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The Write Way
By Samuel ElliottArts
The Write Way episodes
- Amanda Hampson Talking 'Lovebirds'Writer and novelist, Amanda Hampson, joined the program to talk about her new novel, ‘Lovebirds’.Topics discussed include:- Lifelong, enduring friendships – forged in youth, carried through life – how they can assist us in trying times. How close friends can see the best qualities, parts, and potential of our character that we ourselves cannot – as exemplified in what Ginny sees in central character Lizzie.- The lasting impact of the Vietnam War on those that were conscripted, indelibly altering the life and character of Ray, how that impacted on not only his life, but caused a multi-generational problem within each male member of the family - the trickle-down effect of PTSD.- Animals as supporters – Eric the bird, Vlad the goat – how Amanda’s experiences with goats helped write this component. And the delightfully unexpected response with readers. (Eric has his own Goodreads account!)- Love – how love can still be going strong, even when those that love one another, might barely see one another for years, decades, on end. How love can return to us and guide us during every stage of life, including its end.- And much more!Thanks so much to Amanda for appearing on the program, you can pick up ‘Lovebirds’ and her other novels from Penguin Random House, here:https://www.penguin.com.au/books/lovebirds-978014379213054 min
- Laura Elizabeth Woollett On 'The Newcomer'Writer and novelist, Laura Elizabeth Woollett, appeared on the program to discuss her second novel, ‘The Newcomer’.Topics discussed include:- What drew Laura to writing this story, from the real-life case of Janelle Paton, to her own extended stays in Norfolk Island. How she went about corralling her time in the location into her narrative and creating the completely fictional Fairfolk Island.- ‘The Newcomer’ as her first attempt at a crime novel – yet it is not a traditionally told crime novel. Why Laura has chosen to tell the story the way she has.- The mother/daughter relationship at the core of the novel. How the love is there, how it endures. How Laura showed a realistic, sometimes dysfunctional relationship that still had love at its core.- The writing of the titular newcomer, Paulina – challenging the stereotypical ‘perfect’ victim.- Grief – the authentic depiction of Judy’s grief. What can trigger someone grieving.- The sisterly dynamic between Judy and Caro – another prominent relationship in the story.- The inherent pressure of writing a second book, after such a highly-acclaimed debut novel.- And so much more!Thanks heaps to Laura for talking on the show. You can pick up ‘The Newcomer’ and Laura’s other works from the good folks at Scribe Publishing, here:https://scribepublications.com.au/books-authors/books/the-newcomer48 min
- Nick Thomson - The Modern Playwrighthttps://open.spotify.com/show/7LJJydii5AIlKRZXxwTkcqFormer butcher, model, actor and now prolific playwright, Nick Thomson, a.k.a. The Modern Playwright, appeared on the program.Topics discussed include:- Nick’s acting provenance, entwined with his butcher trade – how he always maintained his lifelong passion for acting, while continuing the butcher trade.- How his experiences and some of the skills within his butcher trade have served him with his acting and playwriting.- The jump from acting to playwriting – the real-life story Nick encountered in London that served as the main inspiration for his first play – ‘The Cost Of Love’.- Balancing his current playwriting and acting work, with his endeavour to create a platform for the burgeoning playwriting community to share their plays and maybe have others perform them.- The importance of finding one’s creative community.- And so much more.Thanks heaps to Nick for appearing on the program. Be sure to follow @the_modern_playwright to keep updated on all his many playwriting and acting projects.#actor #acting #playwright #playwriting #theatre #drama #talk #chat #podcast #program #episode #craft52 min
- R.W.R. McDonald Talks 'Nancy Business'Teacher, writer and novelist R.W.R. McDonald joined me on the program to discuss the follow-up to his hugely-popular debut novel, ‘Nancy Business’.Topics discussed include:- The joys and potential challenges of returning to now beloved characters. How he always envisioned the series and how that’s been going.- Balancing traumatic subject matter (suicide, tragic death, murder etc) with humour, the banter and spirit on the titular Nancys.- Tippy growing older as a character – including engaging in acts of teenage rebellion – the authenticity of the character and how that was achieved. Also, her grief for her father – how the grief never goes away, but changes as time passes.- From a whodunit to a whydunit – along with the difficulties, moral and logistical, faced with trying to depict something as innately chaotic as a bomb-blast.- The media’s misogynistic tendency to describe victims in association with their male partners etc.- And so much more!Thanks so much to R.W.R. for joining me on the program, you can pick up ‘Nancy Business’ and the debut, ‘The Nancys’ from Allen and Unwin, here:https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/books/fiction/Nancy-Business-RWR-McDonald-978176087887053 min
- Duncan McNab On 'The Ruby Princess'Former policeman, private investigator, writer and journalist, Duncan McNab, appeared on the show to discuss his latest book ‘The Ruby Princess’ – an exhaustively researched probe into the now-infamous ship and its ill-fated voyage ending in Sydney.Topics discussed include:- The history of luxury cruising, from its humblest of humble origins where cruisers were fuelled by ‘the smell of an oily rag’ to Carnival’s CEO awarding himself a 90,000,000 bonus during the year of the Oceania disaster.- A perennial pattern of illegal acts chronicling the company’s history (quite probably the entire industry) of dumping bilge/grey water and tons of plastic into pristine environments. How this serves as a fine indicator of Carnival and others habitually doing the wrong thing and silencing those that work within their fleet to cover up the truth.- What happened that fateful morning of arrival back to Sydney harbour – decisions made and not made. How communication was key. How almost all of the perfect storm that was the Ruby Princess’s arrival, docking and disembarking of passengers, can be traced back to horrendous communications by parties of well-meaning individuals.- The oft-forgotten plight of the crew remaining on the Ruby Princess – both during and after the disastrous cruise, including being ‘stashed away’ in Port Kembla and being forced by the powers-that-be to wave and smile on-deck when departing from the port.- The Special Inquiry Into The Ruby Princess – how much of a sideshow it became, what were the findings etc.- And so much more!Thanks to Duncan for appearing on the program. You can grab a copy of ‘The Ruby Princess’ and Duncan’s other books here:https://www.panmacmillan.com.au/9781760982973/the-ruby-princess/57 min
- Rosie Ayliffe Discussing 'Far From Home'Former journalist and travel writer, Rosie Ayliffe, appeared on the program to discuss her memoir, ‘Far From Home: A True Story Of Death, Loss, And A Mother’s Courage’. TRIGGER WARNING – This memoir is about the tragic murder of Rosie’s twenty-year-old daughter, Mia, during completing her 88-day work scheme in exchange for a 2nd-year visa for Australia.Topics discussed include:- Her life with Mia – how it was mostly just the two of them for much of Mia’s young life – forging the strongest bond (that has endured after Mia’s death). How Mia is still with her.- The hurdles faced with trying to accurately describe such a vivacious person, to capture their spirit, in only a few hundred pages.- The 88-day work scheme – a government scheme that is unregulated – with no vetting of potential employers and allowing for dangerous, oftentimes fatally dangerous, workplace conditions. Also, the practice of debt bondage and passport withholding – enabling Modern Day slavery. The countless people that came forward to Rosie to tell their horrific stories of abuse of every kind, within these environments.- The international attention thrust on Rosie – from communicating with the then-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, to having the case specifically (wrongly) mentioned by then-U.S. president Donald Trump.- Coming to terms with such an unimaginable loss – how Rosie wanted to use her grief for ‘something’ – and that something potentially leading to major reform within Australia.- Her thoughts on if the situation has, is, improved/improving. Has the Modern Day slavery legislation passed had any positive effect? What needs be done to continue to improve the situation?Thanks so much to Rosie for appearing on the program – please check out these below sites:https://www.facebook.com/tomandmiaslegacyhttps://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/migrant-workers(and check out all the others, listed in the back of the book) – when you pick up a copy of ‘Far From Home: A True Story Of Death, Loss, And A Mother’s Courage’ from Penguin Random House, here:https://www.penguin.com.au/books/far-from-home-97801437963981 hr 6 min
- Angela O'Keeffe Talking 'Night Blue'Writer and novelist Angela O’Keeffe joined me on the show to talk about her latest (first published) novel, ‘Night Blue’. Topics we discussed include:- Writing from the perspective of a (seemingly) inanimate object, in this case Jackson’s Pollock’s iconic ‘Blue Poles’ painting – the formation of its voice, its perception, and its interaction with its environment and Alyssa (the novel’s other perspective character).- The symbiotic relationship between a creation and its creator.- Perception – how the perception of oneself is forever changing, how our perception of others, of art, also forever changes.- The journey to get to this point in her writing – invaluable advice gifted her along the way and how that has enabled her to embrace writing such a unique and original novel.- And so much more!Thanks again to Angela for appearing on the program, and for Transit Lounge for publishing such a cracking book. You can pick up a copy of ‘Night Blue’ and all other titles from Transit Lounge, here:https://transitlounge.com.au/shop/night-blue/53 min
- Sally Bradfield On 'Not Quite 30 - Love'Writer and debut novelist Sally Bradfield appeared on the program, to discuss her debut novel, ‘Not Quite 30-Love’. Topics discussed include:- Sally’s own career within the world/behind-the-scenes of professional tennis. The decision to write the novel, and how she went about fictionalising it (in order to tell it).- The potential problems faced when blending fictional characters with real life, mega-famous athletes. Whether or not this factored into the writing of the story.- Including the less-glamorous side of the sport and culture she loves. How the warts and all approach was necessary to telling the story she envisioned.- Friendship, enduring and supportive – how friends can remain friends and help them through tough times (even from the opposite side of the world). The real-life origins of the Marine character.- Sally’s decision to go the self-publishing route – how the self-publishing course offered at Writing NSW proved invaluable to the cause.- And so much more!Huge thanks to Sally Bradfield, be sure to pick up a copy of ‘Not Quite 30-Love’ from here:https://www.notquite30love.com/how-to-buy56 min
- Maya Linnell Talks 'Magpie's Bend'Best-selling author and novelist Maya Linnell dropped by on the program to discuss her latest novel, ‘Magpie’s Bend’:Topics discussed include:- The general store that the novel is centred around, how it is emblematic of the Australian small-town spirit.- How her own small-town upbringing and life informs and inspires her work.- How she went about creating the gorgeously realised and distinctly Australian – Bridgefield and its equally distinctly Australian inhabitants.- Families – the support a family provides, enabling members to achieve greatness and overcome trauma.- The potential difficulties faced with writing characters that span across several different books – Maya’s 4-sister-4-book plan and how she’s gone about achieving it.- How attraction, romantic interest and ultimately love, happen, but are woven into a story with many other goings-on. Delaying the kiss between the main characters that the reader so desperately want. (I used a JAWS analogy for this question that might cause you to scratch your head).- And much more!Thanks heaps to Maya for appearing on the program, you can pick up a copy of ‘Magpie’s Bend’ and Maya’s other novels from Allen & Unwin here:https://www.allenandunwin.com/authors/l/maya-linnell53 min
- Emma Batchelor On 'Now That I See You'The winner of Allen & Unwin’s prestigious Vogel Award for 2021, Emma Batchelor, dropped by on the show to discuss her Vogel-winning novel, ‘Now That I See You’.TRIGGER WARNING: We touched on a great many topics and issues, including trans/non-binary transitioning, gender identity, use of pronouns, depression, suicide/suicidal ideation etc.Topics discussed include:- Emma’s real-life experience inspiring and framing the story, the inherent complexities and difficulties of writing such a novel and how she went about that.- Love – the double-edged sword – how it can be splendorous and allow us to achieve amazing things, but also, how one can destroy themselves with futilely trying to keep a love or relationship that could be already over.- Communication – the unique way in which the story is told, largely through emails and diary entries – but also exemplify both good and communication between partners and a disintegrating relationship. How communication, much like love, progresses in stages.- Societal misconceptions – exemplified in a few characters, what they include and how they could be changing in real life.- Education – how educating and the desire to learn and generally be better is on the rise.- Mental health – the beautiful hospital analogy – what that means for the story and what it says about mental health in general.- And so much more!Thanks so much to Emma for appearing on the show, you can pick up your copy of ‘Now That I See You’ here:https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/books/fiction/Now-That-I-See-You-Emma-Batchelor-9781760879761For a wealth of information on trans/non-binary issues, please check out the excellent site listed below:https://www.transhub.org.au/48 min
About The Write Way
From the publisher's feed
A program founded and hosted by author and interviewer Samuel Elliott, that features a broad and disparate range of writer folk guests, ranging from international best-selling authors, to debut novelists or those as-yet unpublished writers. Regardless of what stage of their career they might be at, all of them are united by a love of writing, as well as having overcome some brutal challenges to get to where they are. This program will discuss not only each guest’s latest and greatest work or project, but also delve into what they’ve faced and conquered along their way to inevitable success.
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