The Booktopia Book Guru asks Brooke Davis author of Lost & Found Ten Terrifying Questions ____________ 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 Geelong Hospital in Victoria, and my family (Mum, Dad, and my two brothers) lived on ten acres in a quiet nearby bush town called Bellbrae. It was pretty idyllic:... Read more

I can remember the exact moment I started crossing over to the Other Side, the first time I made that tentative transition from happy avid reader to somewhat less contented beginner writer. It was ten years ago, almost to the month. I recall it so precisely because I came to writing comparatively late in life. As a child, I was a bookworm but I wasn’t an endless scribbler, never kept diaries or... Read more

The Booktopia Book Guru asks Karen Viggers author of The Grass Castle, The Lightkeeper’s Wife and more Ten Terrifying Questions ____________ 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 Melbourne and raised on a small farm in the Dandenong Ranges where I spent many hours playing with cows and pretending to ... Read more

The Booktopia Book Guru asks Ned Manning author of Playground Duty Ten Terrifying Questions ____________ 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 Coonabarabran in NSW. I spent my early years on a farm. The highlight of my early life was when I was given a horse at four. I called him “Mate”. We moved to Sydney... Read more

Shy by Sian Prior Shy. It’s a shy word, a timid little word that begs to remain unnoticed. Only three letters long, and it begins with an exhortation to silence. Shhh. Reserved is different. It’s for tall men with jutting jaws. Prime ministers can appear reserved: never shy. Restrained carries itself with dignity. Even introvert has a whiff of authority about it: these people have b... Read more

 The Booktopia Book Guru asks Jim Butcher author of Dresden Files Series Ten Terrifying Questions ____________ 1. To begin with why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled? I was born, raised and schooled in Independence, Missouri, USA.  My dad worked in a steel mill and my mom sold real estate, and I went to public school.  After winning a Na... Read more

Wildlife by Fiona Wood Life? It’s simple: be true to yourself. The tricky part is finding out exactly who you are… “In the holidays before the dreaded term at Crowthorne Grammar’s outdoor education camp two things out of the ordinary happened. A picture of me was plastered all over a twenty-metre billboard. And I kissed Ben Capaldi.” Boarding for a term in the wild... Read more

Luigi’s Freedom Ride is a first novel by Alan Murray, an established writer of non-fiction which can be categorised as a “feel good” read with strong Australian, Italian and cycling themes. It tells the story of Luigi, growing up in Mussolini’s pre-war Italy in a small Tuscan village, who, while still a young teenager, luckily acquires a damaged bicycle left with him by a British tourist.... Read more

The Booktopia Book Guru asks Kate Belle author of Being Jade and The Yearning Ten Terrifying Questions ____________ 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 Kerang, Victoria, to a band of wild gypsies who taught me to embrace change and adventure. By the time I was seven we’d moved six times (my dad worked fo... Read more

The Booktopia Book Guru asks Bruce McCabe author of Skinjob Ten Terrifying Questions ____________ 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 Melbourne, Australia and was raised and schooled in many countries – my father was a diplomat so we never lived in one place for more than a few years. 2. What did you wan... Read more