Q&A with Roaring Stories

The Sydney launch of Painting the Light was a roaring success thanks to Roaring Stories book store. Held at the Royal Oak in Balmain just before Mother’s Day, we sold out of copies. Thanks to all who came.

At the launch I told this story and afterward, Roaring Stories included it in their ‘Author’s Corner’ interview with me. They also managed to prise out a few other well-kept secrets, so head over to their blog to get the full details.

The first iteration of this story was an outline for a mini-series but my Director friend, George Ogilvie, told me, 'It’s not a film, it’s a life.'

Then I pitched it to my publisher as a memoir but they said, 'No-one’s going to read a book about someone they’ve never heard of.'

After that, I decided to write it as a novel. That was a real gift. While loosely based on my parents' lives, writing this story as fiction let me add new situations and characters and whole new chapters to the story. I let my imagination run wild.

This book is a tribute to my parents - in many ways it's is a love letter to my parents and, in particular, my mother.

Thank you to all who came along to the launch. If you missed out on a copy of the book you can buy it here on the website.