pope’s plane finally landed, the purpose of the white markers and the unfortunate placement of the forgotten dog poo became glaringly and uncomfortably obvious.

The plane rolled to a stop on one of the markers, the stairs came out positioned on the other, and the red carpet laid carefully out over the top of the other markers. The Pope descended the stairs, bent down and kissed the ground. I swear to this day he must have thought - ‘this carpet stinks’ - but as a true professional he stood up and shook the Prime Ministers hand. Thank God I am not a Catholic!

In addition to K9 Cops, you’ve also written a previous book, Cry Havoc, about war dogs. What is it that intrigues you about dogs placed in police and military situations?

I have written another two books Cry Havoc and also Four Legged Diggers, the History of Australian War Dogs from WWI to Afghanistan today.

Firstly there is no one more than me that would love to see the day man's best friend did not have to risk its life in war, but the fact is in specific situations, especially for detecting explosives in Afghanistan, there is nothing more effective than a dog to help save human lives. War dogs have been credited to have saved hundreds of Australian lives. In police work they find missing persons, detect substances and of course deter criminals. In fact police dogs even save bad guys lives – for a criminal it would be a lucky day when you’re stopped by a set of teeth rather than a bullet.

What kind of training does a dog have to undergo in order to qualify for the police force? Does it differ from place to place?

In effect Police dogs are the SAS of the K9 world, out of hundreds tested only a few will make the grade. Most training takes approximately 14 weeks for most general police dogs; specialist dogs sometimes a bit longer. However not all dogs pass the grade, around 20 dogs maybe bred or selected but on average only two may graduate. Dogs simply have to be the best of the best. There have been situations where dogs been cut on the last day of a 14 week course, which indicates just how high the required standards are. Upon researching this book I have found it's the same the world over.

What kind of effect do you think working with dogs has on police officers, and what kind of effect has it had on you?

There's an old saying in the United States Police - When the public are in trouble they call 911, when cops are in trouble they call K9. When as a police officer you hear K9s are on the way you know you have good backup for the task in hand. Why? Well most cops out on the road in many forces have less than 5 years experience whereas dog handlers are nearly always veteran cops and then there's the $50,000 dog that comes with him, ready to help find that missing kid or bite the knife welding criminal barricading victims in the local store.

I am happy to work on my own with my k9 dog unlike most police who are always partnered up with another person. With a k9 partner I need to be in control of what I do in a situation, my reactions, my experience, be aware of how I’m feeling, however I know that my k9 partner never fails, will never quit and will die defending me- the price a pat and some love.

Q&A with Diane Chamerlain

Mon, 04 Jun 2012 09:07:00 --1000

Diane Chamberlain is the bestselling author of 20 novels. Her books, frequently set in the southeastern United States, are complex stories about love, compassion and forgiveness with a touch of mystery and suspense.

Diane was born and raised in Plainfield, New Jersey, and attended Glassboro State University. Diane received her master’s degree in clinical social work from San Diego State University. Prior to her writing career, she was a hospital social worker and a psychotherapist in private practice, working primarily with adolescents.

More than a decade ago, Diane was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, which changed the way she works: she sometimes types using voice-recognition software. She feels fortunate that her arthritis is not more severe and that she is able to enjoy everyday activities as well as keep up with a busy work and travel schedule.

What were some of your favourite books when you were growing up?
The first book that made me want to be a writer was Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White. My first grade teacher read it to our class and it was funny and poignant, filled with beautifully developed characters, both human and animal. For the first time, a book really gripped me and also moved me to tears and I knew I wanted to entertain other readers in that way. As I grew a little older, I fell in love with the Gothic novels of Victoria Holt and I think many of my books have a subtle Gothic element to them that was influenced by my early reading.

What led you to your career as an author? Is writing something that you have always been passionate about?
I always loved to write, but I never expected to become a professional writer. Instead, when it was time to select a career, I chose social work. I’ve never regretted that for a moment. As a matter of fact, when young people ask me if they should major in creative writing in college, I suggest they go into one of the helping professions such as teaching, medicine, or social work. They will gain an understanding of people that will help them create believable characters. While I was a hospital social worker, I began writing a book, thinking of the writing as a hobby. The hobby became an obsession and in a few years I had a book and a book contract. For the first several years of my writing career, I split my time between writing and a psychotherapy practice. I’ve been lucky to have had two careers that allowed me to touch people in a positive way.

Which writers do you believe have been the most influential on your writing style?
When I was first writing, there were a few authors whose books I read, loved, and studied. I call several of them my “A-list”: Anne Tyler, Alice Hoffman, Anita Shreve, Ann Rivers Siddons. I can still see passages in my first books that were influenced by these specific writers.

When writing, do you have any quirky or unusual habits?
I allow myself to play with my dogs when I reach a certain word count each day. When I’m traveling and don’t have my “puppy reward” with me, I settle for M&M peanuts!

You have been regularly compared to author Jodi Picoult. How do you feel about this comparison?
I think it’s an honor, even if I’m not quite sure it’s accurate. Jodi has such a strong following and I know the comparison has allowed many new readers to discover my books and for that I’m grateful.

What can you tell us about your latest book, The Good Father?
The Good Father is a bit different from most of my books because the central character is a young man—not my usual protagonist. At first, I was concerned that it would be hard to write from his point of view, but I got so into his character that I actually found it easy. Although Travis does some things I would never do, his love for his little daughter, Bella, is extremely easy to relate to and I believe my readers will find him a very sympathetic guy.

What are you hoping that readers will take away from The Good Father?
I hope readers will imagine themselves in Travis’s shoes, because really, his situation could be ours in a heartbeat. None of us is immune to the hardships that can come from a personal catastrophe coupled with a poor economy. How would each of us respond if we were suddenly homeless with a little child depending on us to keep her safe?

Can we expect another novel in the future?
Oh, of course! I’m working on a story I’ve wanted to write for several years. I can’t talk about it yet, but I expect it to be published in the summer of 2013.

What have been some of your most memorable experiences as a writer?
My first novel was a romance, though quite atypical for the genre, and it won the RITA award from the Romance Writers of America for Best Contemporary Novel the year it was released. That was a long time ago, but I’ll never forget the thrill of hearing my name called out as the winner. I’d taken off my shoes under the ballroom table and I was so stunned that I forgot to put them on before I walked onto the stage to accept the award. In the twenty years since them, I’ve had the joy of making bestseller lists, signing some lovely contracts and spotting strangers reading my books in public places, but to be honest, nothing gives me more of a thrill than a heartfelt email from a reader who’s been touched by one of my stories.

Considering that you’ve had 20 bestselling novels, do you have any advice that you’d like to offer to aspiring writers?
So many aspiring authors have fantastic ideas for a story, but are not good writers. I believe good writing can be taught, however, so if you have some doubts about your ability, take a writing class. Study novels similar to the one you want to write. How does the author handle point of view? Structure? Pacing? How does he or she develop the character in a way that makes you care? Probably the hardest part of writing a book is actually doing it. That’s still the hardest part for me—sitting at the computer and putting words on paper. Set a word goal for yourself each day and hug your puppies when you reach it. Easy!