Where were you born, and what was your childhood like?
I was born in a small country town called Pinjarra but grew up in the neighbouring town of Waroona in Western Australia. I grew up in an Italian household, both my parents migrated out to Australia in the 1950s as young children with their parents. My childhood was a good one, parents didn't have a lot of money and did what they could within their means. The benefits of growing up in the 1980s was the lack of social media and influences, though I really didn't like the fashion of the day and shudder at the clothes that were available!
As a teenager, what were you obsessed with?
I was obsessed with James Dean. After watching Rebel without a cause, I thought JD was the only person in the world who knew what I was going through as a teenager. The angst of growing up, being misunderstood by adults, especially my parents and not being appreciated for my views or ideas. Hmmm ... I don't think much has changed. Then I read Atlantis: the lost continent by Charles Berlitz and that invigorated my imagination about an intelligent and sophisticated lost civilisation, and it made me wonder how a whole race of people could just disappear. This led me to studying about the Classics, mythology and the history of the world.
Would you like to share the story of how you drove your first car at the age of three?
This is a very funny story, but I guess at the time it wasn't, afterall, it did contribute to my dad's high blood pressure. I was three and my sister was fourteen months old, and my mum needed a break and suggested to my dad to take us out while he went to collect rocks for the garden to build a wall for a garden bed. He had driven to an area where there was bushland and on one side of the road was a hill and on the other side was a valley. Dad had left us in the car. I wanted to drive the car, it looked easy so I decided to climb over into the front seat. (I did a lot of climbing as a kid.) I grabbed hold of the steering wheel and turned it one way and then the other, got a bit frustrated as we weren't moving, fiddled with a few levers and loll an behold, released the hand brake. I was having a great time, but my sister was bawling, and facing the back window as my dad chased the car. The car veered onto the hillside and came to a stop. There ended my first driving experience.
We arrived home crying and my dad as white as sheet.
How did your friends and family react to your first book?
My parents and siblings were very proud of my first publication and my friends were ecstatic. It was a nice reward after the years of writing and finally seeing the final culmination into a publication.
Do you enjoy being a high school teacher?
Some days it can be quite rewarding, and I do enjoy the interaction with students. It's the politics and governance of daily running of the school that gets in the way of teaching, I don't enjoy any of that.
What was your reaction when you got nominated for your first book award?
Utter surprise. As a writer, I never know how readers will react to my stories, and I always have a feeling my work isn't quite good enough. It was a nice confirmation to learn someone out there really does like my writing. I still have doubts.
How do you ensure that your students know the merits of reading and ancient history?
One of the bonuses of my role as teacher is promoting literature to students and encouraging them to read, even those who are reluctant readers. It's mainly due to their lack of literacy skills and not wanting to show they can't read as well as their peers. I also blame digital devices. These tools, that's all they are, have shortened even more so their attention span, and reduced their ability to write. I combine literature with ancient history, and try to get them interested in the rich and diverse stories of the ancient past and link them to what is happening today.
What inspired the plot of your novel, The Guardian's Legacy?
The Guardian's Legacy came from a short story I had written for an anthology published some years ago, and I was given a facsimiie of a Greek coin to devise a story. It took me months of ruminating on how to weave a narrative using the coin as the main plot. Then it hit me, and I had read The Histories by Herodotos for Uni, and wanted to use him as a character in the story. I brainstormed and came up with the concept of a magical artefact—the coin—and how Herodotos used it to travel and collate information for his Histories. The story grew from there.
What do you find most fascinating about unsolved mysteries and true crimes?
It's the psychology behind people's behaviour, and why they would commit such atrocities, that's what I find fascinating. When you dig deeper, most of the offenders background and upbringing tend to be main cause for their actions. As to unsolved mysteries, I find it extraordinary how even to this day, some cases aren't resolved, such as Jack the Ripper. I know there has been a number of documentaries made recently stating they've identified the man behind the brutal slayings of the women, but there's no real certainty the case is solved.
Who is your target audience? What are some things you wish your readers would take away from your books?
My target audience are adults who enjoy ancient history, adventure, thrillers and mythology. Other than enjoyment from reading my books, I'd like readers to feel as if they are part of the story, invested in the main protagonist's journey, and have had vicarious experience. I guess like my character Nik in The Guardian's Legacy, I'd like to offer readers through my stories the ability to be teleported back in time and to locations as if they were there. Also that they have learnt something about the past they didn't know, such as the misnomer that Pandora opened a box, she actually opened a jar. I try to be as authentic to the time period, especially my historical fiction. Readers are intelligent and I want them to come away feeling as if they were treated as such from my stories.
What are some good tips for growing vegetables at home?
That is a tough question, I've had a lot of misses in between some good crops. Good organic soil, in addtion to sheep manure, it's a slowing releasing fertiliser. Regular watering with soluble food for the veges and we rotate what is grown in the pots. We also follow the moon planting cycle and always plant seasonal crops.
When writing novels, is it better to have daily time-spent-writing goals or words-written goals?
I have words-written goals. I found it much more achieveable especially as I teach full-time and can only write in the evenings and/or on the weekends.
What are the things that inspire you to travel more?
I love seeing new places and experiencing the culture of a country, even though as a tourist you don't always get to see the 'real' essence of a place unless you stray away from the over exploited touristy locations. For me, ancient sites are my go to places. For example, the time I went to the Palace of Knosso, I was in awe. Walking around that massive ancient site was incredible and seeing metre long clay pipes in situ that once had fresh running water and separate pipes for refuse dating back to the fourth millennia is astonishing. To this day, I still recall the feeling of being there where the Minoans once lived.
Which is the next book you are writing? Give us an insight into it.
I am in the process of editing Book 2 in the Coin of Time series titled The race for the lost coin. The story follows on from Nik's disappearance from Rodin's Musee and he has now enlisted the help of a local taxi driver and a hacker, while avoiding the capture from Interpol and French Detective Alexandrie Sauveterre. I am hoping it has the same edge and pace as The Guardian's Legacy and will be testing the manuscript with my beta readers soon.
How has your experience of being associated with AllAuthor been?
My experience with AllAuthor has been positive and the features are great. I'm not sure about an uptik in sales, but I have no skills when it comes to marketing and haven't really made use of all the extras AllAuthor has to offer. Time is my biggest issue.
Thank you so much, Mady, for this opportunity to answer your questions. They certainly were thought provoking and diverse, which I really enjoyed answering.
