Better Words

Sonia Velton grew up living between the Bahamas and the UK. She has worked as a solicitor at an international law firm and lived in the Middle East for eight years. She has since moved back to England where she lives with her three children. Her first novel, Blackberry and Wile Rose, was a historical fiction inspired by real characters and events. Her latest novel, The Image of Her, is something entirely different and that's what we're chatting about today.

Our interview starts at 15 minutes. 

Michelle recommends

You're Dead to Me 

A history podcast for people who don’t like history (and those who do) hosted by the mind behind Horrible Histories.

Caitlin recommends

Kitty Flanagan's 488 Rules for Life (audiobook version)

This is a joy to listen to and perfect to improve your lockdown mood. Listen to the audiobook to enjoy a little extra content. The audiobook is free on the ABC Listen app at the time of recording

In this interview, we chat about: 

• How Sonia was inspired to write The Image of Her and why she believes the idea finds her, regardless of genre
• What makes a suspense novel or genre fiction?
• Why Sonia felt the need to change her career after working as a lawyer internationally and how her London borough inspired her first novel
• The desire to have someone externally ‘approve’ of the decision to write and how this affected Sonia’s writing process
• Why Sonia decided to pursue publication and how she got her book deal

Books and other things mentioned

• The Weekly with Charlie Pickering
• Homeschool History (podcast)

Follow Sonia on Instagram @Soniavelton

Follow us on Instagram @betterwordspod

The Image of Her is available now. 

Thank you to the team at Quercus Books UK for sending us copies of The Image of Her in preparation for the interview. 

Samera Kamaleddine is a Sydney-based journalist who spent the early part of her career writing about boys, annoying parents and friendship dramas in the teen magazines we grew up reading - Dolly and Girlfriend. She loves the beach and can be found there whenever she’s not writing (and sometimes when she is). Her debut novel for young adults, Half My Luck, has just been released after winning The Matilda Children's Literature Prize through Harper Collins.

Our interview begins at 17 minutes. 

Mini book club: Space Hopper by Helen Fisher

A poignant and uplifting contemporary/time travel novel exploring motherhood, memories and the moments that shape us. 

In this interview, we chat about:

• Why this was not the story Samera set out to write and how it evolved to reflect her own teen years
• Bringing southern Sydney to life in the novel and how it transported Samera back to high school
• Writing a (sometimes annoying) dramatic teen protagonist
• Why Samera switched character perspective throughout the novel
• How Samera feels about comparisons to the iconic Looking For Alibrandi
• The adorable story of how Samera won the inaugural Matilda Prize
• What it was like to work at Dolly and Girlfriend magazines as a young adult

Books and other things mentioned:

• The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
• About Time (movie)
• Back to the Future (movie)
• Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
• Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters
• No Country Woman by Zoya Patel (listen to our chat with Zoya here)
• Never Have I Ever (TV)
• Mean Girls (movie)
• The Bold Type (TV)
• Younger (TV)

Follow Samera @samerak. Half My Luck is available now.

Follow us on Instagram @betterwordspod

Please note that Caitlin's job at HarperCollins Publishers did not affect our decision to invite Samera to be a guest, we're delighted to have her and hope you enjoy this episode. Michelle also read a PR copy.

Bridie Jabour is the opinion editor of Guardian Australia. She has previously worked as a journalist for NewsCorp and Fairfax, where she has reported on social affairs, politics and regional issues. She has worked in the Canberra press gallery and was a reporter for Brisbane Times after starting her career at the Gold Coast Bulletin in Queensland. She writes commentary on feminism, inequality, and pop culture, and appears regularly on The Drum, Triple J and ABC Radio Sydney. She is the author of the novel The Way Things Should Be, but today we are discussing her new non-fiction collection of essays Trivial Grievances. 

Our interview starts at 19 minutes. 

Michelle recommends

True Crime Story by Joseph Knox

A transformation of the thriller genre which blends fiction with the style of true crime in a compulsively readable murder mystery. 

Caitlin recommends

This One Is Ours by Kate O'Donnell 

A powerful, passionate and beautiful young adult novel to escape in. 

In this interview, we chat about: 

• How Bridie’s friends and family helped her celebrate the book launch despite it coinciding with the start of Sydney’s latest lockdown
• The summer holiday ‘filler’ opinion piece that went viral and led to Bridie writing Trivial Grievances
• How Bridie’s career as a journalist influenced her writing style and the essay/memoir style of the book
• Did the premise of millennial malaise stand up in the writing of the book?
• The terrifying car crash Bridie and her family were involved in just after she finished writing the book and what it taught her about living
• How Bridie became a journalist and how that influenced her publishing journey, including some of the things that surprised her about the industry compared to life in the newsroom
• A *brilliant* tip for finding an agent for your work

Books and other things mentioned

• I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara
• The Final Revival of Opal and Nev by Dawnie Walton
• Dirty John (TV series)
• Red Dragon
• Jane the Virgin
• The Panic Years by Nell Frizzell

Follow Bridie on Instagram @bkjabour

Follow us on Instagram @betterwordspod

Trivial Grievances is available now. 

Please note that Caitlin's job at HarperCollins Publishers did not affect our decision to invite Bridie to be a guest, we're delighted to have her and hope you enjoy this episode. Michelle also read a PR copy 

Rhiannon Wilde has been telling stories for as long as she can remember - inside her head but also as a journalist and high school English teacher in Brisbane. Her short story inspired by urban Brisbane, You Deserve Nothing, was longlisted for the Queensland Young Writer’s Award in 2014. But in this episode, we will be discussing her debut young adult novel, Henry Hamlet’s Heart. This beautiful story won the Queensland Literary Awards Glendower Award for an Emerging Queensland Writer in 2019 and has just been published. 

Our interview begins at 10 minutes. 

Mini book club: This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron

We enjoyed this fascinating contemporary fantasy novel about a girl with the power to control the natural world, and survive the deadliest poisons. This Poison Heart weaves Greek mythology with a compelling and exciting magical story that kept us hooked from start to finish. 

You can listen to our chat with Kalynn in season 5. 

*Note: We received review copies of this book from Bloomsbury Publishing. 

In this interview, we chat about:

• Where the character of Henry Hamlet came from and how he became an insistent voice as Rhiannon wrote
• The fraught magic of your senior year of high school and why it makes for amazing YA novels
• Why Rhiannon chose to set the book in 2008 and why, for her, that is peak 2000s era
• The magic of Brisbane and why it made the perfect setting
• How Rhiannon got inside the mind of her teenage protagonist
• The all-boys school setting and why it feels like a space we’re rarely given access to in media
• How Rhiannon’s experience as a teacher influenced her writing
• The response from real teen readers
• Why The Great Gatsby is a thread running through the novel and queer coding of texts

Books and other things mentioned:

• Laurinda by Alice Pung
• Easy A
• Folklore and Evermore

Follow Rhiannon @Rhiannon_Wilde. Henry Hamlet's Heart is available now. 

Follow us on Instagram @betterwordspod

*Note: We both received PR copies of Henry Hamlet's Heart from UQP Books.

Jane Thynne was born in Venezuela and moved around the world with her parents and two brothers before settling in London. She is a journalist and writer who has published several historical fiction novels. Today, though, we are discussing her chilling new alternative history Widowland. 

Our interview starts at 19 minutes. 

Michelle recommends

The Miseducation of Evie Epworth by Matson Taylor

An uplifting and joyful novel about a young woman in the 1960s finding her place in the world

Caitlin recommends

Acknowledgements by Becky Lucas

A brilliantly funny collection of essays from an Australian comedian thanking the people who have had big (and small) impacts on her life.

*Note: Caitlin read a review copy of this novel through her position at Harper Collins Australia. Her job did not affect her decision to recommend this book.

In this interview, we chat about: 

• The elements of Nazi Germany that inspired Widowland and the real-life women referenced in the novel
• Why Jane chose not to explicitly name Hitler in the novel
• The fascination of imagining how we would react living in an oppressive tyrannical regimen
• How one dinner party was the catalyst for Jane to write Widowland
• How Jane became fascinated by the 1930s and 40s and how it has influenced her writing career
• Fear and how it can be used to control a population (an technique used in the world of Widowland)
• Why Jane wanted to write this novel under a pseudonym, after publishing her historical fiction series

Books and other things mentioned

• Love Island UK
• Wentworth
• Glow Up
• Interior Design Masters
• Brooklyn 99
• Girl Logic by Iliza Shlesinger
• No Shame by Tom Allen
• What is Yorkshire Day? Read about it here!
• Heartbeat
• Day of the Jackal (movie)

Follow Jane on Instagram @authorjanethynne.

Follow us on Instagram @betterwordspod

Widowland is available now. 

Michelle and Caitlin received PR copies of Widowland from Quercus UK. 

Beth O'Leary is one of the biggest names in contemporary fiction at the moment. Her debut novel, The Flatshare, has sold over half a million copies and her second novel, The Switch has been optioned for film by Steven Spielberg’s production company. Today we’re thrilled to be discussing her brand new novel, The Road Trip.

Our interview starts at 21 minutes. 

Michelle recommends

It's a Sin

Beautiful and compelling, make sure you've got tissues at the ready. 

Caitlin recommends

Zero Chill

A fun and enjoyable teen dramedy to sit back and enjoy.

In this interview, we chat about: 

• The concept for Beth’s new romantic comedy The Road Trip and how the story has been brewing for years
• How Beth wrote The Road Trip’s dual timeline and alternating perspectives
• The music that helped inspire The Road Trip and how Beth used the playlist to notch up tension in the novel
• How Beth gets to ‘know’ her characters and whether she would ever re-visit characters from previous novels
• The path to publication and how Beth has dealt with the success of The Flatshare
• The transition from writing as a hobby to being a published author
• How it feels to have your book optioned for a movie with an iconic production company
• Preparing for motherhood and how it may change her writing routines

Books and other things mentioned

• The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (film)
• Brooklyn (film)

Follow Beth on Instagram @betholearyauthor

Follow us on Instagram @betterwordspod

Madam will be available in the UK and Australia tomorrow (April 29)!

Michelle and Caitlin received PR copies of The Road Trip from Quercus UK and Hachette Australia. 

Claire Zorn is a multi-award-winning author of young adult literature. Her resume of awards is incredibly impressive including the Children’s Book Council of Australia awards, the Inky Awards, the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards, and multiple state Premier’s awards. Today we are discussing her new novel When We Are Invisible, a sequel to her stunning post-apocalyptic debut The Sky So Heavy. 

Our interview starts at 16 minutes. 

Caitlin recommends:

Fisk (TV show)

An enjoyable  and witty new ABC sitcom by comedian Kitty Flanagan. Perfect for fans of Utopia or Rosehaven. 

Michelle recommends:

The Syndicate (TV show)

An underrated television drama about what happens to a group of co-workers when they win a life-changing amount of money in the lottery. 

In this interview, we talk about:

• Why Claire wanted to return to the world of her debut novel The Sky So Heavy in When We Are Invisible and why she switched perspective to Lucy for the second novel
• Exploring patriarchal notions of power and society in a post-apocalyptic setting
• Why anger at the patriarchy is a compelling force for Claire when writing
• How Claire researched a nuclear winter and apocalyptic world
• Expectation and success and the impact on the creative process
• The success of The Sky So Heavy (especially with teenage boys who still write to Claire about the book)

Books and other things mentioned:

• Good Girls (TV show)
• Nameless, Faceless by Courtney Barnett (song)
• Thursday Murder Club by Richard Oseman
• Kate Atkinson books
• Tana French’s Dublin Murder Squad series

Follow Claire on Instagram @claire_zorn

Follow us on Instagram @betterwordspod

When We Are Invisible is available now in Australia.

We both received copies of When We Are Invisible for from University of Queensland Press.  

Phoebe Wynne worked as a teacher for eight years, teaching Classics in the UK and English Language and Literature in Paris. She left teaching to write and we’re delighted today to be talking about her first novel Madam, which has been described as gothic fiction with a feminist twist perfect for fans of Madeline Miller and Margaret Atwood. 

Our interview begins at 26 minutes. 

Mini book club: Expectation by Anna Hope

We found this a really fascinating book about friendship and relationships and what we hope our lives will be. It's one of those books where you'll bring very different feelings based on personal experiences. We're both interested to see how our feelings towards this change in five or more years. 

In this interview, we chat about:

• The literary inspirations Phoebe drew on for Madam, especially Daphne Du Maurier and classic Greek Tragedies
• Why Phoebe chose to set the novel in the early 1990s and the implications this had on the novel (we take a diversion here into third wave/fourth wave feminism here - we checked after recording and we’re in the ‘fourth wave’ of feminism currently)
• A long and winding chat about the value of women, feminism and the patriarchy
• Phoebe’s work as a teacher and her journey to publication
• The Australian inspiration for Phoebe’s gothic writing style (and a diversion into Australian New Wave Cinema and My Brilliant Career)
• The fragile nature of schooling and the influence of good teachers on your life
• The study of Classics and why Phoebe wanted to make it a central part of Madam

Books and other things mentioned

• Adults by Emma Jane Unsworth
• Olive by Emma Gannon
• Grown Ups by Marian Keyes
• Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams
• Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
• My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier
• The Science of Storytelling by Will Storr
• Thelma and Louise (movie)
• Batman Returns (movie)
• Alien (movie)
• Silence of the Lambs (movie)
• Women and Power by Mary Beard
• Picnic at Hanging Rock By Joan Lindsay (and the  1975 film directed by Peter Weir)
• The Gaps by Leanne Hall
• My Brilliant Career by  Miles Franklin
• Mad Women in the Attic by Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar
• The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
• Asterix comics

Follow Phoebe on Instagram @phoebewynnewrites

Follow us on Instagram @betterwordspod

Madam will be available in the UK and Australia from May 13. 

Michelle and Caitlin received PR copies of Madam from Quercus UK. 

Dawnie Walton was born and raised in Florida, but now lives in Brooklyn New York with her husband. She earned an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop in 2018 and has a journalism degree. She was formerly an editor at Essence and Entertainment Weekly. Her debut novel, The Final Revival of Opal and Nev has been described as a “firecracker” and an “utterly fresh take on finding one’s voice, on systemic racism and sexism, on freedom of expression”. 

Our interview starts at 16 minutes. 

Michelle recommends:

The Lucky Escape by Laura Jane Williams

Caitlin recommends:

Last Night by Mhairi McFarlane

Both are heartwarming and uplifting romances by two of our favourite contemporary writers. 

We both received PR copies from Harper Collins for review. 

In this interview, we talk about:

• The oral history-style of narrative of The Final Revival of Opal and Nev and how this helps bring every character to life
• How a music documentary, 20 Feet From Stardom, sparked the idea for the novel
• How Dawnie tapped into her love of music and the emotions of her favourite pieces to write music-related parts of the book
• The real-life musical inspirations for the characters of Opal and Nev
• The intersection of music, the music industry and racism
• Dawnie’s career in journalism and how this influenced her writing style
• The path to publication and Dawnie’s overwhelm at the incredibly good feedback ahead of her debut book’s publication
• Hearing the story come to life through a full-cast audiobook (this comes after we officially end the interview, so listen right until the end)

Books and other things mentioned:

• The Circle (UK)
• 20 Feet from Stardom (documentary)

Follow Dawnie on Instagram @dawniewalton

Follow us on Instagram @betterwordspod

The Final Revival of Opal and Nev is available in paperback now in Australia, and hardback in June. 

In the UK, the eBook is available now and the hardback will be published on April 20.

The audiobook is available now. 

We both received copies of The Final Revival of Opal and Nev for review from Quercus UK.