Carmel Shute
I really wanted to consider how much we can rely on other people, and how self-interest can be a corrupting influence. But there were other things I was wondering about as well and I think those wonderings worked their way into the mysteries in the plot. For instance, living as a colonising people, what should our relationship be to the land that we only claim to own because our ancestors stole it?
Stripped down to its most basic form, crime fiction is about concealing information from the reader, and then gradually revealing it. This is one of the reasons why the genre tends to favour telling its stories through a single point of view character, often the detective, in first person or close third person.
Thirty-three books on Sisters in Crime’s shortlist for its 22nd Davitt Awards for the best crime and mystery books! Not all that excessive given that 169 books have been in contention. The Davitts are riding the crest of an enormous wave of popularity for crime writing by Australian women. Women like writing it, the publishers like printing it, and we all love reading it.
Anna Snoekstra’s books have been published in over 20 countries and 16 languages and her first audio drama, This Isn’t Happening, is out with Audible later this year. Her short stories have won Australian Shadows Awards, Ditmar Awards and Aurealis Awards. Anna talked about her career and crime craft with Carmel Shute, Sisters in Crime’s secretary, for July’s Murder Monday.
For the July Crime Stack, Journey Towards Publishing has kindly offered 20 copies of Shadow over Edmund Street, by Victorian Sisters in Crime member, Suzanne Frankham. This debut novel has just been shortlisted for ACWA’s 2022 Ned Kelly Awards.
Writing is a craft, and like any other craft, it needs to be learnt. You would never pick up a paint brush for the first time and expect to be the next Picasso, and yet for some reason, we feel a sense of failure when we first start writing and it doesn’t read like Hemmingway (or, rather, Harper, Moriarty or McTiernan).
I’m curious about what sort of funny business plays out in these closed-off estates. What seedy habits warrant such high security? Why are the buildings so disturbingly identical? My theory is that the pristine gardens and fancy names are smoke and mirrors for fat, messy secrets.
If your life is getting back to normal and you only have time for a short series, I recommend Holding. Based on a novel by Graham Norton, it’s intelligent, compassionate and funny – and a who’s who of writers and actors.
An astonishing 169books are competing in Sisters in Crime’s 22nd Davitt Awards for the best crime and mystery books. Voting for the Readers’ Award Choice opens on Friday 10 June, closing Friday 24 July. Only financial members of Sisters in Crime are eligible to vote.
I’ve learned to keep going and get the words down, even when I feel under the pump, knowing I can always come back and edit later. And I’ve learned that research can be a rabbit hole! I spent days reading about witness protection in the UK, first-hand accounts of it, legislation, and how it works. It was fascinating though.