How does being Australian influence my writing?

You know what? I have no idea. A question like that is like asking a person ‘How does being Australian make you who you are?’ Its deep, its complex, it’s going to give me a headache – oh OKAY, maybe that’s the dubious combination of red wine and marshmallows I just consumed – but you see I’m celebrating. I just finished an extremely feral manuscript; have tamed the beast. Raargh. Ahem. ‘Scuse me.

This manuscript is called The Bunker. I’ve struggled with it. It’s a complex plot with very complex characters. I write Romantic Suspense you see, and the poor hero and heroine are trying to fall in lurve whilst defending the world against evil terrorists.

One of my major problems I came across was that I couldn’t get to know the heroine. In the first draft her actions were disjointed, she contradicted herself, she just wouldn’t gel.

The Bunker is set in England. I prefer to write Aussie based stories (why? Because I love this place and it’s a damn fine setting), but key to the manuscript is an old World War II Bunker that becomes the last line of defence against terrorists. The tale had to be set in the UK as Australia has nothing like that – the story just would not work in an Australian context – and believe me I tried!

Thus the story has English characters (and I’ll point out here that I was born in England, moved here at the age of 11, and have a pommie dad and hubby), and this heroine is keeping me awake at night (which is a bitch of a thing to do to a person – hell, I have preschoolers). But then, late one night, in a flash of inspiration, I realize that my problem is the heroine isn’t English. Nope. She’s an Aussie.

When I get back to the manuscript it is painfully obvious. She talks like an Aussie, her kick-ass attitude has Aussie all over it, she even walks like an Aussie (oh okaaay, she just walks, but it sounded good eh).

So, do you see?

My Australianness is intrinsically part of who I am, and so the heroines I write are going to reflect this. My writing is going to reflect this. Being Australian does not influence my writing, so much as permeate throughout it.

Good Lawd. I’m having flashbacks to High School English here! If you’d like to visit my blog http://www.caitlynnicholas.blogspot.com then you’ll currently find me musing about the fact my five year olds birthday Barbie looks like a streetwalker (with photo!).

I have two books out with Samhain Publishing. Secret Intentions, which came out in print on 7^th July 2009: http://www.mybookstoreandmore.com/shop/product.da/secret-intentions

And Running Scared: http://www.mybookstoreandmore.com/shop/product.da/running-scared

Excerpts and so on are on my website http://www.caitlynnicholas.com (which is OUT OF DATE due to a fire at my webhosting place – it’s been like that for a week and its driving me NUTS).

Cheers

Cait

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