I find that location can be almost like another
character in the book sometimes, or at the very least that location can be
either help or hinder a level of sharing with characters. Did you set the book
in the Blue Mountains predominantly because of a special connection you have
with the area?
I think
the setting is very important because it can help to determine the tone of the novel,
but I have no special connection with the Blue Mountains. I wanted the location to be beautiful and to
be close to some small towns, where there would be cafes, bookshops, arts and
crafts shops or markets. And I envisaged
the women sitting near a wood fire, reading, talking, listening to music, and
going for walks in the sun and the rain.
I also wanted them to be able to wander away from the house and savour
the natural environment. I have never
been to the Blue Mountains, but I thought it might work so I watched a film
about the area and did some online research.
It felt right and now it sounds so gorgeous I want to go there.
Ros, Simone, Judy,
and Adele are all such complex and unique characters. I know it’s like picking
one of your children, but I have to ask: did you find you identified more
strongly with one character while you were writing? Or perhaps all of them
contain elements of you?
You’re
right! I always feel that there are bits
of me that go into all the characters.
But it’s Ros with whom I have the strongest connection in this book. It’s
about age I think, and her strong feminist position which stems from the second
wave feminism of the 1970s. Also, she
can be irascible, and she loves time alone, being quiet, reading and thinking,
and then she often says things she regrets.
I do that - too often my mouth is
ahead of my brain!
Did you find any of your characters
wanted to write themselves or take the story off on a tangent that you hadn’t
prepared for?
Well my
characters always go off on their own tangents!
I don’t have a plan and in this case I just put the characters in that
house in the mountains and waited to see what might happen. Strange things do emerge, but I am just open
to experimenting and sometimes characters take me to surprising places. At other times they drive me mad by seemingly
wanting to stay stuck!
I loved the character of Clooney in the
story – was he based on any dog in particular, or just a dreamed up companion?
Clooney
was based on my late beloved dog Toby whom I sadly had to have put to sleep
last year. Clooney is a spaniel, but
Toby was a smaller dog, a shaggy black and white Maltese/Schnauzer cross. Clooney’s character is based on Toby – especially
the part where he is sneakily getting treats from everyone, and hassling people
to take him for walks.
This story revolves so perfectly around
the friendship and support networks women have (or need to have) when dealing
with the ups and downs that life inevitably throws out. What got you started on
the desire to write a story about a book club meeting for the first time?
I wanted
to write a book about women, books and reading, and I wanted it to demonstrate
and celebrate women’s relationship with books.
Most book clubs are women’s clubs, we buy, borrow and read more books
than men, and I do believe that to some extent we learn about the sort of women
we want to be by reading books by and about women. We also loan our books to our friends, talk
about them and re-read them. I think
this is a special relationship - women +
books + women friends. It’s valuable to
so many of us. Books are a comfort and a
challenge, they teach us lessons in life, and help us to understand ourselves
and each other. So, a book group or club
seemed to be a good way to go.
Yoga seems to pop into the story pretty
regularly, particularly with Simone: is yoga something you have seen benefits
with yourself? (I love yoga for multiple reasons, so it was wonderful to see it
included in the story.)
I used to practice yoga but sadly let it slip some years ago. I am considering going back to it but am also
attracted by the idea of learning Tai Chi -
not sure which it will be yet. I
think yoga has enormous benefits for body and soul and I do think it is really
valuable for older people - like me!
And finally, some quick questions!
What are your current favourites:
... reading? Best book so far this year The Only Story by Julian Barnes, currently reading a non fiction book Among the Bohemians: Experiments in Living 1900-1939 by Virginia Nicholson. Loving it!
...drinking? I don’t
drink alcohol, but I do love my coffee!
...eating? I am on a new eating regime - predominantly vegetables, and vegetable proteins, with occasional egg or
fish. Nothing processed and no bread. I
feel really well on it and it has helped to kill off my cravings for bread and
sugar.
...loving about the current season? Not
much! Although in Sydney last week wend
it was lovely to have a walk on a cold but very sunny day. We walked to the Opera House and back and It
was glorious. Since I got back to Perth
it hasn’t stopped raining. I’m a spring and
Autumn person really.
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