Tell us about The Missing Mother.
The Missing Mother is a psychological thriller set in my beloved hometown of Geelong. I love a book with a strong and compelling narrator and that is what I set out to create in Elspeth Frank. Elspeth has been living in NYC since she turned 18 but comes home when her estranged mother goes missing. We learn over the course of the story what went wrong between mother and daughter, the source of Elspeth’s strained but loving relationship with her sister and about their very unconventional childhood.
Where did the inspiration for the book come from?
The Missing Mother is the style of book I like reading myself. I am a huge fan of Gillian Flynn and I wanted to create a character as flawed but compelling as any of her inventions. I drew a lot of inspiration from my own childhood – my parents were quite bohemian in many ways and we spent a lot of time around artists and musicians and at exhibition openings and the like. I set it is Geelong because I think there is something wonderfully atmospheric about the city – the oil refinery pilot light shining as you drive in, the beautiful heritage listed mansions looking out at the bay, the old factories. It is a city with a real moodiness to it.
How do you make a thriller so twisty and suspenseful?
I didn’t go looking for twists when I began writing this book, it happened very naturally as a part of a getting to know the characters and understanding how they would like to be seen by the outside world vs who they truly are. I think a lot of suspense in a book comes from creating characters that the reader can be invested in, and will care about, even if they sometimes make terrible decisions.
Did you always want to be a writer?
Yes! But I spent many many years convinced that my writing was not good enough, that I would end up a laughing stock and all the rest of it. I wrote my first book just after my second child was born – I think that there is something wonderfully liberating about having kids. I stopped caring so much about failure and what other people might think.
What books/shows/movies have you been enjoying lately?
The last movie I saw (twice) was “Wuthering Heights.” I am one of those people that thought it was wonderful and was a complete mess by the end on each viewing. I also loved One Battle After Another and If I Had Legs I Would Kick You.
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