Q1. Hello Ma’am, can you please introduce yourself? Readers would love to know more about you.
I love to write but haven’t always been a writer. In the past, I’ve had some pretty wacky jobs like lampshade maker, cigarette girl, and vocalist. I’ve also done some wacky things. I once spent a week in a Swiss castle with the Hugh Jackman of Cuba. I’ve climbed inside the Great Pyramid in Egypt. I’ve written and produced feature films. And I’ve been arrested for possession of a prohibited substance.
Most importantly though, I’m fascinated by myriad topics and like to use both beautiful words and broken characters to explore the human condition as well as to challenge the status quo on some of society’s most widely held perceptions.
I teach creative writing at higher education institutions in Melbourne. However, this year I’ll be launching my own online creative writing trainings called Your Writing Mentor, so watch out for that!
Q2. What were the key challenges you faced while writing ‘This Is Not A Lie’ book?
I really only had one challenge and that was time. I was juggling writing with work, study, and running a household, so it took me a long time to finish the book—around five years. Sometimes I’d get up early and write for an hour or so before work, then I’d try and write some after work.
When I was studying, I wasn’t able to write much at all. During those years, most of my time was spent writing academic content. However, I tried to write something every day even if it was just one line or one small paragraph. I figured writing something was better that writing nothing.
Hopefully, it won’t take me as long to write the next one!
Q3. What books or authors have most influenced your own writing?
Oh, goodness, this is a tough question. However, I’d have to say that Emily Bronte, Mary Shelly, Franz Kafka, William Burroughs, Toni Morrison, Tim Winton, Helen Garner, and Thomas Keneally have probably influenced me the most. These writers are amongst my favourites.
Q4. What’s your favourite spot to visit in your own country? And what makes it so special to you?
The beach. Any beach. Whether it’s the beach around the bay where I live, or somewhere else along Australia’s massive coastline. I love the water.
Q5. Is there lots to do before you drive in and start writing a book?
It’s really easy to lose focus or direction when you’re working on a manuscript that’s over eighty-thousand words. However, I’m a planner so I like spending time drafting an outline that will keep me focused as I worked. However, I also enjoy working organically and a lot of This is Not a Lie’s threads developed organically. The challenge is integrating those threads into the outline. It takes a bit of juggling, but it can be done!
The other thing I spend a lot of time on is research. Even though a significant part of This is Not a Lie is inspired by real people and events, I still had to do quite a bit of research. Most times I was able to find the answers I was looking for but when I couldn’t I had to get a little creative in order to fill the gaps.
Right now, I’m in the very early stages of a new book and it’s about the research. Good research really is the key to creating authentic characters and settings.
Q6. How long did it take you to write ‘Open Wounds’ book?
Open Wounds is a collection of short stories that I’ve written over the last twenty years. There’s no real thread or common theme to the collection other than the stories are all about characters who are desperately lost or damaged.
The first edition was published by Dixi Books in 2019. It’s my fondest hope that at some point in the future there will be a new edition that features several new stories.
Q7. On what all platforms readers can find your books to buy?
As far as I know it’s currently available from Amazon UK, IT, and IN. It will be available in the US and Australia around April, I think. However, it’s also available to order from Book Depository, Waterstones, and a few other places. A quick search in your Internet browser will help you to find it.
Q8. Tell us about the process of coming up with the cover and the title of your books?
The title was fairly easy because it comes from a line in the book that is significant to the main character. However, the process of coming up with a cover image was a little more challenging. The publisher had their graphic designer come up with a few ideas but none of them truly captured the essence of the book.
In the end, I sent the publisher an image that I had as an example and that’s the one they chose to use for the final version.
Q9. When writing a book how do you keep things fresh, for both your readers and also yourself?
Oh, that’s a great question. I like to experiment with structure, from the small stuff like sentence structure all the way up to the big stuff like the structure of the plot. For example, This is Not a Lie is about a rock band, so I wanted the text to be rhythmic like a song. The main characters life is also fractured, so I wanted the chapter lengths to be uneven and fractured as well. I wanted them to mirror his internal struggle.
I’ll most likely take a similar approach with my next novel.
Q10. Are there any secrets from the book (that aren’t in the blurb), you can share with your readers?
Hmm… I can’t think of any secrets per se as the blurb really says it all. However, if you read carefully you might pick up on some of the symbology that’s embedded in the text.
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