G’day!

Anyone who’s read my CJ series knows I have a thing for Australia. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not due to the tiny bathing suits I saw blokes wear at Bondi Beach. Okay, fine, those may have influenced me a tad.

When I realized I had questions for a couple of our Aussie authors, I asked two reliable blog followers for additional ones. The result is the first ever Ask an AUSTRALIAN Author feature.

I’ve enjoyed stories from all these authors and suggest you give them a try.

 

 

@AusGlitterati

What are your favourite genres to write?  Do you think you may challenge yourself with something different?

 

Hahaha hello! Gosh that's a rough one. I'm not confident I can answer it! So...

I have a deep love for drama! I enjoy reading and writing about people who overcome adversity and earn their happily ever after! Give me all that angst and hardship! Romance means a similar thing to me - nothing beats a love story to make the heart sing! Comedy rounds the others out. I enjoy writing with a sense of humour! As far as my work is concerned, these three go hand in hand. 

As far as challenging myself, ooh I love puzzles and problem solving, so I've always wanted to write a long, convoluted murder mystery! A thriller! That would get the gears in my head spinning like they never have before!

Thanks! x have a great day!

 

 

 

@quokka

Is there a particular author who has inspired you and your own work?

 

Yes, my favourite author is Ms Beatrix Potter.

When I first started writing as a teenager, my characters were mostly animals, as I was living on the family farm at the time. Sadly those stories became lost in time.

I have always enjoyed reading her stories and the movie about her, and coming from a farming background, I tend to write stories about farms / stations in Australia.

 

 

 

@grahamsealby

Is your current home, the country where you've always lived?

 

Yes.

 

 

 

@Graeme

Your latest Leopard's book features an American as a character. What made you decide to expand from an all-Australian cast?

It was partly the challenge. I know writing about characters when you're not familiar with their cultural background is difficult and it's often done wrong. When authors include an Australia character, I can often tell if the author is familiar with Australia. Not because of anything big, but because of the small things, such as using the phrase "cell phone". In Australia, that should be "mobile phone". It's now my turn to experience the same thing. Luckily, my beta-readers and my editor are all American -- and I really appreciate the changes they've suggested to make sure Mason doesn't sound Australian!

As for what inspired me, the answer is hinted at in the story itself. A former American college basketball player by the name of Mason Cox is beginning to make a name for himself in AFL football. He was already in Australia as part of the Collingwood Football Club (and he's mentioned in the story because of that), but over the last 12 months, he's developed significantly as an Australian Rules Foootball player and is now a regular part of Collingwood's senior team. The Mason in my story is named after Mason Cox, though I avoided making my character a star athlete -- I thought that would be stretching realism a little too much...

 

 

 

@Palantir

Your stories, even in space, have an Aussie ring to them. Do you make allowances for a worldwide readership or for the predominance of North Americans on GA? 

I wrestled with this question when I first started writing and decided to use my own voice rather than try and emulate the norm. Time and experience have firmed that decision. In general I think that GA is richer with a diversity of styles, and in particular I have found that the 'Aussie ring' strikes a chord of interest with many readers.

Cheers from downunder.

 

 

 

@Rigby Taylor

What made you want to start writing and have your writing expectations changed since you started?

 

 Why did I start writing?

I've always been an avid reader – at least a book a week, all genres from the classics to science fiction. My favourites were 1940s and 50s adventure stories with handsome, brave, ostensibly heterosexual heroes. Daring young men with an inseparable best friend for whom they would risk their life. They had other friends – even a chaste girlfriend somewhere waiting patiently, but only one true ‘blood brother’ who would be his mate for life. It’s no wonder that by the age of twelve my life’s aim was to be honest, trustworthy, independent, and have one best friend I would trust with my life, and to whom I would be forever faithful.

I started adult life as an actor declaiming other people’s thoughts, when what I really wanted to do was present my own ideas. So I became an Art History Teacher with a captive audience of likeable, impressionable and stimulating adolescents off whom I could bounce ideas while perhaps influencing them positively.

In my free time I made paintings that I hoped would convey my philosophies. But even the most realistic painting leaves the viewer with an emotion, rather than a clear understanding of the artist’s intentions. So I needed a more precise medium, and that, I belatedly realised, was ‘words’. With all the words at my disposal, surely I could express myself so clearly I would never be misunderstood?

Mmmm… hope springs eternal… but at least my stories are more successful than my paintings.

 

Why do I write the sorts of stories I do?

Most people think the decriminalisation of homosexual acts, and marriage equality have normalised homosexuality in society, but they haven't. Nothings changed yet. It may in the future, but for the present it is still an abnormal, even confronting experience for most people to see two men or two women kissing on the street or in the park, or kissing and showing real affection in mainstream media.

Instead of being considered normal, movies, shows, TV series, or plays that have gay characters are labelled LGBTQIA; often requiring parental guidance.

I’d hoped that when we were finally no longer criminals, mainstream books and films would contain the occasional same-sex-oriented hero to balance the heterosexuals that had dominated. I hoped in vain. There've been loads of ‘Gay’ stories about the perils of ‘coming out’ and ‘finding oneself’, suggesting homosexuality is still a problem to be exorcised. And then it seemed every film, book, play with gays in it was about the Aids crisis. Then with the advent of eBooks, a deluge of MM erotica with simplistic plots and lots of graphic sex that reinforces the stereotype of gay libertines.

Where were the thriller/adventure stories with an interesting, decent, believable gay hero? Finding none I decided to redress this gaping hole in gay fiction by writing stories with same-sex-oriented heroes whose exemplary behaviour would counter negative stereotypes and perhaps encourage readers to think seriously about how we should live, and in what sort of society. 

My ‘heroes’ are believable, normal men whose sexual orientation is not an obstacle in their quest for a good life with a lover and friends, as they courageously stick up for what they value. They enjoy sex, but rather than give a blow-by-blow account, I prefer to create a situation where romantic love and deep emotional bonding arises, then let readers use their imaginations. They may have ideas and opinions that differ from their peers, but live in the real world of avarice, deceit and double standards, valuing what is truly worthwhile—a sustainable planet with clean air, water and soil, and fulfilling, loving relationships with other men.

 

Expectations:

When I started writing I arrogantly assumed that my taste was universal. That most gay males were longing to read thrillers with gay heroes. But my experience on GA has taught me a lesson. I've had positive comments, but each story only attracts a dozen or so readers to react or comment, whereas writers of more ‘normal’ stories, deservedly receive hundreds of positive comments and reactions. There are some wonderful stories on the GA site dealing with the reality of life for normal people who happen to be gay and not heroes, just good guys who love and lust and prove that it really is normal to be gay. And that is the beauty of G.A., taking readers as seriously as writers, providing wonderful opportunities for supportive reader feedback, while proving that gays are perfectly normal in their reading tastes as well as everything else. Truly a unique achievement!

 

What is my favourite book?

Each of my stories is about something I consider to be important, but I like ‘Mortaumal’ most. It’s about death and dying, seen through the eyes of a young lad as he negotiates a difficult life. As he matures he encounters a variety of ways of dying, and learns to accept the inevitability of death while embracing the present. Far from being a sad book, it is full of the joy of life.  Jarek is about how we educate our young men. Fidel is a cautionary tale depicting a dystopian theocratic take-over of Australia. Sebastian is an attempt to increase our tolerance of difference.  Rough Justice asks questions about the law and justice. NumbaCruncha is a look at the dystopian probable future of Homo sapiens if we don’t mend our ways. Frankie Fey is deeply critical of the current embrace of laissez-faire capitalism.

 

What do I enjoy most about writing?

When I'm writing, time disappears. I am totally engrossed. The characters come to life and take over my head. I feel as if they are writing the book and I am merely the typist, having to wait till the plot progresses to find out what happens. It sounds chaotic, but isn’t; it’s a logical discovery of a character’s individuality. Establishing the plot and characters and completing the first draft is exciting, but the best part for me is editing. I will happily read and reread, rewrite, change, modify, hour upon hour, giving my thesaurus plenty of use in the search for the exact word, phrase, expression… to keep the plot moving at the right pace to make reading a seamless exercise while saying exactly what I want to say in the most accurate and economical manner.

 

Which is my favourite character?

 “Jarek” the eponymous hero of the novel Jarek, tops the list. He is a ‘natural’ man, excellent teacher, and perfect friend.

 

What has been my favourite scene to write?

In my first novel, Rough Justice, when Robert first understands his problems and shares his new knowledge with Bart.

 

What lessons have I learned?

Not to be in a hurry to leap into publication. Editing the first draft is but the beginning. When satisfied, I put the book away for a month and then read it again as if for the first time. Then all the oddities leap out and smack me in the eye. The clumsy phrases, wordiness, too many adjectives, repetitions, overwriting, pontificating, embarrassing sentimentality… all the mistakes of enthusiasm and a desire to get published will be exposed to be deleted [usually the best] or rewritten.

A writer must not be too precious about his carefully chosen words; most stories during editing would benefit from deleting thousands to tighten up the action and sharpen the atmosphere. Less is More.

 

 

That last response has to be the most comprehensive one I’ve ever received. Hope you enjoyed our time in the Southern Hemisphere. The pilot has turned on the No Smoking sign. Please return tray tables to their upright position and fasten your seatbelts.

Oh, and send me some questions, I’m running low again.