Loved my ‘creative date’ at @hornsbyshirelibraries last night hearing one of Australia’s best – @debraoswaldoz being expertly interviewed by @michaelakalowski
This was the first time I’d heard Debra speak, and I felt like I’d known her for years. She was everything I expected her to be – warm, down-to-earth, insightful, funny, wise – and totally passionate about her work. At one stage, Debra became teary thinking about a character in her new book. “I know, I know he’s just a fictional character I created, but he went through so much.” I’m a middle-aged, early-stage writer, but this really resonated with me. Our characters are very real to us. Hearing Debra speak with such affection for her characters, learning about the research that underpinned her storylines and peeking behind the curtain of her disciplined writing practice was totally inspiring. I can’t wait to read One Hundred Years of Betty @allenandunwin – and have already started enjoying the One Hundred Years of Betty playlist on Spotify! Thanks to the Hornsby Library staff, and another shoutout to Michaela for eliciting such gems from Debra.