{"id":60139,"date":"2016-05-05T10:18:47","date_gmt":"2016-05-04T23:18:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.booktopia.com.au\/?p=60139"},"modified":"2017-08-31T12:36:22","modified_gmt":"2017-08-31T01:36:22","slug":"aussie-midwives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/2016\/05\/05\/aussie-midwives\/","title":{"rendered":"Happy International Midwives Day! Fiona McArthur chats about her heartwarming new book, Aussie Midwives"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Booktopia Book Guru asks<\/h1>\n

Fiona McArthur
\n<\/strong><\/h1>\n

author of Aussie Midwives
\n<\/em><\/strong><\/h1>\n

Ten Terrifying Questions
\n____________<\/h1>\n

To begin with why don\u2019t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was lucky. Born in Australia. Fab parents, a brother, raised rural, lived briefly at the sea, fell in love, and settled in the country.<\/p>\n

What did you want to be when you were twelve, eighteen and thirty? And why?<\/strong><\/p>\n

At twelve a movie star – for the fame. At eighteen a nurse \u2013 for the career and the money but I learnt empathy. At thirty a writer \u2013 for the money, again I learnt differently and those moments when you are lost in the writing are the real gold. If you count the family videos I made, all three.<\/p>\n

\"aussie<\/a><\/p>\n

What strongly held belief did you have at eighteen that you do not have now?<\/strong><\/p>\n

At eighteen I believed that there was time for everything and now I know life is a gift you savour. There is a limit of the books you\u2019ll have time to read \u2013 or write.<\/p>\n

What were three big events \u2013 in the family circle or on the world stage or in your reading life, for example \u2013 you can now say, had a great effect on you and influenced you in your career path?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Meeting other writers. My first writer\u2019s workshop in my tiny town, my first writer’s conference in the big city, my first writer’s conference in America. All examples that ordinary people can make their dreams come true with self belief.<\/p>\n

Considering the innumerable electronic media avenues open to you – blogs, online newspapers, TV, radio, etc \u2013 why have you chosen to write a book? Aren\u2019t they obsolete<\/strong>?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Because you can hold your book babies in your hand. Because they are the full story. Because you can give them as a gift and leave them behind.<\/p>\n

\"Fiona<\/a>

Author Fiona McArthur<\/p><\/div>\n

Please tell us about your latest book\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Aussie Midwives<\/a><\/em> is a concept someone asked me to look at writing and I knew it was a gift I couldn\u2019t wait to unwrap. Midwifery is the passion I love to write about. I also knew I could do the book justice. The collection of stories are from women (and one man) who allowed me entry to their world, their passion for enhancing and safeguarding the births of the women they care for. And their journeys. Being flown to Thursday Island to meet a woman who catches babies out of dinghies from New Guinea was a huge bonus. I\u2019m thrilled with the window we\u2019ve provided into the world of Aussie Midwives.<\/p>\n

If your work could change one thing in this world \u2013 what would it be?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Save babies lives and mother\u2019s pain.<\/p>\n

Whom do you most admire and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n

So many people. My husband. All of the midwives in the book because they truly care about others. All of the writers I know who share brief windows into their worlds. The most? I think I admire mothers who encourage their children to dream because they hold the future.<\/p>\n

\"Read<\/a>

Read contributor Kate’s heartwarming story in Aussie Midwives<\/p><\/div>\n

Many people set themselves very ambitious goals. What are yours?<\/strong><\/p>\n

To be rich and famous but that won\u2019t matter when I\u2019m gone. To give people joy when they read my books and reassurance that the good in people is far greater than the evil.<\/p>\n

What advice do you give aspiring writers?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Write. Believe in yourself. Tiny pieces of writing every day will give you your dream.<\/p>\n

Thank you for playing, Fiona!<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Booktopia Book Guru asks Fiona McArthur author of Aussie Midwives Ten Terrifying Questions ____________ To begin with why don\u2019t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled? I was lucky. Born in Australia. Fab parents, a brother, raised rural, lived briefly at the sea, fell in love, and settled in the country. What did you want to be when you were twelve, eighteen and thirty? And why? At twelve a movie star – for the fame. At eighteen a nurse \u2013 for the career and the money but I learnt empathy. At thirty a writer \u2013 for the money, again I learnt differently and those moments when you are lost in the writing are the real gold. If you count the family videos I made, all three. What strongly held belief did you have at eighteen that you do not have now? At eighteen I believed that there was time for everything and now I know life is a gift you savour. There is a limit of the books you\u2019ll have time to read \u2013 or write. What were three big events \u2013 in the family circle or on the world stage…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":60142,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[4,6676,6703,73,77],"tags":[6784,1999,6785],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/SocialMediaImage13.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60139"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60139"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60139\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75817,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60139\/revisions\/75817"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}