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Phyrne Fisher books by Kerry Greenwood; 262

Fabulous Phyrne Jazz Age 'tec

Wealthy Phyrne Fisher grew up poor and hungry, drove ambulances through the mud of WWI and turned to crime to cure her ennui. photo, Kerry Greenwood; 82x117

Kerry Greenwood
2013 Interview
1998 Interview
The Usual Questions
Her series in reading order

Hazel Edwards

answers the Usual Questions

Hazel Edwards

Author Hazel Edwards, well-known for her book There's a Hippopotamus on Our Roof Eating Cake, writes for both the young adult and adult markets. She maintains a strong presence in electronic media, e-mentoring dual-language stories, co-authoring the blog Cycling Solo: Ireland to Istanbul (now a book, the blog is no longer) and conducting webinars.

Her 200 books have been translated into a variety of languages, she has been a national Literacy Champion and is Education chair on the Australian Society of Authors' committee.

Has your interaction with fans, for example, at conventions, affected your work?

Yes. Often a question from a fan will provoke a new way of looking at a subject. 'Why do you graffiti books?' was the question from a young fan in an autographing queue. Ok some signatures are like graffiti, even mine. What if graffiti in another world were a code?
Recently I was asked, 'What happened to your characters before the first page?' Officially that's called a prequel. I'm thinking of venturing there.

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

A conference meeting with family friend Ryan Kennedy two years ago led to our f2m:the boy within YA (young adults) novel about transitioning gender. Any writer needs be androgynous and write credible characters not their own gender, but a character who transitions from female to male in the novel, needs to be realistic. Our 18 year old is, because Ryan drew on his own experiences as an ftm, but the book is not autobiographical.

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

I like the Robert Harris faction (Enigma, Archangel, Fatherland, The Ghost, Imperium) which take real historical events and provide a well paced twist in viewpoint.

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

An engineer who specialises in lifts. Or one of the Antarctic expeditioners who were excellent problem solvers and could fix anything.

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

A claustrophobic.

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

My imagination. Never leave home without it.

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

Meet interesting minds during my participant-research, where I go and do something new in order to write realistically about it afterwards. E.g. Antarctic expedition. Hot air ballooning, genetics and family history for Fake ID, & researching platypus down the municipal water channels.

Satisfied readers, who genuinely recommend the book as 'a good read'. Maybe seeing the world from a different viewpoint, understanding motives or experiencing values of a different world for the length of the book.

What is the special satisfaction of your work?

Fiction prediction; where I research and then say what if? And some time later, it happens on the news. E.g. the threat of a pandemic in Darwin in my Outback Ferals novel.

Hearing or seeing the book adapted into other media such as theatre, film or audio story. Puppetry gave me the greatest satisfaction. Especially with music added.

submitted by Hazel Edwards

June, 2010

For other answers to The Usual Questions Click here

Just the facts:
Born: Melbourne, 1945
Resides: Melbourne, Australia but travel frequently for research or speaking.
Bibliography/Awards: Awarded the 2009 ASA Medal by peers. F2m:the boy within co-authored with Ryan Kennedy (www.fordstreetpublishing.com & e-novel on Amazon. International first YA novel by trans ftm co-author.
Difficult Personalities (Penguin & The Experiment USA) with Dr Helen Mc Grath
There's a Hippopotamus on Our Roof Eating Cake (Penguin) series 30th anniversary & film by www.pocketbonfire.com
Novels include:
Outback Ferals & Antarctica's Frozen Chosen, published by Hachette. Stalker; Fake ID; Writing a Non Boring Family History Plato the Platypus Plumber(part-time) http://www.ipoz.biz/Store/orders.htm & on Kindle.