Hey Everyone!
Judy Nunn is touring Australia with her latest book, Spirits of the Ghan. I was excited to see that she was coming to my local library and jumped at the chance to meet her in person. I posted my review of Spirits of the Ghan earlier this week. You can read it here.
Judy's experience acting shone through in her public speaking. She was engaging and a pleasure to listen to. I was fascinated to find out that the working title for Spirits of the Ghan was Parallels. I had noticed some parallels in the story, but when Judy pointed out the parallel railway tracks on the cover and mentioned some other themes, it all fell into place.
I also had the pleasure of meeting Bruce Venables, Judy's husband, after the event. Just like Judy, he is an actor and a writer published by Random House. I asked him when he started writing. He replied "Just after she did" gesturing to Judy "I thought if she can write a book, so can I ". We chatted for a while and he told me that he and Judy give each other feedback as they're writing, always in a positive manner. The conversations they've had in coffee shops while discussing how to kill off characters can elicit concerned looks from those within earshot though. I'm looking forward to reading his current work in progress, set in my home town of Ballarat. (Will that make up for his wife not setting a book in Victoria yet?)
Judy said that she treats writing as a job. She can't wait around for a muse to inspire her, she had to front up to the office and work. Hey average work day starts at 9am. She will spent the morning revising and editing the work from the day before. After lunch, she works on the next part of the story. Sometimes she has a 5pm glass of wine for inspiration, then keeps writing for another hour or so.
Have you read any books by Judy Nunn? Are you more familiar with the actor side or writer side of Judy?
