Belinda Rule author of The Road North From Toodleton What inspired you to write this story? The first thing was that Olga Lorenzo assigned Marilynne Robinson’s Housekeeping in Novel 2 class (at RMIT), which for me is one of those books that is playing the violin in a minor key inside your chest cavity and you … Read More
Amanda Lohrey Selects series
Amanda Lohrey Selects series: Interview with E. Ratnam Keese
E. Ratnam Keese, author of The Fence What inspired you to write this story? In writing ‘The Fence’, which is based on an actual event —conflict over the demolition and installation of a fence between two properties— what inspired me was the theme that finally emerged: that to love is to be supportive. This philosophy is … Read More
Amanda Lohrey Selects series: Interview with Sue Goldstiver
Sue Goldstiver, author of Empty Rooms What inspired you to write this story? I was staying in a deserted unit block on the Gold Coast and it began to feel increasingly isolated, and eerie. At night, I’d sit down to write with lightning flashing onto black water out to sea, and the story of a … Read More
Amanda Lohrey Selects series: Interview with Sue Booker
Sue Booker, author of Beware of the God What inspired you to write this story? ‘Beware of the God’ grew from an idea that formed years before I wrote a draft. The jumping-off point was ‘It could never have worked. But that doesn’t excuse what I did.’ All I knew was that a stranger would hassle … Read More
Amanda Lohrey Selects series: Interview with Marjorie Lewis-Jones
Marjorie Lewis-Jones, author of Shooting Star What inspired you to write this story? “Shooting Star” was inspired by a word and a pact. The word was Hilo. Hawaiians in the past named each of the thirty nights of a lunar month. The first night was called Hilo — to twist — because the moon was like … Read More