Briefly tell us about your book.
One woman, two dogs, and a lot of gin: Happy Hour is a book about how losing the love of your life can make you lose interest in the world. It’s about how new friends can become new family, but old friends should never be underestimated. It’s about a woman who decides she’s had enough of life only to learn that’s not her decision to make. It’s about freedom, dependency, true love, grief and forgiveness. And it’s about getting older but not necessarily wiser, and very rarely nicer.
What inspired the idea behind Happy Hour?
Honestly, I was having one of those moments I think a lot of women can identify with where I was kind of wishing I could run away from the responsibilities and realities of my life for one moment. Initially, I considered a story of a woman who literally gets in her car and drives out of her life, but the logistics of making that work in this digital age were too tricky, so I began thinking about how one could turn away from the world but still stay at home. Franny swaggered into my mind and Happy Hour was born, though it’s working title initially was Drunken Nana. I still think I could sell that title to a Hong Kong fight movie producer. I’d love to see it.
What are you hoping readers will take away from reading Happy Hour?
I wanted it to be a funny book and it is – but it got sadder the more I wrote. I guess life is a bit sad sometimes. Honestly, I’d like readers to feel a) it was money and time well spent and b) feel uplifted in the nicest possible way. I think it’s a positive story but it doesn’t shy away from the hard stuff in life. Ideally people will look a little closer at the people in their lives and see the joy they can bring each other. People might also take away the desire to try the cocktail recipe in the back of the book.
Who are some of your favourite authors? Or favourite books?
Tough one. I actually love a bit of crime and read a lot of the classic big-name authors, from Ian Rankin and Val McDermid to Denise Mina, Ann Cleeves and Karin Slaughter. My roll call doesn’t chime that well with Happy Hour when I reflect on it. My favourite story of all is Bram Stoker’s Dracula. You will see it referenced in Happy Hour. I am a vampire nut and in recent times really loved Justin Cronin’s Passage trilogy. One of my favourite books ever was Peter Temple’s The Broken Shore – a masterpiece. And I would always pack Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt for a desert island. Another Australian novel that has sat with me for years and is, indeed, also mentioned in Happy Hour, is An Isolated Incident by Emily Maguire. It’s a very special book.
Are you able to switch off at the end of a day of writing? If so, how?
I am too good at switching off if anything. I always have a long list of things to do after dinner and it never happens. If I am on weeknight dinner duty I religiously pour myself a G&T, switch on ABC Jazz, and relax into it. Obviously reading is a big relaxer for me, and I love a good episode of Vera on the telly. My go-to recharger is walking my dog at the beach. And when lockdown is not dominating my life, entertaining my friends at home – drinks or dinner – is probably one of my favourite things. In Melbourne right now I am missing that terribly.
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