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.

NaNoWriMo - Why I won't be writing 50K words this month.

I may need to bow out of NaNoWriMo.

I thought I'd use the redrafting of my novel as part of my wordcount (only using the 'new' words) but I'm already noticing sloppy writing as I try to clock up some NaNo words. I think I should give it a miss this year while I concentrate on quality rather than quantity.

Good luck to all my friends doing NaNo this year. I envy you the helter-skelter race to the finish line, the buzz of writing fast without looking back. Next year I hope to finally have this novel finished and be ready for a fresh start on a new project. NaNo will be just the kick in the pants a new project will need. So NaNo is definitely pencilled in for 2012.

Hope to see some of you there!

(For those of you who are wondering "What is NaNoWriMo?" it's a month-long writing challenge where participants try to write 50,000 words in 30 days. For more information click here.)

Lisa Heidke - Author Interview Series

Lisa Heidke writes contemporary women’s fiction. Her first book, Lucy Springer Gets Even (Allen & Unwin, 2009), was quickly followed by What Kate Did Next (2010). Her third novel, Claudia’s Big Break, was published in January 2011.

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

My mother started reading to me when I was very small so I don’t remember a time when books weren’t a part of my life. Mum read Australian classics to me like Snuggle Pot and Cuddle Pie, Blinky Bill and The Magic Pudding.

Enid Blyton was the most prominent author I remember when I was a child. I loved The Magic Faraway TreeThe Naughtiest Girl in School, The Wishing Chair, The Famous Five, etc.

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

That’s a difficult question. I have always written because I trained as a journalist but I guess I realised I was a writer when I started wanting to create my own fictional worlds. I love having the power to make characters act and talk in ways they would never dare in real life.

Generally, I write about women in their thirties going through crises and personal upheaval so I guess I’d like people to read my books and realise that there’s light at the end of the tunnel (if they’re going through a tunnel). If women reading my books are already living prefect lives, then I’d hope they’d be relieved they are not living my characters lives!

That all sounds very gloomy...in fact I write with a humorous bent, so even though my main character might be going through a divorce there’s enough humour in the story to stop it from becoming a tragedy.

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

No, I love reading for pleasure. I’ll admit when I am reading books in my genre, I’ll think, ‘now why didn’t I write that’ or I might analyse how the author has created the tension or woven several strands of a plot together. When I’m reading outside my genre, for example— crime, fantasy, historical romance etc, it’s entirely for pleasure. I love being swept away by a story and transported to another time.

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 avoid reading books in my genre when I’m writing, so that I am not indirectly influenced or led astray. To completely get away from what I’m writing, I’ll read memoirs, historical romance or the classics like Pride and Prejudice.

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

Marian Keyes would have to be number one. I love her books – her style of writing, humour and characters appeal to me.

Stephen king. Even though I don’t read his fiction, his book ‘On Writing’ has been an enormous help to me.

Then of course there are the classic writers like Charlotte Bronte, Jane Austen and Dorothy Parker, who continue to inspire me.

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

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams. In case I get lost – and it’s laugh-out-loud funny.

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

When I get swept away BY the story...when every page is a page turner and I am thinking to myself...I can’t go to sleep yet...just one more chapter...I have to read what happens next. And then I fall asleep thinking about the book and wondering what is going to happen in the following scene or chapter.

What makes you put down a book without finishing it?

I try not to do that. When I pick up a novel, I do my best to see it through to the end. Having said that, if the characters aren’t engaging or I can’t relate to them for whatever reason, I do find it a struggle to continue.

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

When it comes to modern day authors, I would say Marian Keyes. I like her style. However the more I read Australian authors, the more I enjoy them. Women like Kirsty Eagar, Kylie Ladd, Fleur McDonald, Sara Foster, Anita Heiss, Helene Young, Liane Moriarty, and Fiona Palmer are truly talented authors writing interesting and original stories.

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

This an almost impossible task and my top ten changes all the time. However, this is my list for today:

The Book Thief, Markus Zusak

To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee

The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold

The Time Traveler’s Wife, Audrey Niffenegger

The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger

1984, George Orwell

What Alice Forgot, Liane Moriarty

One Day, David Nicholls

High Infidelity, Nick Hornby

Rachel’s Holiday, Marian Keyes

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

One Day by David Nicholls. It’s a love story about Emma and Dexter, who have an end of university one night fling - and about how their lives intersect and parallel over the next twenty years. It’s funny, wise, sad and poignant. One Day is definitely one of those books that after I finished reading it, I thought, why couldn’t I have written this?

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 don’t know a lot about the eBook market but I do know most books being published these days, including my own, are available as eBooks. As far as I am concerned, anything that gets more people reading or makes it easier for people to access books is good.

I definitely believe in the future of print books. Nothing beats holding a book in your hands when you’re reading in bed at night. (I have to confess I’m one of those people who turn the top corner of the pages over!)

In February 2011, Claudia’s Big Break, was listed in SMH’s Spectrum as one of the Top Ten Australian Best Sellers.

You can find out more about Lisa and check out her blog, at www.lisaheidke.com

You may also like to follow her on Twitter @lisaheidke

Fran Cusworth - Author Interview Series

Fran Cusworth is an author and freelance journalist who has written for The Age, Herald Sun and The Australian.

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

I was an early reader and I remember my father growing exasperated at how quickly I would finish books and ask for more. I would wake in the night and read, and my parents finally took the light bulbs out of my room to stop me – it sounds mean now, but I think they were worried I wasn’t sleeping. The first book I ever read was Jaws; after that my family realised I could read chapter books and furnished me with more appropriate reading matter. I loved Enid Blyton, CS Lewis, the poetry of Walter De La Mare, Lewis Carroll, and any Australian books – the Billabong series, Seven Little Australians.

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 decided very young I was a writer, and I started keeping a journal at about age eight. The good thing about starting early is that you have a couple of decades to work through the deadly, terrible, self obsessed stuff, and I have all sorts of short stories about favourite hiding places, or my best friend looking at me the wrong way, or who did the best jump on the trampoline. I really can’t remember a time when I didn’t feel certain I would be a writer, and being a keen reader helped this.

I hope my readers will be absorbed, and escape their every day lives for a while when they read my books. I’m not seeking to change the world through my books, I just want to entertain, and at the most reflect some aspect of the reader’s life back at them in a new way.

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

I read a great deal for pleasure, but my writer radar is always turned on. I find a lot to inspire me. I just finished Jonathon Franzen’s Freedom, and then read Corrections, and while I absolutely loved them, I was very envious that he could write about family so humourously and cleverly, while pinpointing society so accurately at the same time.

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 should avoid reading certain types of fiction while I’m writing, but I don’t. I’m always writing, so I would never read if I did that, and reading is too enjoyable to stop. I am very affected by what I read – the last Geraldine Brooks book I read, I decided I had to have a historical thread through my novel and it took a couple of months to realise that was impossible for the novel I was writing. I read Toni Jordan’s second novel Fall Girl, and felt I wanted my book to be more funny. Then I read The Road by Cormac McCarthy, and just about felt like never bothering to write again, it was so perfect. I certainly should stop reading. But I won’t.

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

Well, as described above, most books I read. Even bad ones inspire me with what I don’t want to do. I would have to say Geraldine Brooks, Anne Tyler, Toni Jordan, Franzen, Jane Austen.

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

A compendium of Jane Austen’s six novels. Or The Forsyte Saga. Or The Bone People.

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

Wondering what will happen next. Providing a world you want to return to. Humour. Likeable characters.

What makes you put down a book without finishing it?

Pretension. Boredom. Literary high-falutin’ showing off where nothing happens and the reader is treated with disdain.

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

I like a lot of English classics: Thomas Hardy, George Eliot, Austen – I think I’m drawn to the wordiness of their writing style and the focus on morality.

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

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel.

Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie.

The Bone People by Keri Hulme.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy.

Middlemarch by George Eliot (or Mary Anne Evans).

Ridley Walker by Russell Hoban.

Mitten Strings For God by Katrina Kenison.

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.

On Beauty by Zadie Smith.

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

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. I loved the language and I found the fictionalised life of Thomas Cromwell, PA to Henry Eighth, fascinating.

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 probably take off in a big way over the next year, and maybe even people I know will be buying them – they’re not yet. I just had floor to ceililng wall to wall bookshelves installed in my home, so I won’t be getting an eBook just yet I don’t think. I think it’s just a medium, I doubt it will change how much people read.

Fran Cusworth is a Melbourne based journalist who has published two novels, The Love Child and Hopetoun Wives, both with Penguin Books.