INTERVIEW: Kimberley Freeman on ‘Wildflower Hill’ (Hachette Australia)

Posted: 3 September 2010 at 10:10 am

Fans of speculative fiction may know her as Kim Wilkins, but author Kimberley Freeman is also making a name for herself in commercial women’s fiction. She spoke to Bookseller+Publisher reviewer Kate Cuthbert.

You started out in speculative fiction—what prompted the move to commercial women’s fiction? What is the appeal of this genre? And the challenges?

When I was little and imagined growing up to be an author, I never imagined that I would be limited to one genre. I wrote 10 books before I had anything published, and only a couple of them were spec fic. But then I began publishing in the dark fantasy genre and, the market operating as it does, I continued to publish in that genre. After Rosa and the Veil of Gold, I felt that I had exhausted what I wanted to say in spec fic (for a while, not forever). I was sitting on the couch at my agent’s house and we were talking about books we used to love in the 80s—like Lace and A Woman of Substance. And we both sort of looked at each other and went, hey that’s not a bad idea. Why don’t I write something like that? I had such enormous fun with it. I’ve always liked writing about strong women who are faced with difficult choices, and this gave me free rein to imagine big glamorous story ideas. The challenges were all about narrative interest. I’d been so used to thinking, ‘oh, the story’s getting boring, I’ll stick in a ghost’. I definitely learned a lot more about my craft when I became Kimberley Freeman.

How do you feel about the term ‘women’s fiction’? What are your thoughts on its usefulness as a descriptor or marketing tool?

While it seems a little broad, I think that it’s apt. My spec fic books, despite being about women, attract readers of both sexes. My Kimberley Freeman books have largely had a female audience. I think ‘women’s fiction’ just means fiction that privileges the female experience of the real world: fiction that gives women centre stage and allows them to be complex and conflicted and so on. My only misgiving would be if ‘women’s fiction’ became a term of derision. But I think the term is offered and accepted in good spirit as far as I can see.

There is a strong emphasis in Wildflower Hill on traditional ways of communication—letters, diaries, photos, paper records, body language, dance—even your modern-day heroine is uninterested in her mobile phone. Is this an ode, a lament, or merely a useful plot device?

I was recently up at the Fryer Library at University of Queensland, looking through old manuscript boxes full of notes and correspondence and so on and I was thinking about the incredible romance of traditional forms of communication. I’m particularly fascinated by old diaries. One of the most interesting that I read was a diary of an 11th century Japanese woman (in translation, of course). That she could touch me across so many years and across that East-West cultural divide was amazing and humbling. Even though I love the internet and I blog and you can’t keep me off Facebook, I do sometimes feel that we connect with each other too superficially (and perhaps too often). I can’t reconcile these two things about myself—my desire to be right in the thick of web 2.0 technology and my desire to receive letters written on parchment—but I do think that tension might have worked its way into the story unconsciously. Read the rest of this entry »

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Indigenous Literacy Day: Not just about the books

Written by: Matthia Dempsey
Posted: 1 September 2010 at 1:22 pm

Indigenous Literacy Project development facilitator Debra Dank

Today, thousands of school children, together with hundreds of bookshops and publishers, libraries and organisations around Australia will celebrate the fourth Indigenous Literacy Day.

To date, the annual event has raised more than $800,000 since its first national fundraising day in 2006, and the involvement of remote Indigenous communities has grown—from the three communities originally involved in 2004 to 160 this year.

As awareness of and involvement in the annual event grows, the ways in which the Indigenous Literacy Project (ILP) is supporting literacy development in remote Indigenous communities is also expanding and adapting.

‘ILP is developing an ear for hearing the needs of communities where it works,’ says Indigenous Literacy Project development facilitator Debra Dank, based in Darwin. ‘The Buzz Books program and the Community Identified Projects are responding to those heard needs.’

‘In [Book] Buzz, ILP provides sets of twelve books as resources but then works to build community ownership,’ she says. In the case of Warburton, a remote community in Western Australia, Dank and colleague Maddy Bower worked with elders in the community to include local translations, stickered into the books.

‘The real sense of involvement and participation which community people can feel is significant to the overall rollout of the project and creates a unique and distinct Buzz face at each project site,’ says Dank.

Community identified projects

Other Community Identified Projects (CIPs) include support for the Junjuwa Women’s Centre in Fitzroy Crossing, the GurrindinDalmi Community in Katherine; a Maningrida book project with award-winning author Leonie Norrington, support for the Central Australian Honey Ant Readers and the Barkly Tablelands Ringers Project.

‘Several of this year’s CIP’s do not have an obvious literacy look but they are creating an environment where SAE literacy and language acquisition can grow,’ explains Dank. ‘Contexts which articulate purpose and need for SAE literacy acquisition.’

‘These projects are important in that they are what the communities have identified as being important and a priority for them,’ says Dank. ‘It is always important when working in a community development capacity that there is an ability to listen and that the local perspectives of needs are respected. Locally based community people are always best placed to articulate their needs.’

For Dank, this willingness on the part of the ILP to listen to local needs is one of the most important aspects of the project—as is the willingness to steadily (and sometimes slowly) build and strengthen relationships with the communities involved, rather than making the mistakes of many ‘fly-in, fly-out’ outsiders. ‘Many communities are bombarded with fly in fly out visitors,’ she says. ‘The need to develop and sustain a long-term rapport/relationship with the community is key to the success of any project. It gives community members an opportunity to form an understanding of the type of person and thus the type of service they are likely to receive and if this is something which will benefit the community.’

The project’s role in cultural exchange

Another area where Dank see’s ‘huge possibilities’ for the ILP is in its role in facilitating cultural exchange between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities. A small step in this direction is the role of books written by Indigenous students in workshops with popular children’s author Andy Griffiths and then shared more widely—books featuring stories of life that can be quite different from those familiar to non-Indigenous Australians.

The narrative skills in these books should not come as a surprise; nor should the proficiency of Indigenous students in other forms of ‘literacy’. ‘The cross over between black and white culture and community, which Indigenous Australians are continuously expected to [adjust to] means that adaptation is a very real skill for Indigenous Australians,’ says Dank. ‘Our kids may have some trouble reading books but they are experts at reading their environment, they may not speak SAE [Standard Australian English] but they articulate their needs brilliantly within our own languages.’

Dank acknowledges that the ILP has a role to play in ensuring these skills are recognized in the wider community. ‘Let’s build acknowledgement and respect for Indigenous kids as capable learners,’ she says. ‘Let’s build that through a new dialogue which recognises differences as differences and not as deficiencies.’

[On Indigenous Literacy Day 2009 I spoke to Dank about Indigenous languages and how these interact with students' acquisition of Standard Australian English literacy, for an article that appeared in Crikey and can be found online here. Dank will appear at an event with author David Malouf at the New South Wales National Library tonight, details online here.]

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‘Addition’ rights sales add up

Written by: Fancy Goods
Posted: 1 September 2010 at 10:21 am

With the film rights to her debut novel Addition just sold, and a new novel—Fall Girl—due in October, things are looking pretty good for Toni Jordan. And that’s before you mention that Addition has now sold into (count them), 16 territories: the US, Brazil, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Israel, Netherlands, Portugal, Quebec, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Taiwan, Turkey, the UK and Italy.

Fancy Goods asked the author which of her many international covers she liked best. ‘That’s like choosing between offspring,’ she says. ‘Right now, I love the Italian one [left], but that might just be because it’s the newest. And I really want that coat.’

For Jordan, the international covers are something of a surprise. ‘Even though I don’t have jacket approval in my Australian contract, the publishers were fantastic in showing me their ideas and discussing them with me,’ she says. ‘My first Australian jacket was the toothbrushes. I loved it from the beginning. Kinda quirky, kinda sexy.’

‘The overseas jackets I have no input into whatsoever. They just appear in the mail.’ Read the rest of this entry »

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Most mentioned books this week

Written by: Media Extra
Posted: 31 August 2010 at 12:56 pm

Two books topped the most mentioned chart this week: Bereft (Chris Womersley, Scribe), a postwar tale of loneliness and suffering during the Spanish flu epidemic in Australia, and Freedom (Jonathan Franzen, Fourth Estate) about a US Midwestern family and the temptations and burdens of liberty. Also on the most mentioned chart are Atlantic (Simon Winchester, HarperPress) a history across the Atlantic ocean, the chilling thriller Trick of the Dark (Val McDermid, Little, Brown) and Mary Delahunty’s memoirs Public Life, Private Grief (Hardie Grant)—Media Extra

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BOOK REVIEW: Bereft (Chris Womersley, Scribe)

Posted: 30 August 2010 at 11:38 am

Chris Womersley’s Bereft, his second novel after 2008’s award-winning The Low Road, is a rich, gripping tale of love, loss, conflict and salvation. The prologue states that in 1912, during a storm in the ‘fly-speck town of Flint’, New South Wales, a teenage boy was found holding a knife next to his sister’s battered body. He fled the scene.

The novel then begins with this long-thought-dead young man, Quinn, contemplating life and death after his time in the trenches in the Great War, on a ship bound back home. Remnants of the war include a large scar across his face, and fits of coughing from gas exposure; but deeper scars lie from Quinn’s past, and he is returning to confront them. In the town of Flint, he is known as ‘the murderer’, so he cannot show his face—but he sets out to at least unburden his sick mother. He befriends a tough orphan girl, Sadie, who has strange abilities, a calming presence, and issues to resolve that are related to his own.

Womersley’s descriptions of this western plains town, its inhabitants and outsiders, plus the flashbacks to the war and to London, are fresh, rich and emotionally charged. The main characters, though their plotlines are not incredibly complex, are compelling, and even fascinating. There is an added layer of mood in both the setting and characters—gothic, magical—which makes the book a delight to consume, and makes the reader appreciate why the resolution (which could come sooner, really) is dangled, tantalisingly, through chapters of character development and skillful (but never thick) description, so that when it comes—when that moment finally comes— the reader’s reaction may be similar to mine, and that was to go ‘oh … cool!’ By then you have such a complete picture of Quinn, his state and his surrounds that it is like watching the final satisfying moments of a richly coloured and well-directed film.

This book is thoroughly enjoyable, compelling, moving, warm and completely memorable. I had that very rare experience of wanting to read it again, almost immediately. This book crosses the lines of popular fiction, literary fiction and mystery. It could be recommended to fans of Kate Grenville (though I think Womersley’s a more interesting writer), Tim Winton, Matthew Condon, Craig Silvey, Peter Carey, Peter Temple, Alex Miller and more.

Angela Meyer is a writer, blogger, and former acting editor of Bookseller+Publisher. This review first appeared in the August issue of Bookseller+Publisher, which reached subscribers in early July.

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Bestsellers this week

Posted: 27 August 2010 at 5:14 pm

There was a time a couple of years back when this book wouldn’t leave the Nielson BookScan top 10 bestseller charts, and now Eat, Pray, Love (Elizabeth Gilbert, Bloomsbury) is back on top. The film adaptation staring Julia Roberts won’t screen in cinemas until October and the film tie-in edition is not due on shelves until September, yet the anticipation for the film appears so strong that the book is already generating big sales in bookshops. Teen sailor Jessica Watson is second on the bestseller charts with True Spirit (Hachette) after a nationwide book tour and TV documentary series. 4 Ingredients: Fast, Fresh and Healthy (Kim McCosker, Rachael Bermingham & Deepak Chopra, Hay House) is in third place followed by The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Stieg Larsson, Quercus) and Don’t Blink (James Patterson, Century). Angelina (Andrew Morton, HarperCollins) is number one on the highest new entries chartWeekly Book Newsletter.

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BOOK REVIEW: The Genesis Flaw (L A Larkin, Pier 9)

Posted: 25 August 2010 at 3:31 pm

With climate change on everyone’s mind, there’s no shortage of eco-thrillers on the market. Michael Crichton (Next, Jurassic Park) casts a long shadow, but this Australian-based debut deserves a place among the big names. The Genesis Flaw is set in a near future where genetically engineered crops supply most of the world’s food. Unknown to the public, they are triggering dangerous changes in human DNA, and there’s a conspiracy to hide the truth. But the appeal isn’t so much the science as the situation, the characters and the tension (sexual and otherwise) between them: sassy corporate exec Serena Swift must avenge her father by revealing the truth; computer hacker John Flynn will do almost anything to help—even if it means breaking the law; and the enigmatic, handsome and single-minded CEO Al Bukowski will stop at nothing to protect his company. This book definitely sits at the Crichton/ John Birmingham end of the spectrum—a sweaty-palm page-turner with short chapters and loads of action. The dialogue is occasionally a little clunky, and the science is a touch far-fetched, but when has that ever mattered in a thriller? It’s the literary equivalent of The Day AfterTomorrow or Lost; exciting, compulsive reading.

Lachlan Jobbins is a freelance reviewer, editor and x-bookseller, and is currently the communications officer for the Australian Society of Authors.

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Film Adaptation: Tomorrow, When the War Began

Written by: Andrew Wrathall
Posted: 25 August 2010 at 9:48 am

Stuart Beattie

Tomorrow, When the War Began is such a cherished book that adapting it to a movie was a major challenge for Stuart Beattie, but the producer looks happy and relaxed on stage, confident that he’s created something the kids (and the ones that have grown-up) will enjoy. At a premiere screening after a book signing at the Jam Factory in Melbourne, Beattie and the cast answer questions about the film.

‘John Marsden allowed me to make the movie because he wanted someone who has read the books and saw the books as a fan, rather than someone who just wanted to profit from it,’ says Beattie, one of many film producers to approach author John Marsden about adapting his book Tomorrow, When the War Began. Beattie who previously worked on Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, has used his skills to make a film quite true to the book, that has an action-packed style comparable to anything coming out of Hollywood, with the warmth and humour of an Australian drama.

Caitlin Stasey and Rachel Hurd-Wood

Ellie Linton, the main protagonist, is played by the outgoing Caitlin Stasey, an actor many teens will recognise from Neighbours. ‘I’m the only one who hasn’t read the books,’ she admits to the friendly taunts of the other cast members. The story focusses on Ellie’s relationships with her friends, specifically her best friend Corrie (played by Rachel Hurd-Wood). When Corrie cries, Ellie is there to comfort her. Corrie has a relationship with Kevin, played by Home and Away actor Lincoln Lewis, but their relationship becomes strained during the course of the movie. An angsty relationship also begins between Ellie and Lee (played by Chris Pang) during the movie.

The film cast sign books in Borders South Yarra, before the screening of 'Tomorrow When the War Began'

The idea of an invasion of Australia is central to the story, but the identity of the invading army was kept secret in the book. Marsden says he didn’t want ‘people to use the books to justify some racist belief they may hold’. The invaders are Asian in appearence, but no particular country of origin is identified. Beattie says, ‘John (Marsden) was very smart in keeping the identity of the invaders vague. With a movie about politics and the motivation behind war you need to know the countries involved. This is really a drama about eight kids, so the country of the invaders is not really important’. Beattie says the logical choice for the invaders was from one of Australia’s neighbouring countries, but he treats the Asian identity as unimportant to the story, and rather a device to unleash the drama without looking for motivations of war. As Homer, one of the characters in the film (played by Deniz Akdeniz) says, ‘It doesn’t matter who they are. They’re here now. What difference does a flag make?’

The audience of teenagers at the premiere screening find plenty of laughs in the movie, especially from Homer the prankster. Often humour is also used to deflect the bad occurrences during the war. Action scenes are graphic and shocking, but for today’s teens who are immune to screen violence, there’s nothing they can’t handle. The film does show how awkward and fragile the teenagers can be in matters of love and especially in fighting back, where their military strategies are based on luck.

As well as a story of survival it is about the loss of innocence, epitomised by a scene with Ellie sitting in her cubby house. Ellie finds it hard to come to grips with the death of soldiers and says, ‘At what point do we loose our souls if we haven’t already?’ The character development from the begging to the end of the film shows a real change, because of their experience of the war.

One noticeable difference from the book is that the movie has been updated for the digital age. The movie begins with Ellie talking into a video camera instead of writing out the story in a notebook. When the characters all arrive back in Wirrawee they all check their phones at the same time and find no signal. ‘It was only logical that when they would all have cell phones, when Ellie wanted to talk to Corrie she was Skyping to her rather than sitting in a cafe, and the laptop would still have battery power when she checked the internet,’ says Beattie.

Phoebe Tonkin and Deniz Akdeniz

Some little things have changed in the story, which happens with every adaptation. Beattie says, ‘When we were writing the script, John kept away and that’s probably the best thing he could’ve done. The movie is a different animal than the book, and John knows that.’ The characters are slightly more exaggerated versions of the book characters. Fiona (Phoebe Tonkin) is the rich-girl stereotype, Robyn (Ashleigh Cummings) is the uber-Christian and Chris (Andy Ryan) is a complete stoner (something barely mentioned in the books). There’s also a cameo by Colin Friels, who is great as the crazy dentist Dr Clements.

Beattie does include an in-joke when Corrie is reading My Brilliant Career (Miles Franklin), Ellie asks, ‘Good Book?’ Corrie replies, ‘Yeah. Better than the movie.’ Ellie says, ‘Books usually are’.

Tomorrow, When the War Began opens in cinemas nationally on 2 September. Film tie-in editions of the book (Pan Macmillan) are currently available in bookshops. Movie and television sequels will follow if the film is successful.

Read Andrew Wrathall’s article on John Marsden’s response to the movie in the August edition of Bookseller+Publisher magazine.

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Father’s Day

Posted: 24 August 2010 at 6:39 pm

In the August issue of Bookseller+Publisher Andrea Hanke rounded up some of the picture books that might appeal to fathers of little ones this Father’s Day. Here are her picks:

My Aussie Dad (Yvonne Morrison, illus by Gus Gordon, Scholastic, August) celebrates Aussie fathers in all their guises; My Dad Thinks He’s Funny (Katrina Germein, illus by Tom Jellett, Black Dog Books) explores that sense of humour that’s unique to fathers; and Me and My Dad (Sally Morgan & Ezekiel Kwaymullina, illus by Matt Ottley, Little Hare) introduces a father who isn’t afraid of stinging jellyfish or hungry sharks, but cowers at the sight of a seagull.

Because You Are With Me (Kylie Dunstan, Hachette Children’s Books) is a thankyou to dads for their help and encouragement; Me and My Dad (Alison Ritche, illus by Alison Edgson, Koala Books) is a sweet story about a father and son bear; and there are kisses aplenty with Daddy Kiss (Margaret Allum & Jonathan Bentley, Little Hare) and from the ‘My Little Library’ series Kisses for Daddy (Fraces Watts & David Legge, Little Hare).

Grandfathers also have a choice of Adventures with Grandpa (Rosemary Mastnak, Hardie Grant Egmont) and Grandad and Billy (Julie Kingston, Lothian Children’s Books).

You can check out Andrea’s Father’s Day recommendations in the realms of fiction, biography, sport, military, food and wine and much more in the article from page 22 of the magazine, now online here.

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Most mentioned books this week

Written by: Media Extra
Posted: 24 August 2010 at 3:38 pm

Well, the weekend’s election result (or lack thereof) may have taken some by surprise, but it’s not exactly a shock that an election-related title topped the most mentioned chart this week. Jessica Rudd’s new novel Campaign Ruby (Text) has come in at the top of our chart for a second week in a row. Other politically themed titles getting a mention in the chart were Dominic Knight’s story about student politics in Comrades (Bantam) and Mary Delahunty’s political memoir and story of love and loss in Public Life, Private Grief (Hardie Grant). Joe Bageant’s Rainbow Pie (Scribe) and Stephen Daisley’s Traitor (Text) also nabbed a spot on the most mentioned chart this week—Media Extra.

If you would like to receive Media Extra to find out which titles are mentioned in the media each week, please contact subscriptions on (03) 8517-8333 or subscriptions@thorpe.com.au.

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