-
You write... good on you, but why?
I've always been creative, and up until a few years back, I created a lot of visual art items, paintings, photographs, prints, etc. I realised they took up too much room, writing, on the other hand, I could store away on websites. All of a sudden, I had a new outlet for my creativity.
My main story device is a character called Janey, a feisty teen with spirit and a touch of angst. Her history project becomes a bigger thing than she thought, and carries with it a gathering of wisdom and values.
The story goes on from there in my mind, and, oh well, we get to follow her on as life takes various twists and turns into adulthood.
Janey defends herself, learns a bunch of fascinating things along the way, and oh yes, she falls in love...
-
Why a female lead character?
It seemed logical, I wanted to make a statement about being strong, defending yourself, having resilience and a whole heap more. I recalled the various girls I worked with as well as students at school, and Janey came to mind, someone who has an attitude but the ability to learn, and make her way in the world.
-
How about Bill, the other main character?
If you have ever been into an aged care facility, you will soon realise there are a range of people passing time. Bill, as a character, struck me as a way to get wisdom across through fanciful stories and memories of how things were.
Bill's stories are a mix of my own experiences and stories from people I have met, like my Father in Law for instance. the rest is history...
-
Were the other books in the series easy to write?
Yes and no, the first book started as a series of short stories, and then I realised they should be chapters. Then the more I thought about things, the more other stories came to mind. The flow on effect was more books evolved.
-
I like the way you add details.
Thanks, you know I recall a couple of books I had to read at school, one of which had the most intricate details of a bedroom of an older lady and the items on the dresser. As the reader, you became the observer and experienced the details in a whole new way. I always wanted to do just that in my writing. I find, however, that as a person with ADHD, I get moving on a story and leave out the sorts of things I wanted to add to enthral the reader. It's often not until I re read and edit the story that I add some details.
