Childhood writing games, shelves of books, and a sister who became a librarian and introduced me to the Blue Mountains helped in the creation of my book series.
We stayed at the old art deco hotels. They seemed so luxurious after growing up in a fibro house on the fringes of the city. The breathtaking natural scenery surrounding us also made an impact. I lived in the Mountains for a while and later regularly visited my friend and writing/art colleague Janet Reinhardt in Leura.
As a child, I competed with a friend to read all of the Agatha Christies in the school library. When I saw a sad but inspiring photograph of a body in a cave at the Police and Justice Museum, this got me started on the first mystery novel, The Crushers. I wanted to create my own story using this image.
For five years, I worked with Corrective Services, which included involvement with the Women in Prison Program. I also worked with an Indigenous colleague at National Parks and Wildlife, who kindly allowed me to draw on his stories for one of my central characters. The Weaver of Blackheath came about when a friend of mine, a weaver who was living at Blackheath at the time, was having cocktails with me and Janet in the Carrington. He suggested I use him in one of my books.
Why are the books self-published? I was told that the first one, The Crushers, was going to be published by a major international publisher, but someone died at the publishing house, and my mentor there had a medical emergency, so no one from my group was published. As the novel had been through someone else’s editors, other publishers weren’t interested. I really felt I had little choice but to self-publish.
More info here.