Author Interview

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Interview with Australian Author – Indrani Ganguly

“Australian Authors” – Tell us a little about yourself? Perhaps something not many people know?

Indrani – I was born of Bengali parents in Lucknow, India. My parents imbued her with a strong sense of Indian and world history and culture and a great appreciation of diversity in all its forms. I studied English Honours and sociology in India and did my PhD. on the impact of British occupation on revolution and reform in West Bengal from the Australian National University. I have worked in academia, publishing and diverse government and non-government organisations and as a volunteer Committee Member in many community organisations. In 1990, I married an Australian with whom I now live in Brisbane. We have a son and daughter and a grandson. I write a mix of academic/Factual and literary genres (such as poetry and fiction and travelogues). They have been published in many journals and anthologies. Most recently, my first novel, The Rose and the Thorn was published in March 2019. It has been well received by both the Indian and the wider Australian community. Some reviews are available on https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44420316-the-rose-and-the-thorn

“Australian Authors” – What made you want to become a writer?

Indrani – I like expressing my thoughts through my writing and sharing them with other people.

“Australian Authors” – What gives you inspiration for your book(s)?

Indrani – My writings draw on my diverse professional and personal experiences. Being part of several very supportive writers’groups and having readers of both Anglo-Celtic and ethnic minority backgrounds also keeps me inspired and motivated. The Rose and the Thorn drew on some of the stories I heard while doing the research for my PH.D thesis. I adapted these to fit into a fictionalised form. A preview of the book is available at https://www.book2look.com/book/cNyQZS41uT A video of the launch of The Rose and the Thorn is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jt4aoesXolg&fbclid=IwAR0RPDDGm8rytaHptTYDCnb2XZYY2wqFdFJeRq96XalnQ80_ykh_0ff9dA0

“Australian Authors” – Now, the big question, are you working on another book?

Indrani – Yes, I am working on the sequel to The Rose and the Thorn.

“Australian Authors” – What genres do you prefer to write in?

Indrani – I like to write poetry, fiction and travel writing.

“Australian Authors” – What do you think about the ebook revolution?

Indrani – I believe it is complementary to the printed books. I don’t think ebooks will replace printed books.

“Australian Authors” – Do you start a book with a definite plot, or do you just write?

Indrani – I have themes that I wish to explore and some characters when I start. The plot evolves as I write.

“Australian Authors” – Pen or type writer or computer?

Indrani – Definitely computer!

“Australian Authors” – Do your characters seem to hijack the story, or are you always in control?

Indrani – It’s a symbiotic relationship. I control a fair bit but they also evolve as the plot unfolds.

“Australian Authors” – Are your characters based on real people or completely imagined?

Indrani – They are composite characters, based on a mix of fact and fiction. I have never completely based any character on a real person as I am aware of the potential to do harm if I do so.

“Australian Authors” – Have you thought about joining with another author to write a book?

Indrani – I have published a Zine jointly with another author but have no immediate plans to write a book together.

“Australian Authors” – Who are your favourite authors?

Indrani – I read a wide range and have no particular favourites.

“Australian Authors” – What’s your advice to Authors? On writing? Publishing? Marketing?

Indrani – Write from the heart, but make sure your facts are correct. Don’t stereotype any person or culture. Self-publishing has given me more control than publishing houses, but it is hard work marketing. Friends and like minded people are invaluable!

Author Interview

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Interview with Australian Author – Julie Bozza

“Australian Authors” – Tell us a little about yourself? Perhaps something not many people know?

Julie  – Appearances are often deceiving. I have a rather ordinary and unprepossessing exterior, but like most of us – and indeed like the TARDIS – I’m larger / queerer / far more interesting on the inside. Perhaps my true colours come out best in my books…?

“Australian Authors” – What made you want to become a writer?

Julie – I could have always told you that my dream was to be a writer, right from when I was a kid – though I would have promptly followed that up with all the reasons why it wasn’t possible. I only started daring to hope the dream might come true in some small way in my late teens, and I didn’t start my first professional novel until I was 29. So the aspiration has always been there, and I’m not sure I can say why. Perhaps it’s because I’ve always been a reader? My Mum says I took to reading like a duck to water. So, maybe the original motivation was due to a respect for this business of weaving words into stories that could both inform and entertain – and wondering if I could do that, too.

“Australian Authors” – What gives you inspiration for your book(s)?

Julie – Life, the universe, and everything…? Just about anything might prompt the feeling that here – HERE! – is something I want to explore in words and share with others. Mostly I like writing about how extraordinary ‘ordinary’ people are, and about how powerful a force love can be.

“Australian Authors” – Now, the big question, are you working on another book?

Julie – Always, more or less! I always have a list of potential future projects, and a current work-in-progress. Whether I am actually writing / researching / pondering one of those works on a particular day is another question entirely.

“Australian Authors” – What genres do you prefer to write in?

Julie – I tend to focus on LGBTQ characters. Mostly contemporary settings for the longer works, with some historical in the shorter works – though that is currently shifting to more of a focus on historical. About half of my longer works can be defined as romances, though the rest usually include a love story of some kind. A few of my novels are thrillers. I find that, even though I don’t consider myself a crime or mystery writer as such, there is usually a mystery or a puzzle for my characters to solve.

“Australian Authors” – What do you think about the ebook revolution?

Julie – I love it, partly because it opens up publishing to a wider range of authors and ‘niche’ content, e.g. LGBTQ. Plus e-readers make travelling and commuting so much easier and more fun. Hopefully they have a good impact on the environment, too. However, I still love physical books, and still buy them for content I’m particularly fond of. Also, reference works are more useful in print, when I need to consult back-and-forth within a book, rather than just reading from start-to-finish. So I think the technologies can and should co-exist for a long while yet.

“Australian Authors” – Do you start a book with a definite plot, or do you just write?

Julie – I need at least a vague idea of the plot. Well, to be specific, I need to know where the characters start and where they finish, with some vague idea of how they get from one to the other. While the start and finish tend to remain as I conceive them, though, the characters often take a somewhat different journey in between.

“Australian Authors” – Pen or type writer or computer?

Julie Bozza – Computer, mostly. But if I’m out and about, I always have a pen and notebook to scribble with – and I think some of my best editing / finessing happens while typing up hand-scrawled notes.

“Australian Authors” – Do your characters seem to hijack the story, or are you always in control?

Julie – If my characters have ideas of their own, then I always listen to them. This, to me, is a sign that the story is working, and I am tapping into my deeper writerly instincts rather than remaining on the intellectual surface. If the characters come alive for the author, I think they are far more likely to come alive for the reader, too.

“Australian Authors” – Are your characters based on real people or completely imagined?

Julie – I guess they draw on a whole range of other imagined characters, actors, and public figures. Other imagined characters, because a lot of writerly inspiration comes from other stories told across a range of media. Actors, because I tend to “cast” the characters in my imagination, and that gives them not only a three-dimensional physicality but also draws on snippets of the actors themselves and the various roles they’ve played over the years. Public figures, yes – but not private people so much. I tend not to re-imagine the people I know personally as characters. I definitely understand how / why other authors do that, but it’s never been something I’ve been interested in myself. Having said that, snippets of their ideas or dialogue or body language may find their way into the mix. All of this, along with a healthy dose of my own imagination! The characters are the key to telling the story, I believe, so I put a lot of work into imagining them to suit.

“Australian Authors” – Have you thought about joining with another author to write a book?

Julie – Thought about it, yes, and in some ways I think it would do me good. I have written some fan fiction that way, and it was a joy. But I am an independent sod, and I tend to want to write my own stuff…

“Australian Authors” – Who are your favourite authors?

Julie – Jane Austen, KJ Charles, Andrew Elfenbein, EM Forster, Elin Gregory, Bryn Hammond, Kaje Harper, John Keats, William Shakespeare, JRR Tolkien, Ivan Turgenev, Salley Vickers, Leonard Woolf, Virginia Woolf.

“Australian Authors” – What’s your advice to Authors? On writing? Publishing? Marketing?

Julie – Listen to others, but trust in yourself. Be authentic. Commit to life-long learning. Push your work to the next level. You can do it! Most importantly: Have fun!

Author Interview

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Interview with Australian Author – Cecelia Hopkins-Drewer

“Australian Authors” – Tell us a little about yourself? Perhaps something not many people know?

Cecelia – I was born in 1967 and grew up in the Barossa Valley, South Australia. I spent ten years living in New South Wales. I have travelled to Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia. I have studies a lot in my life, and dedicate myself to helping children achieve a level of mastery in their studies that equips them for life.

“Australian Authors” – What made you want to become a writer?

Cecelia – I love to read and write. Producing as well as consuming appeared to be a logical step.

“Australian Authors” – What gives you inspiration for your book(s)?

Cecelia– I get inspiration from various things. Generally my interests, sometimes my experiences, and sometimes just a kernel of an idea I know can grow into a full length novel. Poems may come to me as couplets in the night. Occasionally I am inspired by a call for submission. Generally, I consider competition entries and other purpose written fiction my poorest work, but I have found a high degree of compatibility between myself and Black Hare Press, leading to the inclusion of my work in a number of anthologies edited by Dean Kershaw.

“Australian Authors” – Now, the big question, are you working on another book?

Cecelia – Always. I plan to release LOVE ALWAYS HOPES, the third in the “Silver Springs Christian University Series” by July 31 2019. It is in the proof reading stage. After LOVE ALWAYS HOPES the fourth and final instalment, A PRAYER FOR UNDERSTANDING is in manuscript form and will be released in 2020.

I have been inspired by topics announced by Black Hare Press and hope to submit to an alternative history anthology entitled WHAT IF?.

Writing for WHAT IF? has already inspired a historical romance spin-off that I am considering releasing as a freebie – perhaps through Watt Pad.

I have some other projects in progress.

“Australian Authors” – What genres do you prefer to write in?

Cecelia – Horror, Dark Fantasy, Science Fiction. However, other genres come to me. Poetry, Romance, Christian Fiction, Non-Fiction.

“Australian Authors” – What do you think about the ebook revolution?

Cecelia – Ebooks make stories more accessible. An ebook can be distributed at a very low cost, assuming the reader has the technology to read it. Electronic formats have made submission more practical, as one does not have to pay postage on a huge printed manuscript (likely to receive a rejection). However, I prefer POD (Print on Demand) technology. This enables print versions to be distributed at a reasonable price. I also believe the discipline of creating and proofing a print version ensures quality.

“Australian Authors” – Do you start a book with a definite plot, or do you just write?

Cecelia – I need an idea I know will go somewhere. I can develop more as the story progresses. There is also the hard work of bringing the story to the climax points of plot. I may know that at some point the narrator will experience a life changing event – but using who-dun-it or dramatic irony techniques, I do not reveal this until the correct moment. This means I have to write the in-between events with as much effort as the parts that are most exciting to write!

“Australian Authors” – Pen or type writer or computer?

Cecelia – Computer mostly.

“Australian Authors” – Do your characters seem to hijack the story, or are you always in control?

Cecelia – I am open to a bit of both.

“Australian Authors” – Are your characters based on real people or completely imagined?

Cecelia – My fictional disclaimer says all resemblances are the result of coincidence! To be honest, however, I try to relate to each protagonist using different aspects of my experience. Sometimes, I take a small personality characteristic and make it the main feature of my current narrator, like a caricaturist does, but I am not trying to be satirical. Other times, I combine different features taken from many experiences and interactions, and create a narrator from the mix.

“Australian Authors” – Have you thought about joining with another author to write a book?

Cecelia – I would love to co-write with a friendly person! Maintaining an individual artistic voice is important, but developing professional connections in the writing industry is also important.

“Australian Authors” – Who are your favourite authors?

Cecelia – Enid Blyton, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R.Tolkien, H.P. Lovecraft, C.S. Lewis. I am an avid reader so the list goes on and on. Stephen King and James Herbert were my idols for a while. Recently Terry Brooks, Robert Jordan, and George R. Martin have held my interest.

“Australian Authors” – What’s your advice to Authors? On writing? Publishing? Marketing?

Cecelia – Hmm. I hear other authors are tired of hearing “keep writing”, but that is the most essential activity for a writer. When it comes to publishing, I think joining groups is both a help and a hindrance. Several groups have been most supportive of me – mostly by letting me know what opportunities are out there! However, it is important to remember that other authors are not our primary target. Authors do read – but I always use non-writers as my beta readers. They are the consumers, and their opinion is important.

Author Interview

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Interview with Australian Author – Judith Chapman

“Australian Authors” – Tell us a little about yourself? Perhaps something not many people know?

Judith – I’m a Western Australian first time author and publisher, and I treasure memories. I lost my Dad when I was just 2 years old, he was buried exactly 1 month after my second birthday, and that is when I recall my first memories, after he was gone. I know very little about my Dad, as it was always painful to talk about him, and my Mum remembers very little about the first 2 years of my life, as they were the last 2 years of my Dads life, he was very sick with Hodgkins disease.

“Australian Authors” – What made you want to become a writer?

Judith – I have always been someone who keeps a journal, and records my memories especially when traveling. It is an amazing thing to be able to share stories and experiences through writing.

“Australian Authors” – What gives you inspiration for your book(s)?

Judith – I have only created this one book and the inspiration was my mum. She was going through a really hard time in her life and he had reach the age her mum was when she died, and she was lost in the tragedies of her life, so I created My Memory Lane to help her remember the good times in her life and it really worked well, so I wanted to be able to help others in the same way, so my journey as a writer and publisher began.

“Australian Authors” – Now, the big question, are you working on another book?

Judith – No not yet, I would like to create this book into an app to help others recall and record their life stories.

“Australian Authors” – What genres do you prefer to write in?

Judith – I love Biographies and Memoirs, I really enjoy reading real life stories.

“Australian Authors” – What do you think about the ebook revolution?

Judith – I think ebooks are fantastic! It means we can carry a small library of books on one thumb drive, which is great for traveling.

“Australian Authors” – Do you start a book with a definite plot, or do you just write?

Judith – I just write and let the words flow

“Australian Authors” – Pen or type writer or computer?

Judith – Pen, definitely the words flow better from me when Im writing rather than typing.

“Australian Authors” – Do your characters seem to hijack the story, or are you always in control?

Judith –

“Australian Authors” – Are your characters based on real people or completely imagined?

Judith – My stories are accounts of real life experiences.

“Australian Authors” – Have you thought about joining with another author to write a book?

Judith – Yes but only to help them write their own story

“Australian Authors” – Who are your favourite authors?

Judith – Bryce Courtney, Patrick Rothfuss

“Australian Authors” – What’s your advice to Authors? On writing? Publishing? Marketing?

Judith – My advice to other authors or publishers is to use existing publishers or print on demand services, it is very difficult to be an independent publisher, use the established networks to promote your work, going it alone is a long road and difficult to get advice and connections.

Author Interview

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Interview with Australian Author – John Martin

“Australian Authors” – Tell us a little about yourself? Perhaps something not many people know?

John – I’m the mysteriously funny writer bloke from Tasmania. I can’t decide whether I want to write mystery with a dollop of humour or humour with a dollop of mystery. So you decide what is it. I have two series of books going — Windy Mountain Tasmanian Tiger series and the Mad Bill series. The first book of each series is free on Amazon.

“Australian Authors” – What made you want to become a writer?

John – I was a newspaper journalist for 38 years. When that career ended prematurely I decided I was too young to retire to my rocking chair.

“Australian Authors” – What gives you inspiration for your book(s)?

John – I usually see the funny side of things.

“Australian Authors” – Now, the big question, are you working on another book?

John – Yes, it’s the fourth in my Windy Mountain Tasmanian Tiger series.

“Australian Authors” – What genres do you prefer to write in?

John – comedy, satire, black comedy, mystery.

“Australian Authors” – What do you think about the ebook revolution?

John – When I was growing up my father had two or three novel manuscripts that had done the rounds of publishers, and been rejected so many times he had given up trying. He eventually self published and so did I, first in 1994. I was lucky. Working as an editor on newspapers, I had learnt the skills to oversee the project.
Digital publishing has made things so much easier. I see no reason we can’t use the tools at our disposal, plus the outsourcing of editing and cover design, to make our books the equal of many produced by trad. publishers.

“Australian Authors” – Do you start a book with a definite plot, or do you just write?

John – I’m a pantster. I start with a vague idea. I only start plotting when I’ve got 10,000 or so words down on my first draft, I’ve established the key characters and I have an inkling where it is I want the story to go

“Australian Authors” – Pen or type writer or computer?

John – I started working life on typewriters, so I’m over the nostalgia. I’ve always chewed my pens and I’ve worked out it’s not a good thing to suck on ink. So it’s a computer for me. I haven’t been gamw to start eating it.

“Australian Authors” – Do your characters seem to hijack the story, or are you always in control?

John – They have to do what they are told because they know I have ways to make them die horribly.

“Australian Authors” – Are your characters based on real people or completely imagined?

John – They are all composites. In 38 years in journalism I built up a large data-base of character studies, people from all walks of life.

“Australian Authors” – Have you thought about joining with another author to write a book?

John – I’m putting together a group of humour writers of a certain age to compile a book of a short stories in mid 2019. We’re calling ourselves, initially at least, the Old Farts etc, and so far we have men and one woman from the US, Canada, UK and Australia. Feel free to contact me if you’re keen to join us. But you need to already have at least three books published and be old enough to call yourself an Old Fart. The aim of the project is promotion and cross promotion. I doubt we’ll make more than a $1 each

“Australian Authors” – Who are your favourite authors?

John – I’ve always enjoyed laughing at work by Joseph Heller, Tom Sharpe, Colin Bateman, Carl Hiassen, Derek Hansen, John Mortimer, Nino Culotti, Roddy Doyle and Elmore Leonard. I’ve recently discovered Jonas Johannson and Fredrik Backman.
I also like the darker stuff I get from Ian Rankin, John Steinbeck, John le Carre, Graham Greene, Adrian McKinty and Dennis Lehane.

“Australian Authors” – What’s your advice to Authors? On writing? Publishing? Marketing?

John – Read. Research. Listen.

Author Interview

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Interview with Australian Author – Angela Johnson

“Australian Authors” – Tell us a little about yourself? Perhaps something not many people know?

Angela – I’m a proud Tasmanian who had the great fortune of being born into an amazing family at Westerway heading west from Hobart. My grandfather was a farmer, hops, small fruits. My grandmother was just amazing and was proud that her ancestors were Rum smugglers from the Cornwall coast. I’m a Barista part-time and love making a great coffee for my customers. It’s humbling to have someone tell me that they read my book and loved it.
Most people who know me see this bubbly happy smiling woman who loves life. That is me, annoyingly happy, but people don’t see me on my bad days when I’m not smiling for a customer, days when I am sad or angry. But then I don’t let most people see me on those days.

“Australian Authors” – What made you want to become a writer?

Angela – I’ve always written, my mum tells people I was always spending my pocket money on pads and pencils than pens as I grew older. I have always immersed myself in books and they written word. I need to put pen to paper, it’s my passion.

“Australian Authors” – What gives you inspiration for your book(s)?

Angela – Life. Customers. Friends. Jason Momoa. Everything. I can’t single out one single thing. I get inspired by the people, and nature around me. The view from my front window, the mad friend who runs a bakers shop. Life truly inspires me.

“Australian Authors” – Now, the big question, are you working on another book?

Angela – Yes, I have self-published 4 books and am currently working on my 5th.
The first 4 are
Azore’s Quest (book 1 in the Azore’s Quest series),
Jiana’s Curse (Book 2 in the Azore’s Quest Series), it is an Adults only series.
Witches (book 1 in the Chronicles of #10 series) Ages 12+ and Leaving, not running! a stand-alone romantic thriller.

My current work in progress is a stand-alone with the central characters being ex-military, MMA fighters who do mercenary work without using guns. It follows their lives and the ones they love.

“Australian Authors” – What genres do you prefer to write in?

Angela – I will write anything the voices tell me too!
I started with erotic fantasy because of letters and stories I would write for my girlfriends. But like I said I will write anything. I’m not stuck in one particular genre.

“Australian Authors” – What do you think about the ebook revolution?

Angela – Well…
E-books are amazing, they have allowed me to find authors that would have remained hidden from me. It’s so handy being able to take 1000 books with me in my bag but I will always love the feel and smell of a paperback. I am a very tactile person and love to hold and turn the pages. But I still have my kindle.

“Australian Authors” – Do you start a book with a definite plot, or do you just write?

Angela – I just write. I find the hardest part is getting the first sentence down. Once that’s done it all seems to flow along. I flesh out my characters as I meet them. AS an example I’m very close to writing the end of my WIP but I’ve just been introduced to a new character. So I just write.

“Australian Authors” – Pen or type writer or computer?

Angela – My first 3 books were written using a fountain pen and notebooks. I’ve had rheumatoid arthritis since I was 7-I’m now 53- and can’t use a PC or typewriter for more than 20 minutes at a time otherwise my hands die on me.
But then I found a beaut little tool called a Neo2. It’s a small perfectly shaped word processor. It fits my hands perfectly. I can write for hours and my hands still feel good.
So no more pens.

“Australian Authors” – Do your characters seem to hijack the story, or are you always in control?

Angela – Oh, my characters definitely hijack the story. They start talking and basically take over. The strongest story and characters push to the front and not until they have been satisfied will they shut up and let the next one step up.

“Australian Authors” – Are your characters based on real people or completely imagined?

Angela – The characters in ‘Witches, Book 1 The Chronicles of #10’ are based on true people.
I sit and write in a small cafe owned by a girlfriend. The cafe is called ‘#10’. My friend and her staff (with their permission) are the main characters, a retired local police officer is a star as are the people I work with.

“Australian Authors” – Have you thought about joining with another author to write a book?

Angela – No, can’t say I have. I have enough voices of my own without adding another.

“Australian Authors” – Who are your favourite authors?

Angela – Enid Blyton started me as a child, then Tolkien, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Barbara Erskine, Sherlyn Kenyon, S. Nelson, S.E. Rise, Lisa Kessler, Michael Bray, Steven Alten, Greig Beck… So very many!

“Australian Authors” – What’s your advice to Authors? On writing? Publishing? Marketing?

Angela – On Writing- Just write! Don’t talk about it or wonder, pick up a pen and write that first word, that first sentence. Follow it and see where it takes you.
On publishing and Marketing_ That I’m still figuring out myself!

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