WEBVTT

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Welcome to Not Quite Right.

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My name's Ed and I'm Amanda and we are
here at Words on the Waves,

0d72e03c-bad8-4641-8a71-098fe2e192b6-1
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rounding out the end of our Saturday with
a discussion with Tara Ray Moss.

f20348d8-f23c-4054-a0c7-f5d9af83a9a2-0
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Yeah,
so Tara Ray or Tara Moss as most people

f20348d8-f23c-4054-a0c7-f5d9af83a9a2-1
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know her,
is quite a well known figure in the

f20348d8-f23c-4054-a0c7-f5d9af83a9a2-2
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Australian writing scene and has written
quite a number of books now across

f20348d8-f23c-4054-a0c7-f5d9af83a9a2-3
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variety of genres as well and non fiction
and is now leaning into the crime noir,

f20348d8-f23c-4054-a0c7-f5d9af83a9a2-4
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I suppose.

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And we spoke to Tara about her latest
book and also a little bit about what

21f75a44-a3d6-4805-af93-5495b50774c5-1
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it's like to write with chronic illness.

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Yes.

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So here's our chat with Tara Ray Moss.

69b33bb9-38b3-435f-8bcb-8282821d676a-0
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Well,
we are here at Words on the Waves with

69b33bb9-38b3-435f-8bcb-8282821d676a-1
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Tara Ramos.

a42d5822-0e97-4cbf-94e4-cb380dc48e73-0
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Nice to meet you, Tara.

f69a359b-1518-4d88-bf94-6b1323629ee1-0
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Hello, lovely to meet you both.

83edbd81-2264-411d-8ea4-cff34bfd1a49-0
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Thanks for having me.

3500bcd0-240b-4ff6-a8eb-5f641b1ad3d4-0
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So tell us about what brings you to Words
on the Waves.

465f4d2a-3f15-480f-bc4f-780f4a72165a-0
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So my latest book is The Italian Secret.

486019f9-e760-4e11-bbaa-cf9b39557aea-0
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It's my 15th book and my third in a new
historical fiction series set in

486019f9-e760-4e11-bbaa-cf9b39557aea-1
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Australia.

c4b772d5-4d86-4115-af0b-fdd0bc3eed89-0
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And in this one,
The Italian Secret kind of gives away

c4b772d5-4d86-4115-af0b-fdd0bc3eed89-1
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that we also go over to Naples and I'm
really excited to be here.

a5361ece-dc76-4a9f-b21e-b90e308c98fd-0
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It's actually,
after 2627 years in publishing,

a5361ece-dc76-4a9f-b21e-b90e308c98fd-1
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it's the first time I've into this
festival, so this is exciting for me.

8bcd5446-0f95-43b8-a6dd-af25fa4fda74-0
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It's gonna be great to catch up with
other authors and to introduce more

8bcd5446-0f95-43b8-a6dd-af25fa4fda74-1
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readers to Billy Walker, my 1940s Pi.

671c0c52-a6a5-41a6-97e9-8760caf39617-0
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So you're getting into the detective
novel sort of space and what is it about

671c0c52-a6a5-41a6-97e9-8760caf39617-1
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that that appeals to you?

838b58cc-6a70-41e9-a0f2-066c06941240-0
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Well,
I grew up loving film noir and hard

838b58cc-6a70-41e9-a0f2-066c06941240-1
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boiled.

b8946264-bf14-4aea-9ba8-61473be91f53-0
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And I think it's important to recognise
that hard boiled crime was a really

b8946264-bf14-4aea-9ba8-61473be91f53-1
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important moment for bringing working
class people into our fiction.

b9fa81dc-39b5-4595-a28c-a480ca498e48-0
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Prior to that,
there was this golden era of era of

b9fa81dc-39b5-4595-a28c-a480ca498e48-1
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fiction where of crime certainly where it
was all upper class, you know,

b9fa81dc-39b5-4595-a28c-a480ca498e48-2
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or our stories,
our fairy tales are always, you know,

b9fa81dc-39b5-4595-a28c-a480ca498e48-3
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royalty and princesses and so on.

7ab0279e-3174-4af0-bf95-5142778a9070-0
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But with hard boiled,
it was working class people.

457d1eab-7a86-47a2-a5fc-59caf2d8ab05-0
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It was the underbelly of society.

e1eebfa5-ffbb-424d-905a-450a64a6712f-0
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However,
women usually didn't fare very well.

e0372678-acee-47e1-a6df-d029458537b2-0
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You know,
they tended to be the victim or the femme

e0372678-acee-47e1-a6df-d029458537b2-1
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fatale,
which also means the victim really in a

e0372678-acee-47e1-a6df-d029458537b2-2
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lot of cases.

8bc8c119-39fc-49d9-841c-c62db82a36d4-0
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They could be deadly to others,
but they were often deadly to themselves.

b25b7db1-f7c5-4c5f-81de-5de59cba43b9-0
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And what I wanted to do was to take my
beloved hard boiled film noir genre and

b25b7db1-f7c5-4c5f-81de-5de59cba43b9-1
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subvert it by taking a main character who
looks like the femme fatale.

a6ec68b1-e4c4-41b1-be6c-56a9e691941c-0
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She looks like Ava Gardner from The
Killers in 1946,

a6ec68b1-e4c4-41b1-be6c-56a9e691941c-1
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but she's actually the hero.

e0305e82-c9e9-4147-8dea-f82800ad0398-0
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She's one who solves the cases,
she's the one who gets things done and

e0305e82-c9e9-4147-8dea-f82800ad0398-1
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she's the one who leads us through these
stories.

40d37073-a2ec-4741-8ee1-8384da74ed84-0
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She's not a historical though.

087bda39-a1b6-4a54-a69e-c7c48a3077c4-0
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Most people assume, oh, you know,
this woman doing this,

087bda39-a1b6-4a54-a69e-c7c48a3077c4-1
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it never would have happened.

ef03e34c-eb33-4623-8af2-732b1f83d9f4-0
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We did actually have female PI's in
Sydney and in Australia in the 1940s.

3eb3a270-d793-444d-a0e3-8972f1c3ee71-0
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We just didn't write about them and we
didn't make shows about them.

ec64402a-8ec9-46b7-ad4b-da02aecd2f0d-0
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So that's another layer of fascination
for me is the under told or untold

ec64402a-8ec9-46b7-ad4b-da02aecd2f0d-1
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stories.

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And Billy Walker's a great example of
that.

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So, I mean,
you've got the book going today.

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Beautiful.

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So do you feel like you associated that
idea,

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like just going beyond people's
expectations of that first impression?

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Yeah.

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Yeah, absolutely.

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And I'm obsessed with vintage.

8b35bd8d-17ba-4e67-8949-e6fab3dc7ccb-0
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I mean, I'm an unabashed vintage nerd.

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Oh, my gosh.

a04385ab-0788-45f0-b228-1ee06c0ef7b0-0
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I'm wearing a beret like in the third one
cover.

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Oh, my goodness.

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Right.

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So there is this interest I have in
vintage and in the material items and

1f04af64-a003-4d47-86a3-6cd9747c81d9-1
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objects from the time because I think
they speak to the history and they hold

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some kind of connection or emotion to the
people of the time.

0acc5d3f-c304-49b0-82e1-29d09decfa8d-0
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So all the locations in the books are
real locations you can go to.

ba9a2381-9c85-4f85-b7ee-2468e5b86aa0-0
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In fact,
I did a Billy Walker walking tour of

ba9a2381-9c85-4f85-b7ee-2468e5b86aa0-1
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Sydney in February for the first time and
took fans of the series around vintage

ba9a2381-9c85-4f85-b7ee-2468e5b86aa0-2
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Sydney.

3046b277-2d82-4af9-8e1c-28a3bc6d97d1-0
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Everything from the clothes to kind of
the language and the other things they're

3046b277-2d82-4af9-8e1c-28a3bc6d97d1-1
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doing is quite authentic and historical
to the time.

9073185d-8e3f-477f-a88c-214d69814a9b-0
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However, what I've done is, like I said,
sort of subvert the expectations around

9073185d-8e3f-477f-a88c-214d69814a9b-1
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the genre.

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Not because people weren't like that or
they couldn't be like that,

5612130c-0a81-4828-a37b-f9f76862bafa-1
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but because it hasn't been the trope from
that.

a44795f6-f10b-4314-a7cb-668b99eee5ad-0
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We're always looking at Philip Marlowe.

0b1a1295-a68e-42cf-b36f-37f977394846-0
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This is like if Philip Marlowe was a
woman and there were those women at the

0b1a1295-a68e-42cf-b36f-37f977394846-1
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time and you spoke about the working
class as well.

68098bc9-8f7d-4999-a4ce-cf5b18dfc146-0
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And I think Naples in the 1940s would
have been a very working class.

2e49c8e1-556d-4daa-9a5d-687783d0e1b2-0
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Oh yeah.

2299e97f-7416-4759-bade-9b74c4178de9-0
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Place.

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Is that what drew you to that location or,
or is it more the like the romance or did

493658cc-ebb8-40f4-b9d3-cc253bdd69a2-1
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you just wanna get a holiday over there?

07703a82-6b56-4781-97d0-c44bf8e5379d-0
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You got you figured out.

b7db7c69-3719-432e-83d7-b24beac99ea6-0
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Well, I've been writing for so long.

9bcfcbb4-8468-400a-b554-45cb9faab683-0
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Like, like I said, this is a 15th book.

173375cd-3756-4236-9b3f-4b39e8bef34d-0
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So you always wanna write something set
where you wanna go.

d00622c3-708b-4c22-9082-76b361abfe5a-0
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That's one of the ways that you keep
going,

d00622c3-708b-4c22-9082-76b361abfe5a-1
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but also one of the ways you are excited
about the work.

6b0876a4-e614-46b8-86c8-c55f8601bb77-0
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I always say that you should write what
you know and what you want to know.

d02c7c8d-790f-4d1c-be74-d5c68cd04432-0
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So you start with the foundation of
things that you feel like well immersed

d02c7c8d-790f-4d1c-be74-d5c68cd04432-1
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in,
but then you want to push yourself and

d02c7c8d-790f-4d1c-be74-d5c68cd04432-2
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expand yourself.

88a8ab41-ed88-4b06-ab2c-60aca99e7ecb-0
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For me,
setting part of this book in Naples,

88a8ab41-ed88-4b06-ab2c-60aca99e7ecb-1
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again, some of it's in vintage Sydney,
which I know really well by this stage

88a8ab41-ed88-4b06-ab2c-60aca99e7ecb-2
00:05:06.054 --> 00:05:07.880
after many, many years of research.

1ddd678d-f85c-4750-8a6e-1493d7eff13a-0
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But vintage Naples I didn't know as well.

857c4dd5-21ef-45ed-950a-ccf04b6b23a0-0
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And I was fascinated by because they got
hit by everyone during World War 2.

84fe1a30-6ffe-4445-8897-453a08553bfa-0
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You know,
they started out as an Axis country.

4859b9eb-745c-4e8b-b50f-fa7ea1d17e8b-0
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Mussolini had them on the other side,
right?

1bfea747-5803-424d-b1a0-ef0519ecb63d-0
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And then when he was deposed and they
switched sides,

1bfea747-5803-424d-b1a0-ef0519ecb63d-1
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you had the Nazis going for them too.

fb1ece04-0464-4ba4-b5de-3343e19fcbb5-0
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So you had American bombers bombing the
heck out of Naples,

fb1ece04-0464-4ba4-b5de-3343e19fcbb5-1
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the Allied soldiers and bombers,
and then you had the Nazis coming in as

fb1ece04-0464-4ba4-b5de-3343e19fcbb5-2
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well.

2ed4e2eb-ebba-46e6-99ba-dc04bbb63bbc-0
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So they got hit with everything,
including the eruption of Mount Vesuvius

2ed4e2eb-ebba-46e6-99ba-dc04bbb63bbc-1
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and 44 as well.

c27e0234-3729-4580-b6f9-fef7d8511663-0
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So this is a group of civilians who got
hit really hard.

2f1e6f9f-445d-4b12-bde4-217a86df4c44-0
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And I wanted to touch on their stories
And I guess also complicate,

2f1e6f9f-445d-4b12-bde4-217a86df4c44-1
00:05:48.668 --> 00:05:52.414
perhaps a verb,
but certainly complicate the more common

2f1e6f9f-445d-4b12-bde4-217a86df4c44-2
00:05:52.414 --> 00:05:57.605
trope in historical fiction where we
focus almost exclusively on Americans and

2f1e6f9f-445d-4b12-bde4-217a86df4c44-3
00:05:57.605 --> 00:05:59.840
Brits during this World War 2 era.

7f6462aa-114d-44a5-8a75-a02b6a6eb286-0
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Yeah, fascinating.

596d21e6-852c-4a06-9b52-3f0970b6b5e5-0
00:06:00.960 --> 00:06:05.440
And you've written and spoken a lot about
your life with chronic illness as well.

ddc4d73a-85e1-4431-a432-f7316812d7b0-0
00:06:05.440 --> 00:06:10.760
And I feel like writing can be a relief
in that sense, but also a challenge.

1ed8bfd7-f742-41b2-a602-adcfb09e2524-0
00:06:10.760 --> 00:06:13.280
So how do you manage the life of a writer?

3b3dcd6b-b7b1-43ce-86be-f30d2c73780e-0
00:06:14.000 --> 00:06:14.840
That's a good question.

194c3c80-fb21-4591-9488-f0645da1fc2a-0
00:06:15.040 --> 00:06:17.720
I've got my cane Wolfie in my car parked
outside.

c250db92-65d3-499a-829e-74bfb8fa9ae3-0
00:06:17.720 --> 00:06:19.760
And I don't need Wolfie today,
which is amazing.

f2a7e5de-0a6d-4b31-9b36-a3b4f03eda7c-0
00:06:19.760 --> 00:06:23.280
So I've done really well the last 2 1/2
years since remission.

68b5063b-b449-4bfa-b08d-bc043ff53f3c-0
00:06:23.520 --> 00:06:23.640
OK.

aa79e455-f04a-46c4-8117-dd6a15152fec-0
00:06:23.640 --> 00:06:24.800
But it's something I have to manage.

2c1e860b-0cd3-4adf-a6eb-bed73e914fb3-0
00:06:24.800 --> 00:06:27.749
I just have to stay on top of my nervous
system,

2c1e860b-0cd3-4adf-a6eb-bed73e914fb3-1
00:06:27.749 --> 00:06:31.000
my mobility to manage complex regional
pain syndrome.

b616342c-0d3f-48d5-a209-b646f138b244-0
00:06:31.520 --> 00:06:33.683
Thankfully,
I'm doing so well that it's not getting

b616342c-0d3f-48d5-a209-b646f138b244-1
00:06:33.683 --> 00:06:37.052
in the way of my writing or being able to
come to festivals and meet readers and

b616342c-0d3f-48d5-a209-b646f138b244-2
00:06:37.052 --> 00:06:37.760
things like that.

3da2db56-bcc2-4c12-b750-cdf1b2bc361b-0
00:06:38.320 --> 00:06:42.280
But I guess if you're going to have
mobility problems, it's never fun.

60799756-5acd-4228-be41-a80522e4315e-0
00:06:42.280 --> 00:06:45.640
But if you've got a rich inner world,
that helps, right?

52a92be3-8866-471f-ae86-05616e9decfe-0
00:06:46.080 --> 00:06:50.018
But chronic pain obviously makes that
hard because once you're in pain,

52a92be3-8866-471f-ae86-05616e9decfe-1
00:06:50.018 --> 00:06:54.230
it is harder to be creative and be like,
have your inner freedom can be very

52a92be3-8866-471f-ae86-05616e9decfe-2
00:06:54.230 --> 00:06:55.160
hindered by that.

332d88a8-344a-42de-b80b-e9445dfaa17e-0
00:06:55.160 --> 00:06:58.024
So overall,
I just feel like this sounds really hokey,

332d88a8-344a-42de-b80b-e9445dfaa17e-1
00:06:58.024 --> 00:07:00.160
but every day feels like a miracle to me.

1b0b3e8a-f883-4c79-89e6-37ffbd9fe6e5-0
00:07:00.520 --> 00:07:03.489
And I'm being just completely,
completely honest about that because I

1b0b3e8a-f883-4c79-89e6-37ffbd9fe6e5-1
00:07:03.489 --> 00:07:04.720
didn't think I would recover.

d5d3b9ab-9f77-4d56-90c8-77fd55b78d61-0
00:07:04.960 --> 00:07:05.160
Yeah.

5bdc8676-1cb7-4f6d-b8aa-84e69b36b90a-0
00:07:05.160 --> 00:07:05.720
Prolific.

a998b027-d1f9-4958-bd9d-2218c3249d76-0
00:07:05.720 --> 00:07:06.560
Like, how do you do it?

91982413-0771-4c34-8178-fc330bdfb1fd-0
00:07:06.560 --> 00:07:09.832
I mean,
I think it's impressive anyway to write,

91982413-0771-4c34-8178-fc330bdfb1fd-1
00:07:09.832 --> 00:07:14.240
but to do that in the face of quite
severe, yes, illness must be.

5506ce22-e962-4fd2-8ff1-42ae1f1b30ce-0
00:07:14.480 --> 00:07:15.440
It was really hard.

73b564f2-ee9b-48d3-9c76-2713fee0b0bd-0
00:07:15.440 --> 00:07:17.080
I'll be completely honest,
it was really hard.

b2e63af9-9860-4c08-842d-e65df406318c-0
00:07:17.480 --> 00:07:20.720
So I've been a novelist published since
1999.

4808fde8-f277-4db2-9af2-e6214bdb11d6-0
00:07:20.720 --> 00:07:26.780
So this is a long time now, 27 years,
but there was the last 8 or so years

4808fde8-f277-4db2-9af2-e6214bdb11d6-1
00:07:26.780 --> 00:07:32.680
where my health impacted the turn out of
my product activity in my work.

3b4036fd-ce92-40cf-93e9-96d4e551f864-0
00:07:32.680 --> 00:07:34.040
So I was still able to write.

7d24b0ef-9f85-4ec5-9c75-e89d3c8d6125-0
00:07:34.040 --> 00:07:35.320
It was much slower.

474ebbbb-00f7-414f-8e61-4144c9efb6f6-0
00:07:35.320 --> 00:07:39.280
I had smaller windows where I could
really do what I love.

e31059cd-67f9-4125-b6c0-c6b354cbfd72-0
00:07:39.800 --> 00:07:40.520
That was really hard.

4fb40a94-7efe-4c57-bb2a-6e9e6d383c89-0
00:07:40.920 --> 00:07:42.760
So now I'm not hindered by that.

05a5ebb7-0c8e-4ef4-b113-bd844ef256cb-0
00:07:42.880 --> 00:07:44.120
That's just amazing.

b8552889-aedd-4be9-bd1e-a8e867fc2334-0
00:07:44.120 --> 00:07:47.560
And so I feel creatively free as well as
physically.

bac20f65-12a1-4d56-8028-1565d5db1067-0
00:07:47.920 --> 00:07:51.911
I just imagine too like holding the
thread of a novel when you're saying like

bac20f65-12a1-4d56-8028-1565d5db1067-1
00:07:51.911 --> 00:07:53.600
it's interrupting you constantly.

0648d329-4210-4980-b34e-b94619dd15c5-0
00:07:53.600 --> 00:07:54.320
Yes, that's right.

73ad3d5c-7258-449b-8107-b0537c98d936-0
00:07:54.600 --> 00:07:56.400
So how did you keep that thread going?

60d2289d-e12f-480a-a143-73ebc836346f-0
00:07:56.400 --> 00:07:59.880
Did you just keep mulling it over in your
mind even when you weren't able to write?

bd344b1a-ca44-443c-88dc-1607458aeb4c-0
00:08:00.360 --> 00:08:03.400
I think for me,
there was some frustration and being

bd344b1a-ca44-443c-88dc-1607458aeb4c-1
00:08:03.400 --> 00:08:04.720
pushed out of the work.

db3c4a43-d966-4eb9-8fe1-dfe63f716cd1-0
00:08:04.720 --> 00:08:08.401
So for those of you who are writers,
you might kind of have a way you think of

db3c4a43-d966-4eb9-8fe1-dfe63f716cd1-1
00:08:08.401 --> 00:08:09.800
like how you immerse yourself.

5cf85135-b3a7-49da-a4df-0f0424ac6ffc-0
00:08:09.800 --> 00:08:12.040
And for me it's almost like getting the
bends.

4156d07e-2dd8-4909-8b58-b3028b977834-0
00:08:12.040 --> 00:08:14.560
If you come out too fast,
you get like shot out.

dc71454c-b14d-4a73-9e3e-65cd5e48b4fe-0
00:08:14.880 --> 00:08:18.258
And when you're re entering the water to
get down deep like that,

dc71454c-b14d-4a73-9e3e-65cd5e48b4fe-1
00:08:18.258 --> 00:08:19.640
like you can't just arrive.

3e086e2b-172d-4fed-9cb2-77af573b09bb-0
00:08:19.640 --> 00:08:24.684
It takes a little work to swim all the
way down to get really into the into the

3e086e2b-172d-4fed-9cb2-77af573b09bb-1
00:08:24.684 --> 00:08:25.000
work.

0276f877-acdf-4e07-be5b-0770391fc1a4-0
00:08:25.440 --> 00:08:30.419
So if something in your life,
if it's external circumstances or it's

0276f877-acdf-4e07-be5b-0770391fc1a4-1
00:08:30.419 --> 00:08:34.965
physical or internal,
if it keeps shooting you out, it's hard,

0276f877-acdf-4e07-be5b-0770391fc1a4-2
00:08:34.965 --> 00:08:36.120
it's disruptive.

ce30bc78-0af9-4d4f-ad1b-20bbbe44497b-0
00:08:36.360 --> 00:08:39.880
What I kept doing is just kept struggling
and get getting back in.

d61c66c0-4306-46dd-ab97-3702d283517a-0
00:08:39.880 --> 00:08:44.240
Just keep getting in the water until I
could refine the thread of the story and

d61c66c0-4306-46dd-ab97-3702d283517a-1
00:08:44.240 --> 00:08:44.840
keep going.

2eeba37d-5058-4e13-9861-40b368f65336-0
00:08:45.160 --> 00:08:51.267
And it kind of made me learn how to write
in small segments of a couple of hours at

2eeba37d-5058-4e13-9861-40b368f65336-1
00:08:51.267 --> 00:08:55.920
a time instead of the longer sitting
periods that I used to do.

8ce2978d-a928-4772-a620-aae194ad01d3-0
00:08:56.600 --> 00:09:01.316
I don't love it because it was not a nice
experience of writing from that

8ce2978d-a928-4772-a620-aae194ad01d3-1
00:09:01.316 --> 00:09:04.440
perspective,
but I found I could do it actually.

635cba5a-a053-4c5b-9e82-a9d04c0ef424-0
00:09:04.640 --> 00:09:06.680
And I know every writer works differently.

12b90fda-b5f0-4ab2-b836-aec364436d3c-0
00:09:06.680 --> 00:09:10.440
Some people do like little bursts through
the day especially.

a1a83d22-e99d-40b7-b277-7bdbf4f13900-0
00:09:10.440 --> 00:09:13.073
I'm a single mom as well,
so that sometimes comes with the

a1a83d22-e99d-40b7-b277-7bdbf4f13900-1
00:09:13.073 --> 00:09:13.520
territory.

ef04d682-e056-46a1-b450-d50db7f6c963-0
00:09:14.440 --> 00:09:16.723
But, you know,
there was a time where I used to stay up

ef04d682-e056-46a1-b450-d50db7f6c963-1
00:09:16.723 --> 00:09:18.600
all night and write,
and I don't do that now.

6845a819-a62a-46a1-8bc1-edd8d01049ea-0
00:09:18.600 --> 00:09:19.760
It's not realistic.

f3eac42c-f5a5-45e2-98c7-d460e8f6d507-0
00:09:20.000 --> 00:09:23.480
It's not going to be great for my health
or for my home life with my daughter.

edb8cc96-da41-455f-881b-0eac535b4b92-0
00:09:23.840 --> 00:09:24.880
So you just have to adapt.

338f9f81-f940-4ffa-8eea-272eb5ff33d1-0
00:09:25.200 --> 00:09:25.440
Yeah.

db29d4d8-9655-4105-9fa9-0b07d559b1f6-0
00:09:25.440 --> 00:09:28.754
And I think, as you mentioned,
it's not just chronic illness,

db29d4d8-9655-4105-9fa9-0b07d559b1f6-1
00:09:28.754 --> 00:09:31.533
for example,
it's people who have young children or

db29d4d8-9655-4105-9fa9-0b07d559b1f6-2
00:09:31.533 --> 00:09:35.756
demanding careers or just whatever reason
find themselves without the creative

db29d4d8-9655-4105-9fa9-0b07d559b1f6-3
00:09:35.756 --> 00:09:37.200
energy and trying to write.

fa70119c-2a47-43b0-865a-d0cb7e01f763-0
00:09:37.320 --> 00:09:40.530
And, you know,
writing can be financially difficult even

fa70119c-2a47-43b0-865a-d0cb7e01f763-1
00:09:40.530 --> 00:09:42.840
as a best selling author many times over.

03924446-73d4-4657-b383-b7c5574d2d97-0
00:09:42.840 --> 00:09:44.360
It doesn't mean that you're raking it in.

06b97136-a327-44bd-9a08-2e8624ba71ff-0
00:09:44.440 --> 00:09:48.280
And I wish, I wish I could tell you all,
yes, everyone hits the best made loaded.

bfa665f2-d419-4c8e-9a64-ad863621d54d-0
00:09:48.920 --> 00:09:50.080
We don't have to worry about anything.

edce3ac5-4149-4e49-82f8-189dcbe99086-0
00:09:50.080 --> 00:09:53.640
But that's just not the reality of
publishing, certainly not today.

4c13ac61-3ee6-4d79-aa32-6c0f4b0a46ed-0
00:09:53.640 --> 00:09:58.271
It might have been a little bit better 20
years ago or something just in terms of

4c13ac61-3ee6-4d79-aa32-6c0f4b0a46ed-1
00:09:58.271 --> 00:10:01.265
the industry,
but a bit like it is for musicians and

4c13ac61-3ee6-4d79-aa32-6c0f4b0a46ed-2
00:10:01.265 --> 00:10:05.840
artists of all kinds can be difficult to
navigate the financial aspects of life.

16ea5879-41aa-4392-ad3f-326f6bafeb33-0
00:10:06.240 --> 00:10:07.680
And you just got to keep going for it.

c888f33f-6095-4a97-8901-21364924a0c2-0
00:10:07.800 --> 00:10:12.685
So I think it's always worth continuing
to write and find a way to adapt to your

c888f33f-6095-4a97-8901-21364924a0c2-1
00:10:12.685 --> 00:10:15.520
circumstances,
whatever those limitations are.

d8efc931-cd15-4255-a3a7-5db0a83e285f-0
00:10:15.560 --> 00:10:18.595
And, you know,
obviously you've found yourself in this

d8efc931-cd15-4255-a3a7-5db0a83e285f-1
00:10:18.595 --> 00:10:22.680
space now writing these crime novels and
this historical fiction as well.

e4800f57-fc78-4098-a86e-70b2da95cc79-0
00:10:22.880 --> 00:10:25.520
Is that something you think you're going
to continue for a little bit longer?

823bc7af-7e09-49c9-a958-a75c7f45dc52-0
00:10:25.600 --> 00:10:28.087
Yeah,
I'm writing the fourth in the Billy

823bc7af-7e09-49c9-a958-a75c7f45dc52-1
00:10:28.087 --> 00:10:31.818
Walker series, so the War Widow,
the first one I said in 1946,

823bc7af-7e09-49c9-a958-a75c7f45dc52-2
00:10:31.818 --> 00:10:34.720
The Ghosts of Paris is the second one set
in 47.

37ce74df-56e9-4fc8-8080-68cebfb7609f-0
00:10:34.720 --> 00:10:38.221
And The Italian Secret,
which I'll be talking about today comes

37ce74df-56e9-4fc8-8080-68cebfb7609f-1
00:10:38.221 --> 00:10:39.480
out and it's set in 48.

f5fec03a-42b2-438c-87f8-d6f8740a24a6-0
00:10:39.760 --> 00:10:42.160
So 1949 is next on the list.

795fd583-1400-401c-82a3-e1728795eb64-0
00:10:42.160 --> 00:10:47.098
And I'm writing about that at the moment
as well as working on a mind body spirit

795fd583-1400-401c-82a3-e1728795eb64-1
00:10:47.098 --> 00:10:47.400
book.

41eaebea-a886-4dda-a79d-906d6ae5f2bd-0
00:10:47.400 --> 00:10:52.717
It'll be my 5th genre relating to some of
the healing work and rune work that I do

41eaebea-a886-4dda-a79d-906d6ae5f2bd-1
00:10:52.717 --> 00:10:54.960
as well with the Spirit of healing.

1872967f-e914-47a6-9eb4-92ea3ad55626-0
00:10:54.960 --> 00:10:57.280
It's called OK Oh, I look forward to it.

5e10f9d2-eb16-48f9-9500-de7e405487f4-0
00:10:57.280 --> 00:10:59.520
So I like juggling all of these different
areas.

539222b1-4866-4b54-9c01-c3ef9f6f87cb-0
00:10:59.520 --> 00:11:03.938
It keeps me stimulated and interested,
and I'm always interested in learning new

539222b1-4866-4b54-9c01-c3ef9f6f87cb-1
00:11:03.938 --> 00:11:04.320
things.

172cdc76-fd3b-4285-a789-2c6a606e6765-0
00:11:04.600 --> 00:11:05.720
I think that's very common.

3f84c0a5-852a-43f2-9aa2-92d93386ac60-0
00:11:05.720 --> 00:11:09.115
You find a lot of writers, you know,
you have to write what's you're

3f84c0a5-852a-43f2-9aa2-92d93386ac60-1
00:11:09.115 --> 00:11:11.920
interested in,
and it's very hard to sustain an interest

3f84c0a5-852a-43f2-9aa2-92d93386ac60-2
00:11:11.920 --> 00:11:12.560
in one thing.

cdf14785-f8a7-4fae-81fc-8432d58a720c-0
00:11:12.600 --> 00:11:12.760
Yeah.

02d75901-f2b0-4692-9445-5eba0fc06220-0
00:11:12.760 --> 00:11:16.040
Especially when you're going so deep into
it as to write novels about it.

1eac18d9-7871-4897-87f8-8b04471eb985-0
00:11:16.080 --> 00:11:16.840
Yeah, forever.

b15b14f1-5854-4dd6-87b2-7311d9b503c4-0
00:11:16.840 --> 00:11:19.329
So it's good that you have the
flexibility, I guess,

b15b14f1-5854-4dd6-87b2-7311d9b503c4-1
00:11:19.329 --> 00:11:20.880
to go down these different paths.

fbb5b8d3-e582-437e-9140-2003d86b33a9-0
00:11:20.880 --> 00:11:24.119
I'm a bit weird knowing, like,
like I've written in so many different

fbb5b8d3-e582-437e-9140-2003d86b33a9-1
00:11:24.119 --> 00:11:27.405
genres, fiction and nonfiction,
because I know that's a little unusual

fbb5b8d3-e582-437e-9140-2003d86b33a9-2
00:11:27.405 --> 00:11:28.840
among my colleagues in writing.

4a53dee1-1a13-4073-859d-c7e80c56285a-0
00:11:29.160 --> 00:11:31.880
But I like the contrasts and I like the
challenge.

1e3bcc1b-f3ba-4f91-8d30-21780f896c06-0
00:11:31.880 --> 00:11:32.920
So it works for me, Yeah.

dbe6e767-b8b9-4555-8f54-2766ee8d245d-0
00:11:32.920 --> 00:11:34.200
You got to keep yourself interested.

980856aa-79e0-4841-9b85-65bf8a3c61fe-0
00:11:34.680 --> 00:11:37.000
I wonder if you do you find time for
reading as well?

ec135d2e-135f-44fa-9731-ef90ff6ea20b-0
00:11:37.200 --> 00:11:37.680
Absolutely.

6914b381-d220-4ac8-b84a-8017225fc626-0
00:11:37.680 --> 00:11:41.960
Do you read within your genre or do you
read something completely different?

4885904f-09d9-48e3-8879-c26475546890-0
00:11:42.000 --> 00:11:43.971
Well,
I've just been reading Fiona Kelly

4885904f-09d9-48e3-8879-c26475546890-1
00:11:43.971 --> 00:11:46.520
McGregor's The Trap,
so I'm very excited about that.

0d06c4dd-3e3e-4d98-aefb-46610982909c-0
00:11:46.520 --> 00:11:47.960
Set in 1942 Sydney.

333c490d-a587-4fe4-b20c-ebf2e6e1a462-0
00:11:47.960 --> 00:11:51.203
So there's some synergy there with my
Billy Walker series,

333c490d-a587-4fe4-b20c-ebf2e6e1a462-1
00:11:51.203 --> 00:11:54.995
but sometimes I'm reading non fiction,
sometimes I'm reading sci fi,

333c490d-a587-4fe4-b20c-ebf2e6e1a462-2
00:11:54.995 --> 00:11:56.480
like there's a whole range.

2ef006f3-1caf-4ba4-9480-6ee9a606258d-0
00:11:56.480 --> 00:11:58.720
And I do like a lot of the classics as
well.

5ebc52ed-66f3-475d-b6e3-f2bdd6406b64-0
00:11:58.720 --> 00:12:01.000
So I read quite widely.

fbffe954-1a09-4b2f-b9c2-1a041a2473a2-0
00:12:01.360 --> 00:12:04.725
And one of the ways to keep that up as
well is through audiobooks,

fbffe954-1a09-4b2f-b9c2-1a041a2473a2-1
00:12:04.725 --> 00:12:08.442
which I think are wonderful because if
I'm driving to a writers festival,

fbffe954-1a09-4b2f-b9c2-1a041a2473a2-2
00:12:08.442 --> 00:12:10.200
I can be listening to an audiobook.

e050115f-a3f3-4e18-ba16-9b458bc33af9-0
00:12:10.200 --> 00:12:12.799
If I'm outgoing for a walk,
trying to keep my fit,

e050115f-a3f3-4e18-ba16-9b458bc33af9-1
00:12:12.799 --> 00:12:15.450
self fit hiking in the Blue Mountains,
for example,

e050115f-a3f3-4e18-ba16-9b458bc33af9-2
00:12:15.450 --> 00:12:19.120
I can be listening to an audiobook when
I'm not listening to the birds.

5823f075-0822-49a4-84d5-fe04ece52257-0
00:12:19.120 --> 00:12:23.560
So there's always a way to keep reading,
prioritise it and you can do it.

c7b6af3e-0b59-4519-ab72-fc7daf634642-0
00:12:23.600 --> 00:12:26.160
Take your time,
as they say here at Words on the Waves.

3dd4ba87-fc9b-42bd-9846-4e2c9edbd848-0
00:12:26.920 --> 00:12:27.280
Absolutely.

8208242e-f418-457c-98f4-45f1af41ab1b-0
00:12:28.200 --> 00:12:31.560
Well, thank you for speaking with us, Tom,
Best of luck on your upcoming panel.

bcf39bfd-835b-4b85-9b61-962beeb2ab1d-0
00:12:31.640 --> 00:12:32.400
Thank you so much.

10d30611-adb5-4535-8e47-daa5e77da775-0
00:12:32.400 --> 00:12:33.160
Thanks for having me.

af5a0a30-41ee-4b9a-aff4-0b097589b635-0
00:12:33.240 --> 00:12:33.720
Thank you.

983e170e-0727-47af-892b-addba83188a4-0
00:12:36.200 --> 00:12:39.733
This has been a special presentation of
the Not Quite Right Podcast in

983e170e-0727-47af-892b-addba83188a4-1
00:12:39.733 --> 00:12:42.520
collaboration with Words on the Waves
Writers Festival.

fc25488e-5a7d-4696-a936-ca1471400b52-0
00:12:42.960 --> 00:12:46.502
Check the show notes For more information
about Words on the Waves and the books

fc25488e-5a7d-4696-a936-ca1471400b52-1
00:12:46.502 --> 00:12:47.640
mentioned in this episode.

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If you're new to the podcast,
please join us again for our regular

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episodes where we talk about media,
culture, and the art of writing.

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Something doesn't seem quite right.