Last words for 2011

Well the time has come to wrap up on another busy year of reading and writing. I got off to a slow start reading-wise due to last year's christmas toy (iPad) but I finished strong.

I've read a lot of poetry this year and have added quite a few titles to my shelves. Some favourites include This Floating World by Libby Hart, Ocean Hearted by Graham Nunn, The Taste of River Water by Cate Kennedy, Stepping Over Seasons by Ashley Capes and Seasons of Doubt & Burning by Robyn Rowland.

As for fiction, I enjoyed some fantastic story-telling by Jon Bauer Rocks in the Belly, Emma Donoghue Room and Mette Jakobsen The Vanishing Act.

I didn't do as much writing as I had hoped but still managed a fairly hefty rewrite of the first 90 pages of my novel and about a dozen new poems and 2 short stories. What I didn't do this year was send anything out for publication. So this is the big goal for 2012 - submit! I'll have plenty of poetry to work on for submission because I've signed myself up for Month of Poetry and will be writing one new poem a day throughout January.

I was part of two writing/critique groups this year and gained some valuable feedback on my novel from both so a big thanks goes out to Tony, Eleanor, Sam M, Bec, Sam P, Stacey, Kathy, Tina and John.

I brought you 33 author interviews throughout the year and I hope to bring you more in 2012. I am going to focus on poets next year (with a few fiction writers in there as well) and hope to bring one contemporary poet to your attention each month. Perhaps I'll even share some of my own...

Enjoy the holidays, however & wherever you celebrate them and I hope you keep reading in 2012.

~ Lisa

Dianne Blacklock - Author Interview Series

Dianne Blacklock is the author of eight books, Call Waiting, Wife for Hire, Almost Perfect, False Advertising, Crossing Paths, Three’s a Crowd, The Right Time, and The Secret Ingredient.

What authors/books did you read as a child? When did you first discover your love of books?

I read everything I could get my hands on. Seven little Australians was an early favourite; all and anything by Enid Blyton – adored The Famous Five and The Secret Seven. Then there were the usual suspects - Milly Molly Mandy, Pippi Longstocking, Little Women, Heidi, Alice in Wonderland, The Wind in the Willows, Winne the Pooh ... you name it, I read it.

I can’t remember when I started to love books, because I just always did. I was constantly getting into trouble for reading by the light from the hall outside my bedroom, well after I was supposed to be asleep!

When did you first realise you were a writer? What do you hope your readers will take away with them from reading your books?

I have always written stories, it was just part of me. I was a bit naughty at school – mainly talkative, it wouldn’t be remarkable these days in the more relaxed classrooms – however, I did well at school mostly because I could write. My stories were frequently read out at assemblies, won awards, that kind of thing. As I grew older I still loved to write all the time, I could make sense of what was going on in my head by putting it down on paper. But I was from a working class family, the fifth of six kids, it didn’t even occur to me to be a writer or to pursue writing in any serious way. So it wasn’t until I was in my late twenties, when a friend suggested we do some writing together, that I really threw myself into it. But I didn’t believe I was an actual writer until I got the nod from a publisher.

I hope my readers are entertained, and perhaps find something to relate to in my books, that may even help them feel okay about their situation in life.

Do you find it difficult to read purely for pleasure? Does everything you read come under your ‘writer’ microscope?

I can read purely for pleasure, but only outside my ‘genre’. Stories don’t always conform to labels, and I am drawn to strong domestic narratives, but I read commercial women’s fiction sparingly. I either worry that I’ll inadvertently ‘steal’ ideas, or I get worried if I read an idea or a storyline that’s similar to something I’m working on. Or I get intimidated by how good the writer is!

Do you have to avoid reading certain types of fiction while writing your own? Does what you read while writing have an effect on what you write? In what way?

I find it difficult to read fiction at all when I am deeply immersed writing my novels, especially in the end stages. I’m not someone who can pick up a book and read it for 10 minutes. I stay up half the night … just one more chapter, oh, what the heck, just another chapter ... so I find it very difficult to have two fictional worlds competing in my head. I do keep reading during the earlier stages, but it often tampers with my voice. I was reading John Irving a couple of books ago, and found I was writing with the intricate, every day detail you find in a lot of American novels – which I love. It’s about finding the balance between being inspired, and just plain mimicking.

Name five authors or books that have influenced or inspired your own writing in some way?

Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Jonathan Franzen, Michael Cunningham (specifically The Hours). Lastly, not really an author, but the screenwriter, Aaron Sorkin. I am such a huge fan of his writing; I have watched his films and TV series over and over, hoping to absorb some of his brilliance! I’ve even downloaded a few of his scripts to try to work out how he does it. I know he has influenced my dialogue especially.

If you were travelling and were told you could only take one book with you, what book would it be and why?

Oh my goodness! That’s a hard one. Maybe it would have to be a book I haven’t read yet … whatever has been recommended to me at the time, something on my ‘must read’ list. Last year it would have been Freedom by Jonathan Franzen. Or else, I might bring a classic I’ve never got around to reading (or finishing), because it’s been a bit daunting – Middlemarch, or maybe Anna Karenina. With nothing else to read, it might force me to stick with it!

What makes a book ‘too good to put down’?

The characters. While an intriguing hook might get you in, if you don’t engage with the characters on some level, then it’s difficult to stay with them for the rest of the journey.

What makes you put down a book without finishing it?

Following on from the previous question, if I’m not engaged with the characters, especially the protagonist. For this reason I have struggled to continue A Confederancy of Dunces, because I find it difficult to relate to Ignatius J. Reilly. The same goes for Quoyle in The Shipping News.

I gave up on a popular fiction book recently because it was written from too many perspectives. More than a third of the way in, I turned the page and another chapter began from yet another character’s perspective. I didn’t care enough about any of the characters at that point, let alone to have to take on another.

Do you have a favourite author? Who is it and what is it about their writing that draws you to them?

I can’t place Dickens over Austen; I am drawn to them both because of their skill in characterisation, their innate understanding of the human condition, their extraordinary command of the language, and their wonderful sense of humour. Even though their books were written in another century, about things that are out of my immediate experience, I can still relate.

If you had to list them, what would be your ‘top ten’ reads of all time (excluding the classics) and why?

No classics! So I’m not allowed to include Great Expectations, Pride and Prejudice or To Kill a Mockingbird? Oh well, I’ll try ...

The Hours by Michael Cunningham – I kept reading over paragraphs in awe of the language, the way he expresses emotions. And the way he gets into women’s heads is stunning.

Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates – This novel was published in the year I was born, yet it has such an incredibly ‘modern’ perspective, and touched me deeply.

Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon – A little crazy, but so endearing.

The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen – Again, it’s the characters! Such a cast, and there is a turn of phrase or an observation on every page that surprises.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov – How is he able to make you have sympathy for a pedophile?

The Road by Cormac McCarthy – A book I shouldn’t have had any interest in, that kept me rivetted. Achingly beautiful.

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, for the way she was able to write from such different characters’ perspectives, about the Congo in the 60s. Just extraordinary.

Wild Swans by Jung Chan – I knew so little about modern Chinese history; a compelling, sweeping novel.

My Crowded Solitude by Jack McLaren – I read this at school and the images have stayed with me ever since. Apparently it’s not very PC any more, but it was of its time.

The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkein – This might count as a ‘classic’, but I’m including it anyway. It was a momentous book to read in my teens, and has stayed with me always. I was in love with Aragorn long before Viggo Mortenson played him in the film!

What was your 2010 ‘best read’? What was it that made it number one?

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen. I simply love the way Franzen writes, and paints even unlikeable characters with such insight and intricacy and truth, that you find their humanity.

What do you think of the non-traditional publishing methods – eBooks etc? Do you think the new technology will encourage more people to read? Do you think there’s a future for print books?

I think eBooks will encourage another generation to keep reading into their adulthood. I think they may even be our best chance of ensuring this. Recently my teenage son discovered his favourite band had released a new album, so he immediately went on iTunes and bought it, and was playing it within minutes of first hearing of its existence. I thought he’d want to have the physical CD of a band he loved so much. But that didn’t even occur to him – the music was what he wanted.

I think we have to get over mourning the death of paper books, the smell, the feel, the object. I love my books, and I am from a generation that will probably always want to own a physical version of their favourite books. But I don’t think the generations after me are going to care as much. So if writers can provide their books in a format that people want to read, then all the better. I don’t see a time when print books won’t be available – not everyone will want to shell out for an eReader, no matter how inexpensive and ubiquitous they become. And maybe there will be smaller print runs, particularly of commercial fiction. We still have newspapers – thinned out, for sure, but they still exist; we still have Post offices, and cash, despite all the predictions of their demise.

The greatest thrill for me as a writer has always been – not holding the finished book in my hands, as people assume, but hearing from readers once they’ve read it. It’s the story that matters, content is King, however it happens to be delivered.

Dianne has been a teacher, trainer, counsellor, check-out chick, and even one of those annoying market researchers you avoid in shopping centres. Nowadays she tries not to annoy anyone by staying home and writing.

Find out more about Dianne here.

Melina Marchetta - Author Interview Series

Melina Marchetta's first novel Looking For Alibrandi was published in 1992 and was released as a film in 2000 which she also wrote. Her novels have been published in 17 languages.

What authors/books did you read as a child? When did you first discover your love of books?

I was about 8. My mum is a reader and she passed down books that she had loved as a child. I especially remember Anne of Green Gables and the Naughtiest Girl books. I loved anything about orphans or kids sent to boarding schools. In primary, my favourite novel was Ivan Southall’s Hills End. I was one of the bin girls in Year 6 and we used to waste the whole afternoon burning school rubbish in the incinerator back in the day when that was allowed. But on the afternoons my teacher read Hills End the damage to the environment took second place and I’d be sitting right at the front, hanging off every word.

When did you first realise you were a writer?

I was sixteen. I remember sitting in typing class and handing my stories to the girl next to me, page by page. She’d always be impatient for more and it really helped with my typing speed.

What do you hope your readers will take away with them from reading your books?

A connection to the world I’ve created and a sense that I haven’t done this all before.

Do you find it difficult to read purely for pleasure? Does everything you read come under your ‘writer’ microscope?

The greatest casualty of writing and research has been reading. But I do try to squeeze in a couple of books between projects and especially on summer holidays. I’m one of those people who buy heaps of books and they stack up on my to-be-read pile and I stare at them and feel illiterate.

Do you have to avoid reading certain types of fiction while writing your own? Does what you read while writing have an effect on what you write? In what way?

I do tend to keep away from fantasy when I’m writing the Lumatere Chronicles, although in saying that, at the moment I’m writing and reading fantasy. What worries me the most is reading a novel and noticing a similar story strand or character. It makes me feel anxious and paranoid and then it stops me from writing the story. It gets a bit tricky.

Name five authors or books that have influenced or inspired your own writing in some way.

If I have to think of On the Jellicoe Road, Holes by Louis Sacher was a great inspiration with regards to its structure and intertwining stories. I loved what Joseph Heller did with chronology in Catch 22. Going back to Ivan Southall, Hills End, it’s about a bunch of kids taking on the role of adults under dramatic circumstances, and in Hard Times Charles Dickens has a line by Louisa, the daughter of the owner of the school, where she says, "I wonder..." and her very pragmatic father says, "Louisa, never wonder." The last line of the Jellicoe prologue is an ode to the Louisa line and sentiment.

If you were travelling and were told you could only take one book with you, what book would it be and why?

I can’t answer that so I’ll cheat and say I have a Kindle so I can take more than one.

What makes a book ‘too good to put down’?

I love flawed characters and the grey areas in their personalities. Oh and I do like a great love story. The relationship between Meyer Landsman and his estranged wife, Bina in The Yiddish Policeman’s Union is amazing.

What makes you put down a book without finishing it?

I’m not really good when I don’t like all or most of the characters in a novel, but in saying that, good use of language has got me through many a novel about unlikeable characters (The Inheritance of Loss is one novel that comes to mind). That’s not to say that I think likeable characters have to be a pre-requisite. It’s just a preference thing for me. And if I get a whiff of a love triangle being used merely as a way of providing the main conflict in the story, well that novel goes into the not-to-be-read pile.

If you had to list them, what would be your ‘top ten’ reads of all time (excluding the classics) and why?

The Broken Shore because I loved the character of Joe Cashin and the way Peter Temple nailed characterisation in one line.

The King of Attolia by Megan Whallen Turner, because of the way she explored the claustrophobia, intrigue and boredom of a royal court.

A Civil Campaign By Lois McMaster Bujold, because she set a novel on a planet in the future and makes it seem as if you’re walking into the constrained rules and regulations of an Austen novel including some pretty amazing ways of getting around the primo geniture laws.

The Yiddish Policeman’s Union by Michael Chabon (see below and above)

Year of Wonders by Geraldine March. I travelled with Geraldine on an Asia Link tour the year before I wrote Finnikin and she spoke constantly about the need for vigorous research. Any time I’ve wanted to get lazy with research I think of how disappointed she’d be.

Obernewtyn by Isabelle Carmody. Because it was way before it’s time. Clever with great characters.

Nam Le’s The Boat. When I was writing The Piper’s Son, his short story, Halflead Bay, was a great guide on how to write relationships between men and boys. When it comes to dialogue, less is more.

I know I could be cheating a bit, but there doesn’t seem to be any rule against biography so I’m including the following two because they amazed me and I felt as if I was reading fiction.

The Silent Woman by Janet Malcolm

Joe Cinque’s Consolation by Helen Garner

What was your 2010 ‘best read’? What was it that made it number one?

Definitely The Yiddish Policeman’s Union. It walked a beautiful line between humour and pathos.

What do you think of the non-traditional publishing methods – eBooks etc? Do you think the new technology will encourage more people to read? Do you think there’s a future for print books?

For me, eBooks are great for when you’re travelling. Last year, I was downloading on long bus trips between Turkish towns. I also know friends with elderly parents who are loving the larger fonts and I remember hearing the writer Aiden Chambers speak about finally getting through War and Peace because he didn’t have to be intimidated by just how big that book was.

But it’s too soon to tell what it will all lead to. Every second person owning an iPAD does not equate to every second person reading eBooks. I especially don’t think eBooks will encourage people to read. If they weren’t reading before, they’re not going to start now. And the print book will always always be around. A friend in his 20s (supposedly the greatest consumer of eBooks) once said to me that there were few pleasures in life and one was holding a novel in his hand.

Melina Marchetta is a Sydney author. Her latest fantasy novel Froi of the Exile is Book Two in The Lumatere Chronicles, which began with Finnikin of the Rock. She is currently writing the last novel in the trilogy, Quintana of Charyn.

To find out more about Melina and her books go here.

Toni Jordan - Author Interview Series

What authors/books did you read as a child? When did you first discover your love of books?

I've been reading for as long as I can remember. My earliest memories are of a book of children's poetry by Mary Gilmore (kind of strange--it wasn't a poetry-reading home) and the Faraway series by the awesome Enid Blyton.

When did you first realise you were a writer? What do you hope your readers will take away with them from reading your books?

When my first book, Addition, was picked up by publishers overseas, I thought to myself: 'Perhaps I do know what I'm doing.' I'd love it if readers enjoyed themselves, but found plenty to think about as well. I think readers can laugh and think at the same time.

Do you find it difficult to read purely for pleasure? Does everything you read come under your ‘writer’ microscope?

These days it's a very special book that enables me to lose myself. When I love something, I can't help thinking: 'How did she/he do that?'

Do you have to avoid reading certain types of fiction while writing your own? Does what you read while writing have an effect on what you write? In what way?

I couldn't possibly stop reading while I was writing. It takes me around 18 months to write a book. If I stopped reading fiction during that time, I'd go bonkers. I've never understood this 'polluting my voice' theory of reading.

Name five authors or books that have influenced or inspired your own writing in some way.

Sorry, must have six. The six people who make me want to give up: Peter Carey, Jonathan Franzen, Zadie Smith, Peter Temple, Richard Ford, AS Byatt. Freaks, every one.

If you were travelling and were told you could only take one book with you, what book would it be and why?

At the moment, it would be Freedom by Jonathon Franzen. I've been looking forward to it but haven't started yet. It’s a biggun.

What makes a book ‘too good to put down’?

I think this is what every writer would give their left kidney to know, but there's no easy answer. It's a magical thing, often unrelated to technical skill.

What makes you put down a book without finishing it?

I'm such an optimist that I firmly believe in giving a writer every chance. Who knows? Even if the book's a stinker, they might pull something out in the last ten pages that is so fantastic that the rest of the book falls into place. I've only given up half way once in living memory. Embarrassingly for me, it was Patrick White's The Living and the Dead. I really hated it and it made me incredibly angry, because I'd never read White before and I was so looking forward to it.

Do you have a favourite author? Who is it and what is it about their writing that draws you to them?

There's too many to mention. Apart from the six aliens I've listed earlier, I love Michelle de Kretser, Chris Womersley, Brian Castro...the list goes on. So many writers make me go weak at the knees.

If you had to list them, what would be your ‘top ten’ reads of all time (excluding the classics) and why?

Yikes. This changes on a daily basis. Excluding the classics, the books I try to read at least once a year are:

The Corrections - Jonathan Franzen

Possession - AS Byatt

Oscar and Lucinda - Peter Carey

White Teeth - Zadie Smith

Independence Day - Richard Ford

The Gathering - Anne Enright

The English Patient - Michael Ondaatje

The Acolyte - Thea Astley

Carpentaria - Alexis Wright

Flaubert's Parrot - Julian Barnes

What was your 2010 ‘best read’? What was it that made it number one?

AAARGH! Lisa you ask all the tough questions. I can't pick one because it was a tie: Peter Temple's Truth and Chris Womersley's Bereft. Wonderful, wonderful books. I don't write anything like this type of thing, but you can see the genius in them. They are both exquisite in every way.

What do you think of the non-traditional publishing methods – eBooks etc? Do you think the new technology will encourage more people to read? Do you think there’s a future for print books?

They'll be prying my pbooks out of my cold dead hands.

Find out more about Toni here.

Karen Miller - Author Interview Series

Karen Miller was born in Vancouver, Canada, and lives in Sydney, Australia. She has loved books her whole life, and always dreamed of becoming a writer. The dream came true in 2005 with the Australian publication of her first fantasy novel, The Innocent Mage. Since then she's published 16 novels, including tie-ins for the Star Wars and Stargate universes. She also writes the Rogue Agent series, under the pen name K. E. Mills.

What authors/books did you read as a child? When did you first discover your love of books?

My introduction to speculative fiction came very early in primary school, when the librarian handed me a copy of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. At the same time I came across Enid Blyton's Secret Seven mysteries, and I've been in love with fantasy and crime fiction ever since! I also read Andre Norton, the Tom Swift series, Robin Jacques ... basically, if it wasn't nailed down I'd read it. The Billabong series, that's Australian fiction. I honestly don't remember a time when I didn't love stories, be they in books or on film and tv.

When did you first realise you were a writer? What do you hope your readers will take away with them from reading your books?

I knew I wanted to be a storyteller from the first time I had to write a composition in primary school. And then all the way through school, in English classes, I was always happiest when we had to make up a story. I was always happiest with my head buried in a book - I used to walk to school reading! I guess, when it comes to the people who read my work, I want them to finish a book thinking it was worth their time and their money. I want them to walk away satisfied emotionally. I want them to be glad that they read the story, and spent some time with those characters.

Do you find it difficult to read purely for pleasure? Does everything you read come under your ‘writer’ microscope?

Yes, reading for pleasure is much much harder now. I think that's inevitable, in the same way that anyone who tries to do in leisure what they do for a living can't ever be free of involvement. You get too close to the mechanics. So for me, when I pick up a book, the inner editor is always waiting to pick up the red pen. That's why I treasure my favourite authors, who allow me to enjoy reading without ever thinking to look at the work critically.

Do you have to avoid reading certain types of fiction while writing your own? Does what you read while writing have an effect on what you write? In what way?

I can't read in my genre while I'm writing. And since I've done nothing but write for the last few years, I'm pretty behind on the reading! I can still read outside my genre, I can read romance and crime and still be enormously entertained. But reading fantasy/sf while I'm writing it is way too distracting. Luckily, I don't seem to be influenced by what I'm reading while I'm writing. It's a relief, because I couldn't stand not reading at all!

Name five authors or books that have influenced or inspired your own writing in some way.

The author who has had the most influence over me and my work is the late Dorothy Dunnett. She was a spectacular storyteller, a gifted stylist and a genius with character. I learn so much from re-reading her work, which I try to do every year. CS Lewis, whose Narnia books kindled my love affair with speculative fiction. The late Kage Baker, whose work was so under appreciated while she lived, and whose imagination was amazing. Georgette Heyer, who teaches a master class on how to seamlessly marry story with research in every book. Reginald Hill, whose crime fiction is a fabulous blend of intelligence, sly humour and searing narrative skill.

If you were travelling and were told you could only take one book with you, what book would it be and why?

Probably the final book of Dunnett's Lymond Chronicles, Checkmate. Because it's the culmination of the whole saga and it's wonderful.

What makes a book ‘too good to put down’?

Riveting characters and a compelling story told with grace and style.

What makes you put down a book without finishing it?

First and foremost, clunky execution. If the writing itself is flat or clumsy I can't do it. Usually I can't get past the first page. If story logic is missing, if the characters are doing stupid things, or I feel like my intelligence is being insulted, or if the story's going on and on and nothing's happening. That's when I stop. And when I don't care. If I just don't care about the characters and their troubles, I walk away.

Do you have a favourite author? Who is it and what is it about their writing that draws you to them?

That's hard. There are so many authors whose work I adore. But again, I have to say Dorothy Dunnett. Let me put it this way: back in the 80s, when I found her Lymond books, I was working on a horse stud in England. Hunt saboteurs broke into the property and set fire to a horse box. There was a great deal of excitement, as you can imagine. I stayed in bed reading Dunnett. What was happening to Francis, in that moment, was more important to me than anything else, including my safety! Which might mean I'm crazy, yes, but that is the power of her work, to me. She has it all: breathtaking characters, high stakes, and magnificent execution. She was fearless in her storytelling. She broke my heart again and again, and it still breaks whenever I re-read her work.

If you had to list them, what would be your ‘top ten’ reads of all time (excluding the classics) and why?

In no particular order, just as I think of them...

A Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card.

A Catskill Eagle by Robert B Parker.

The following, by Terry Pratchett: Guards, Guards; Jingo; Lords and Ladies.

Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters.

The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer.

Hot Money by Dick Francis.

In the Garden of Iden by Kage Baker.

Born in Fire by Nora Roberts.

Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold.

And yes, that's 12, but I've barely scratched the surface! For me, what makes these books outstanding even though they cross genres, is that in each case I am completely swept away by the stories. The real world vanishes and I am caught up in the world each author has created. And I am completely emotionally engaged. I care, deeply, about the characters and their lives. And these are books I return to again and again, because I love them passionately and it doesn't matter that I've read them before. I read them again and I'm totally swept away, as though it's the first time.

What was your 2010 ‘best read’? What was it that made it number one?

Cold Magic by Kate Elliott. Beautiful, beautiful writing, great characters, an exciting story. Biggest thing, though, is that even though it's told in the first person - and I don't like first person narratives unless it's crime fiction - within a page I didn't care. I was just carried away by the story.

What do you think of the non-traditional publishing methods – eBooks etc? Do you think the new technology will encourage more people to read? Do you think there’s a future for print books?

Well, I can see that ebooks would work for a lot of people. I'm not really techy, I like the real thing, but they're a part of the landscape. Basically, any delivery mechanism that allows people to read is fine with me. I just wish people wouldn't pirate them and then crow as though they're doing something noble. Theft isn't noble, it's theft, and it's grubby. Yes, I think print books will go on. I think stories will go on, full stop. But then I'm an incurable optimist!

Find out more about Karen and her books here.