In the lead up to his author talk, we caught up with literary mastermind Michael Robotham to ask him about his brand-new book, how he crafts his captivating stories, and everything in between.
How do you stay focused during the writing process? Do you drink coffee or tea, do you write best early in the morning or late at night, do you listen to music or ambient sounds?
I've been doing this for a long time, so focus isn't a problem. I write every day from nine till five. For many years I had three growing children tearing around the house, knocking on my door, demanding I play with them, or resolve an argument, or put a band-aid on a cut, or get them something to eat. Noise doesn't bother me, which is why I often write in cafes. I can draw inspiration from what's around me. Complete strangers have no idea that their fashion choices of hairstyle or gait are being immortalised in a book.
Throughout your writing career you've worn many hats – you were a newspaper and magazine journalist, a ghostwriter for politicians, popstars, and big personalities, and now you write fiction. What are your favourite and least favourite things about writing?
My favourite thing about writing is crafting worlds that I get lost in and characters that I fall in love with. I love the freedom of being God of all I create. I decide who lives and dies and who gets a happy ending. Yes, I'm clearly a megalomaniac. My least favourite thing about writing is the fact that I don't plot, which means I sometimes write myself off a cliff. It can be a long way down with a painful landing and many thousands of words thrown away.
It was almost exactly one year ago that you came to The Hills Shire to talk about your novel Storm Child. Looking back over the past 12 months, what is one lesson you've learned as an author?
Readers are insatiable. I love them all, but I spend a year crafting a story and they scoff like a Big Mac and fries and then ask, 'When is the next one?' I am flattered, but they should chew the chapters more slowly.
You grew up in different country towns across Australia. Even though you must know rural Australia very well, what draws you to set your thrillers in busy cities like London?
Although I grew up in country towns in NSW, I spent a long career in journalism working in big cities like Sydney and London and New York. London is where I got my break into publishing and found my first agent. But I have exciting news about my next novel, which will be my homecoming.
The White Crow is the second instalment in the Philomena McCarthy series. Phil is a complex and resilient character – how has her journey evolved in this second book, and did writing her feel different to the first time round?
When I introduced Philomena in WHEN YOU ARE MINE, I thought I was writing a standalone, but I fell in love with the dilemma she faces, as a young ambitious police officer, who has defied the odds to follow her dream because she comes from a family of notorious London gangsters. There were so many storylines that opened up, I wanted to explore her life further. I also wanted to spend time with her father and uncles, the McCarthy brothers, who get all the best one-liners in the book.
If you could swap lives with one of your characters from The White Crow for a day, who would you pick and what is the first thing you would do as them?
Don't tell my wife, but I'm a little in love with Philomena. Rather than be her, I choose to be Henry, her new husband. I'm going to be in so much trouble after admitting that.
If you want to hear more about what Michael has to say, come along to his author talk at Pioneer Theatre on Wednesday, 23 July from 6:30pm to 7:30pm. Tickets are $13.30pp.
To read Michael's bestsellers, including The White Crow, visit one of The Hills Shire's libraries or browse the library catalogue here.
