Q) What inspired you to write this story?
I spend a lot of time on the Mornington Peninsula on the south coast of Australia and love to feature it and have in a number of my novels; it has an interesting history. You have to read Penelope’s Ghost to get into the Peninsula’s yummy secrets.
Q) How long did it take you to write ‘Penelope’s Ghost’?
Approximately six months, perhaps a bit more. There is always a lot of rewriting in a novel. I tend to work on one first draft of one book while working on drafts of others then switch from one work to another.
Q) What is your favorite thing about writing?
It takes me out of myself and when the writing flows smoothly, it is intoxicating.
Q) What is your least favorite thing about writing?
When I get stuck I think that is what every writer hopes won’t happen.
Q) If you could be any famous person for one day, who would you be and why?
I wouldn’t mind being as famous as JB Rowling and knowing all my books will sell in the millions.
Q) What is the oldest thing in your fridge and how old is it?
A leftover jar of chutney I made last year. It didn’t quite work.
Q) What can readers expect from you in the future?
Another Romance, also set on the Mornington Peninsula. Can’t say much more. But if readers are interested in my other work I currently have 2 young adult books about to appear: “That Stranger Next Door” set in 1954 at the time of the McCarthy investigations, and “In Hades”, a verse novel.
