Ten Terrifying Questions with Dinuka McKenzie!

Dinuka McKenzie is an Australian writer and book addict. Her debut crime-fiction manuscript The Torrent won the 2020 Banjo Prize (entered as ‘Flood Debris’) and was published by HarperCollins Australia in February 2022. Her unpublished manuscript Taken was longlisted for the 2020 Richell Prize. She is represented by Alex Adsett Literary. When not writing, Dinuka works in the environmental sector and volunteers as part of the team behind the Writers’ Unleashed Festival. She lives in Southern Sydney on Dharawal Country with her husband, two kids and their pet chicken.

Today, Dinuka McKenzie is on the blog to take on our Ten Terrifying Questions! Read on …

Dinuka McKenzie (Photo by Emma Stergio).

1. To begin with, why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled?

I was born in Sri-Lanka and migrated with my family to Australia in 1992 when I was twelve. We lived all over Sydney, so I moved school a few times, which was hard but also built resilience as I learnt quite early to become self-reliant and, in many ways, good at reinventing myself to fit a situation.

2. What did you want to be when you were twelve, eighteen and thirty? And why?

From a very young age, I was convinced I would be a marine biologist, after reading an article about whales in the Readers Digest, back in Sri Lanka. The only slight problem was I couldn’t swim, a skill I assume is quite pivotal to a career centred around the ocean! By the time I was eighteen (and had learned to swim), my interest had broadened to encompass the earth sciences and environmental science, which is what I focused on at university. By the time I reached thirty I had carved myself a successful career in the public sector as an environmental planner assessing projects like roads and rail. The ambition to write came much later after the birth of my kids, which allowed me to take stock and re-evaluate what I wanted for myself.

3. What strongly held belief did you have at eighteen that you don’t have now?

Not a specific belief but a way of thinking. My views at eighteen were far more ‘black and white’ with respect to what I considered to be right and wrong. With age, I have come to see far more of the grey in between and I am probably far more forgiving of people’s mistakes and the compromises that inevitably arise as you grow up and navigate the world.

4. What are three works of art – this could be a book, painting, piece of music, film, etc – that influenced your development as a writer?

I think my love of reading crime fiction has been the single biggest influence on my writing. I grew up reading Enid Blyton mysteries as a child, and graduated to reading Agatha Christie in high school. I have very fond memories of haunting my local second-hand bookshop after school, and picking up yet another Christie from the shelves. At the time it felt like I would never run out of finding books written by Christie. In my twenties, I devoured Ruth Rendell who was just so brilliant at delving into the complex motivations behind why people do things. If I can sneak in one more, I would say the late great Peter Temple and in particular reading The Broken Shore and Truth, was what switched me well and truly into discovering Australian crime fiction.

5. Considering the many artistic forms out there, what appeals to you about writing a novel?

It would have to be the love of reading. Nothing else has been as much of a constant in my life as reading. I have always escaped to a book, whenever the opportunity presented itself. So when I started writing, it didn’t occur to me to try any other form such as short stories or essays or anything else. I naively jumped straight into the form I was most familiar with, the novel.

6. Please tell us about your latest novel!

The Torrent is a contemporary police procedural / murder mystery set in the fictional town of Esserton, in Northern New South Wales. It follows my protagonist Detective Kate Miles, heavily pregnant with her second child and weeks from maternity leave. She is investigating the hold up and assault of a teenaged girl at a local fast food restaurant when she gets diverted into the unofficial review of an apparent accidental death of a young man in recent summer floods. All she was asked to do was review the file and write a report, but the more she delves into the case, the more her gut tells her that something’s not right. The Torrent is out with HarperCollins Australia in Feb 2022.

7. What do you hope people take away with them after reading your work?

I hope people find a relatable character in Kate, and a world that they want to keep coming back to. Hopefully, people will see themselves or the women in their lives, reflected in Kate. She is very much a version of the women I see everywhere around me. Professionally competent, juggling a whole bunch of things and more often than not putting themselves last. I hope that Kate and her world, becomes a comfort read for people, and a series they want to revisit, just as so many detective series have been for me.

8. Who do you most admire in the writing world and why?

I have been incredibly fortunate in terms of the support I have received from the writing community and in particular, the many established writers who have held the door open for new and emerging writers like me. I think writers like Emma Viskic and Cass Moriarty do an enormous amount for the Australian writing community by supporting and mentoring emerging writers, as well as of course, being incredible writers in their own right. I have directly benefited from their generosity in terms of the time, they freely gave me in reading and providing feedback on my manuscript and being there to provide advice and support. It means so much to be able to tap into that knowledge and industry experience, when you’re first starting out, because the whole endeavour feels like a never-ending wall that you are never going to scale. But writers like that are happy to show you the footholds to help you find your way.

9. Many artists set themselves very ambitious goals. What are yours?

Writing the next book! I guess like most writers, the next book is always the next mountain. It doesn’t really matter what you have already achieved, the next book and trying to make it better than the previous one, is I think always the challenge and motivation to keep you going.

10. Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

Being kind and being professional. I think you can break down almost any aspect of your writing and publishing journey, and find that these two things would apply. Being kind to yourself and to your fellow writers in the community who without a doubt will be your greatest support (and likely your first readers) as you navigate the peaks and troughs of the industry, is I think paramount in a small industry like Australia. Approaching your writing with the level professionalism that you would otherwise take to any paid work, also matters. And by that I mean showing up, putting in the work, learning your craft, accepting feedback, and interacting with the industry in the same way you would with your work colleagues. Ideally with politeness and professionalism. Also most importantly, to not let your worries and self-doubt get in the way of enjoying the ride, which is very easy to do!

Thank you for playing!

—The Torrent by Dinuka McKenzie (HarperCollins Australia) is out now. Limited signed copies are available while stocks last!

The Torrent

Limited Signed Copies Available!

by Dinuka McKenzie

In Northern New South Wales, heavily pregnant and a week away from maternity leave, Detective Sergeant Kate Miles is exhausted and counting down the days. But a violent hold-up at a local fast-food restaurant with unsettling connections to her own past, means that her final days will be anything but straightforward.

When a second case is dumped on her lap, the closed case of man drowned in recent summer floods, what begins as a simple informal review quickly grows into something...

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