Tag: author

Author Talks with Maxine Fawcett

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Australian Debut Author, Maxine Fawcett 📸

There is no doubt that Maxine knows her words! She has written for MamaMia in Australia and Mummypages in the UK. With a BA in Communication and Art History from the University of East London, it’s an absolute given that her debut novel ‘Everything is Perfect’ would be incredible!

Welcome Max, to Mel Reviews Her Books 💖

Congratulations Maxine on your debut novel Everything Is Perfect published with Penguin Australia! How does it feel to be an official author and can you describe to us your first pinch me moment?

Thanks Mel! After a decade of attending courses, writing my first novel, pitching it again and again and again, receiving rejection after rejection (crying in my car more than a few times reading the first line of those emails that start something like, ’thank you for sending us your manuscript, even though we liked it we can’t take it further on this occasion’) then starting another book and then getting signed by PRH, it feels surreal but I’m also proud of myself that I kept going.

That’s the hardest thing, with no guarantee of anything, the drive to keep putting your bum on the chair and carrying on.

The first pinch me moment was seeing it on the shelf in Big W, and signing a copy for a lovely lady called Barbara who had picked it up to buy.

Your main character Cassie, has a number of secrets piling up and at some point everything is bound to explode and some people will become hurt by the consequences. What inspired you to write about a woman who has a seemingly happy, content and fulfilled life on the outside, but on the inside, she’s not the person she truly wants to be?

I was half way through my forties when I started Everything is Perfect and couldn’t have written Cassie at any other time. I had been journalling about my own feelings to do with ageing, peri menopause, my own identity and how I felt about no longer being seen.

Her wry voice came to me one morning as I was sitting in my local cafe having coffee (which is why ‘Black Honey’ coffee shop features in the book) and I wanted to explore the experiences of a midlife woman who seems to have it all but underneath is hiding everything.

Something I’ve chatted about with my own friends.

Going through the process, understanding and accepting how some children struggle in an educational setting is also a strong theme throughout your novel. I really appreciated that you shared this aspect and awareness! Was this always an initial thread in your novel or did it develop over time?

Having had my boys go through Primary school, I did want the struggles some children face to be an integral part of Everything is Perfect. There are so many parents doing an outstanding job of advocating for their kids but finding it extremely difficult to be heard in the school system.

I wasn’t writing to point any blame as the teacher’s my boys had – they were all outstanding! – but there were moments when the system wouldn’t bend to accomodate a child who may need something different and this was very frustrating.

Max – what does your day-to-day life look like now as a published writer? Is the second novel underway and does the process of writing look different the second time around?

If it works – stick to it is my motto! So I’m trying to do exactly the same thing as the first time around.

Some mornings I journal, others I get an idea and jump straight in. My writing time is generally 9.30am – 11.00am. Monday – Friday.

I’m also having to remind myself what it’s like to return to the beginning and make peace with the messy draft that emerges before any editing can be done. I’ve learnt to love editing and shaping a story from an idea.

Max, it’s been an absolute pleasure chatting with you here and also in person (virtually 😉) on Instagram! I cannot wait to read your next novel and celebrate with you again!

Author Talks with Emma Grey

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📸 Australian Author, Emma Grey, holding her most recent novel The Last Love Note

Emma is a novelist, feature writer, photographer, professional speaker and accountability coach. She is also 100% fabulous, of which I can confirm because we’ve now met twice in person 💖 Emma has such a kind soul and her clever, compassionate and open ability to connect with readers really does makes her one of a kind.

Welcome Emma, to Mel Reviews Her Books 💫

Emma, you have created a uniquely beautiful romantic novel. Grief is a topic and emotion that you bravely speak openly about in person and on your social media streams. Was it daunting for you to send The Last Love Note into the world?

It was very daunting. I think I spent the two weeks leading up to the January release in a ball of anxiety, wanting to hide from the world. It was all the usual doubts authors have – what if people don’t like the story or the writing? But it was also, ‘What if people criticise the portrayal of grief?’ Because that part was very real. I even worried my character, Kate, would be criticised for falling in love again after losing her husband. While the new love story was fictional, real life judgement in grief is unfortunately very real.

In addition to all of that, I also felt an element of ’survivor guilt’. This book exists because my husband died. And here I am, being published here and overseas, going on book tours, meeting amazing Wagga booksellers and bloggers … none of that would have happened if my real-life story had been different. I’ve had to remind myself that Jeff would have thoroughly embraced all of this for me, and that it was my own hard work that led to these things – not just the circumstances that inspired the novel. 

Gosh, what a complicated answer! I was also really excited about launching the book, once I ploughed through those other emotions 😊

You’ve just been to the USA on an author journey ahead of the November launch! What are you most excited about, seeing The Last Love Note on American bookshelves and in the hands of American readers? 

The story has a strong connection to New York. I’m from Australia, but my husband was president of the Society of Military History, based in the US. Six years ago, I was flown there for a memorial conference, just a few months after he died. 

It was while I was away that I had my ‘Byron Bay moment’ – the space to really let my grief unravel without my little boy around. I plunged to the depths of grief in an American hotel room … but then I visited New York. 

That’s a city that has experienced grief en masse. Yet the show goes on. The city is so endlessly vibrant and lit up. While I was there, I caught a glimpse of that vibrance for my own future. I believed for the first time that perhaps I, too, still had a life ahead of me. 

That’s when I decided to start writing this book. I took myself to the New York Public Library and wrote some paragraphs, just to make a symbolic start. They appear in the novel as the excerpt from my character Kate’s book. 

It’s why it feels so ‘full circle’ for me to be returning to the US now with a New York publisher, Zibby Owens. I feel like I’m on the way to creating the exciting future that city promised me all those years ago…

What’s next for you Emma? In your author life, in your writing life, in your journey?

I’m excited about touring America at the end of the year, including speaking at the Miami Book Fair, and celebrating my first Thanksgiving ever in the Hamptons. 

My new book, PICTURES OF YOU, will be published by Penguin Random House and Zibby Books in April 2024. It’s a romance, with a dash of psychological thriller. 

I’ve got some exciting plans to stage the musical I co-wrote with composer Sally Whitwell, based on my teen novel UNREQUITED. Our show, DEADPAN ANTI-FAN, is a story written for my then 14-year-old non-reader, who loved Harry Styles, to show her reading could be fun! 

A widowed friend who is a comedian has floated the idea of working together on WIDOWED: THE MUSICAL, which would be an amazing project. I’m also keen to work with a producer and composer on a TV documentary about the dementia choir my parents belonged to before my mum’s death. 

In less glamorous, but important news, I’m working with a colleague to put together some awareness-raising programs to help companies and services deal more kindly and sensibly with grieving customers. 

Then there are the new book ideas … I’m hoping to keep up with the release a book each year. 

Of course, I squeeze all of this around my copywriting work for government departments and other clients, and I’m also an accountability coach, so there’s always a lot happening.

Emma, thank you so much for your time and answers! It has been an absolute pleasure to have you on the blog and a chat over on Mel Reviews Her Books Instagram 🎤

Author Talks with Maya Linnell

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📸 Maya Linnell w/ Allen & Unwin

Maya Linnell is a bestselling Australian rural fiction author. Her writing career launched into the lime light in 2019 with the successful publication of her first novel ‘Wildflower Ridge’ with Allen & Unwin. From that year on, Maya’s has written 3 more books, she’s been backed by huge recommendation platforms such as Better Reading, and launched a fantastic blog, digital newsletter and reading community.

Welcome Maya and thank you so much for being a part of my Author Talks space online! It is an absolute pleasure to be hosting one of my favourite Australian rural fiction writers on the blog 💖

Maya, when did you fall in love with country romance writing? And what was your turning moment that influenced you to write your own novels?
In my 20s I was lucky enough to score a cadetship at a rural newspaper, which provided the perfect base for my love of words and country stories. I covered everything from school news and netball reports to front stories and advertising features, but the longer feature pieces, where I was allocated 3000 words to tell the amazing tales of local residents, quickly became my favourites.
This enthusiasm for long-form writing put me in good stead for fiction, although it wasn’t until mid-2016, following a late-night conversation with my husband, that I decided to write a novel. I’d been a stay-at-home mum for eight years at that stage, we’d almost finished owner building our home and our youngest child was about to start kindy. It was the first time I’d shared my dream of writing a novel and from that moment on, I did everything in my power to make it happen!

Taking a step back to ‘Wildflower Ridge’ your first novel published with Allen & Unwin, how would you have described that time in your life? Debut novelist, book deal and expectations?
It was a whirlwind of excitement, and I celebrated so many momentous steps along the way; finishing my first draft, making finals in writing competitions with Romance Writers Australia and sending my manuscript out into the world. I was thrilled to score a two-book deal with
Allen & Unwin a few months after I’d started pitching my novel. The contract offer burst into my inbox when I was grocery shopping with the kids on a midwinter’s afternoon, July 2018 (cue cries of delight in the fruit and veg aisle). We threw an impromptu party with our neighbours
that night. Champagne never tasted sweeter!
In terms of expectations, as a debut author, I just hoped that someone other than my school pals, family and former colleagues would buy Wildflower Ridge and enjoy it! Seeing the novel in bestseller lists and award finals was phenomenal the first time, and to experience that success again with the following three books completely exceeded my expectations. I’m so grateful for the generous support from readers, booksellers, bloggers and fellow authors, plus my fabulous publishers, Allen & Unwin.

Describe your life now for me and those reading, 4 years on from the publication of ‘Wildflower Ridge’. 
Nowadays, I write full time and juggle my author life with family commitments, book blogging and our small property in rural Victoria. Letters from readers are one of my favourite things and it’s a joy to share snippets of our country life on social media @maya.linnell.writes, in my
monthly newsletter and with occasional podcast takeovers. I’m also an advocate for authors and libraries and host a free online show called ‘Library Lovers’ on the third Wednesday of every month. We talk all things books, baking and gardening during the show, and I’ve just
locked in Jane Harper for October. I couldn’t be happier!

‘Paperbark Hill’ is the final story in the sister quartet you’ve created, written and published with Allen & Unwin. Has it been hard bringing the McIntyre sisters’ stories’ to an end?
The McIntyre sisters have been wonderful company these last four years, and after such a warm response from readers, it is hard to farewell them. I’ve had plenty of requests for future stories using minor characters from this series, so perhaps one day I’ll revisit Bridgefield and
check in on them. But for now, I’ve got a whole new series to write!

Maya, you are a powerhouse of a woman and I have been honoured to meet you in person, therefore I can easily say you’re a loving mother, incredibly humble and kind being. You’re also a flower enthusiast, poddy lamb mumma and skilled baker. Among all of these jobs, what is next on the agenda for your successful writing career? 
That’s very kind of you, Mel, it was lovely meeting you when we passed through Wagga Wagga and it’s clear you share that same passion for books! My main focus this month is redrafting my 2023 manuscript – A Place in the Vines – before submitting it to my publisher, Annette Barlow, in August. Then once that’s done, I’ll dive straight into writing my 2024 manuscript. And of course, there’s always plenty to be done around the property with three busy kids, rambling gardens and bottle feeding our latest intake of orphaned lambs!

(Images below are courtesy of Maya’s Instagram page @maya.linnell.writes 📸🌸)


Thank you Maya for your time, generosity and well, your novel! It’s an absolute joy to have shared our interview on melreviewsherbooks.com 💖📚💫 One big thank you to you, Maya, and Allen & Unwin for sending me this copy of ‘Paperbark Hill’ for review.  
Thank you for having me, Mel! And on behalf of the Aussie writing community, a big thanks for all your enthusiasm and good work getting our books into the hands of readers.