Having just submitted my tenth novel, I find myself reflecting on the craft of writing and some of the challenges that come with having a long backlist. I was in my late twenties when I started writing my first novel. Writing was a hobby, a way of escaping the stress of my corporate job. I …
For thirty years this September, Sisters in Crime Australia has been celebrating women’s crime writing, running exciting events, nurturing authors and having fun. Co-founder Carmel Shute told tall tales and true under a grilling from a fellow convenor, Tara Mitchell, via Zoom on 20 March, to U3A Port Phillip. Catch up on our YouTube channel. …
France, renowned for delectable food and wine, art and romance, has also proved a popular setting for crime authors: the art world in Pip Drysdale’s The Paris Affair, a grand country estate in Anna Downes’s The Safe Place and the Alps in Allie Reynolds’s Shiver. Each lends a certain je ne sais quoi to the …
Looking back, the leap seems inconceivable. But when the notion first arrived I could not ignore it. I’d taken up law as a second career in my thirties. It was challenging, stimulating, sometimes thrilling, ultimately lucrative and I thrived on it. But twenty years on it had lost its lustre. I wasn’t even sure what I …
Families can be havens of love and affection, but they can also be crucibles of crime where abuse and resentment create an explosive mix. At the family core there are usually secrets – deep, dark secrets – as three new novels demonstrate: Nicola Moriarty’s You Need to Know, Erina Reddan’s The Serpent’s Skin and Lyn Yeowart’s The Silent Listener. Click HERE to …
Sisters in Crime Australia’s 21st Davitt Awards for the best crime and mystery books (and published in 2020) by Australian women are now open. Publishers have until Friday 7 May 2021 to enter. Self-published books are eligible. Books co-authored or edited by men or including chapters by men are not. This year the Davitts are …
For a break from the dark Nordic crime, SBS On Demand delivered with Miss S, an adaptation of Kerry Greenwood’s Miss Fisher set in the late 20s’ and early 30s’ Shanghai. What a delight. You will recognise Kerry Greenwood’s plots, each spread over two episodes. All your favourite characters are there. Miss Su and Inspector …
Sisters in Crime’s Vice-President, Robyn Walton, spoke to Robin Gregory about her debut crime novel, Traffic (Clan Destine Press). Hello Robin. Is Traffic your first publication? And what led you to choose crime fiction? Thanks for the opportunity, Robyn. In relation to the first half of your question, I self-published a thriller called Novice Death …
In 2013 I was at an unusual one-off writers’ festival in the beautiful Adelaide Botanic Garden. The Body in the Garden Festival combined crime and garden writers – the premise being that they both required the digging up or burying of things. Between panels, I was fortunate to sit down for a coffee and a …
All societies profess to love and cherish children, especially for their innocence, but this innocence is often what causes them to become victims of violence and abuse, unable to defend themselves or even speak out. Seasoned writers Caroline Overington, Katherine Kovacic and Stella Budrikis discussed these particularly evil crimes with fellow writer Emily Webb. Click …