WRITERS ABROAD MAGAZINE
Q. Who is the audience for your writing and how much of it is local? Include
other writers and writers groups.
The local Newcastle Writers Group is an immediate audience, but others would
include the WA group and of course the online network community. I’d say the local
to international ratio is about 30% - 70%.
Q. Describe a typical day in your life in Australia including your writing routine.
I go through stints of up to a month where I barely write anything — usually due to
children’s holidays. Otherwise, I write when my partner goes to work. As he’s a shift
worker that could be any time of the day of night, so you could find me tapping away
at three in the morning or three in the afternoon. We have five children or no children
on alternate weeks, so the rhythm of life goes in very distinct cycles. While the kids
are here it’s hard to put in five hours of writing and meet all their needs and I
frequently fail. The motto is definitely carpe diem: if opportunities aren’t taken they
don’t come back, so I write when I can.
Q. What is your degree of ‘comfort' with Australia? Has it changed over time?
If so, have you noticed changes in your writing which reflect this?
Australia isn’t a vastly different culture to British —at least not like the difference
between a European and an Asian country. The same language is spoken and even
the dominant religion is the same. In a nation where 60% of the population cite nonAustralian backgrounds, being ‘foreign’ is an accepted part of life. How individuals fit
in with this is another matter. It’s a country that has a lot to offer and discover.
Q. What are the advantages of living in Australia for a writer?
Acceptance of actually being a writer is, as mentioned, good. I’m not sure there are
specific advantages otherwise.
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