Australian-based author Lucy Sussex lives and works in Melbourne, Victoria. She writes and edits in a variety of genres, and is active in academia and in The Real World of authors, editors and fans.

I remember one woman who was berating me for not having written more about Raffy (the protagonist of ‘My Lady Tongue’. I told her I could only write about a character again if they took me by the scruff of the neck. Whereupon she walked behind me and…

Is there any particular incident (a letter, a meeting, a comment that stands out?

My first fan letter was from an editor, and directly led to my first book, THE PEACE GARDEN.

Do you have a favourite author or book (or writer or film or series) that has influenced you or that you return to?

Probably Shakespeare.

Who is the person you would most like to be trapped in a lift with? or a spaceship?

An escapologist.

Who would you most DISlike to be trapped in a lift with?

If it’s a choice between a suicide bomber and a bodyspammer I’d go for the former.

What would you pack for space? (Is there a food, beverage, book, teddy bear, etc that you couldn't do without?)

I travel with: jasmine tea, dried stone fruit, a walking book (because dead time is best filled with reading) and a New Zealand passport (because their government hasn’t done anything too much to be ashamed of).

What is the most important thing you would like to get/achieve from your work?

More money?

What is the special satisfaction of your work? I get a buzz out of chasing words down a page.

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