What inspired the idea behind this book?
The Girl Remains is the story of a baffling cold case set in Blairgowrie on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula. Three teenage girls venture out for a night of mischief, but only two return.
The small coastal town felt like the perfect place to set this creepy story. Not only is it an area I know well – having spent many childhood and adolescent holidays there – it’s one of those tight-knit communities where the locals all know each other, and everyone thinks they know each other’s business. That creates a very unsettling environment when something goes wrong: was there a monster living amongst us all along?
The novel is fictional, but you still conducted some real-life research?
The novel is a police procedural and although it’s fictional, it was very important to me that the methodology my detectives use is accurate for the times. So during the early writing stages of the manuscript, I consulted with a lead detective involved in a notorious missing child case around the area back in 1991. We had long discussions about the type of surveillance police would conduct on a suspect, and how they might almost ‘trick’ the target into talking or leading them to evidence. We also discussed the role of the media in police investigations – both the ways reporters can hamper efforts, and also how they can help.
What was the most challenging part of writing this book?
I struggled with self-confidence and motivation early on with The Girl Remains, which I think was a result of being quite unsettled when the pandemic first struck in 2020. I’d got caught out by border closures and the like, and felt like I was living in limbo between Australia and New York (where I’m currently based). The upside of being without a permanent home-base was that I ended up being offered a very cheap rental in Blairgowrie, (where The Girl Remains is set), which I gladly accepted. I kept extending that accommodation and stayed for around three months – just enough time to finally complete the manuscript!
If you could give one piece of advice to aspiring writers, what would it be?
There’s a lot of pressure on writers to set aggressive word counts and “rush” through the first draft. Personally, that approach doesn’t work for me. I find a strict word count results in tedious, drawn-out rubbish that I have to delete later anyway. I do keep track of my words as a measure of progress, but I’m not fussed if one day I write 1200 words and the next I only hit 400. The important part is that I see some progression and crucially, that I’m putting in consistent, focused effort.
What’s your daily writing routine like and what are you working on at the moment?
Right now I’m working on completing the manuscript of what I hope will be my third novel. It’s a very different style to my first two books and the writing process has been challenging – but I’m hoping the reward will be worth the effort!
I’m definitely a morning person, so I try to be up by 5 am each day and I get writing straight away. I don’t allow myself to check emails or social media until I’ve done a good one-to-two hours of solid work, and after that, I tend to just potter away until whatever time I have to start my day job or other obligations.
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