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Good Reading : March 2017
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UP CLOSE 1 ‘I don’t know if there was any histor ical evidence to suggest it was actually true. It’s just aspersions cast upon them from our safe distance,’ she says. Jane spent about seven years – off and on – writing the novel. She says that finishing the third version was deeply satisfying. ‘I did a couple of other things in between, but the first two times I tried to write it as straight historical fiction. The first time, very straight, and the second time I introduced some histor ical spiritual elements, like séances. ‘The second time I finished, I realised I was not the right kind of writer for historical fiction, so I put it away and tried again later. I’m not sure why I decided to include the supernatural elements ... I just started writing the alien character. ‘I’m really bad at giving up on stuff and I couldn’t believe there was absolutely no use for it at all, so I just tried putting the old and new parts together to see if they might work with each other in some way, and they seemed to, so I kept going.’ Passages about the melancholic life of George Hills in the years after the wreck depict a man beaten by his past, floundering in his attempts to keep sanity in his grasp. In contrast, there’s an ethereal mystery and fluidity to Jane’s alien character, seemingly floating through space and time, yet not without an undercurrent of menace. From the Wreck seems destined to garner critical acclaim for its or iginality and lyrical qualities. For Jane, however, commercial success seems less important than wr iting what she wants to wr ite. ‘My wr iting is not commercial; it’s not even proper literary fiction either, because you don’t generally get very far in Australia putting speculative elements into literary fiction – people don’t really like it. I’ve just accepted that this is what I like writing and it’s not really going to make money, but that’s okay. One of the benefits of having a full-time job and being a writer is that I don’t have to make money from it – I can just write what I want.’ In addition to her current bureaucratic communications role, Jane has been a travel writer and editor, mostly for Lonely Planet, and the environment and energy section editor for the independent news website The Conversation. She has also produced a humorous blog for people who want to travel without leaving home called Ointment for Itchy Feet. Jane’s first short story – about a man who makes an art installation from slices of a woman’s body – was published in 2003, and since then she has had others published. She has also co-authored a non-fiction guide with James Whitmore that provides practical tips and advice about preparing for the impacts of climate change. ‘I think it has been hugely helpful to me that I have worked as a hack writer for 25 years – the discipline you get from that, the concision you develop writing that way and getting the story across as quickly as you can – all that has been really helpful for my creative writing practice. Having a husband who shares her creative compulsions also helps, she says. ‘As well as having a regular full-time job, my husband is a musician and he is very respectful of just devoting our time to being creative.’ Jane admits she struggles with the ‘bit after the book comes out’ and hopes to distract herself from the release of From the Wreck by getting started on her next writing project. ‘I have this non-fiction idea about wild animals. I don’t know what the point of it will be, but I’ve got an idea in my head and I want to write it.’ From the Wreck by Jane Rawson is published by Transit Lounge, rrp $29.95. meetsSh1ipwreck GOOD READING MARCH 2017 19
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