![\"rachael](\"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/rachel-johns.jpg\")
Bestselling and award-winning author, Rachael Johns, is Australia’s leading writer of contemporary relationship stories around women’s issues – a genre she has coined “Life-Lit”.<\/p>\nBestselling and award-winning author, Rachael Johns, is Australia’s leading writer of contemporary relationship stories around women’s issues – a genre she has coined “Life-Lit”.<\/p>\n
She is an international bestselling author of rural romance, digital novellas and Life-Lit titles including The Greatest Gift<\/em><\/a> and The Art of Keeping Secrets<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n Her novel, The Patterson Girls<\/em><\/a>, won the ABIA award for best General Fiction Book of the Year in 2016 and her latest novel, Lost Without You<\/em>, has just been released on the 22nd of October.<\/p>\n To celebrate the release of Lost Without You<\/em>, read on for a Q&A with Rachael Johns about her latest novel, reading recommendations, writing habits and more!<\/p>\n Where did you get the first spark of inspiration for Lost Without You? What do you hope readers will discover in your book? Who is your favorite fictional hero or heroine?<\/strong><\/p>\n Ooh why do you ask such hard questions? I\u2019m actually going to go with Miss Havisham from Great Expectations<\/em> – although perhaps not strictly a heroine and often not very heroic. I wasn\u2019t much of a reader in high school but weirdly, this book hooked me in and I was fascinated with this eccentric old woman who had been wounded by love and never fully recovered. But, I also have a massive soft spot for Bridget Jones.<\/p>\n What is your favourite quote\/words to live by?<\/strong><\/p>\n Don\u2019t regret the things you do, regret the things you don\u2019t do<\/p>\n If you were planning a literary dinner party, which three authors (dead or alive) would you invite?<\/strong><\/p>\n Only three? I swear it\u2019s usually five – lol! Okay, I\u2019d sit down with Jojo Moyes, Liane Moriarty and and Marian Keyes – first I\u2019d fangirl all over them and then I\u2019d refuse to let them leave until they told me all the secrets of their fabulous writing!!<\/p>\n What books are on your TBR pile right now?<\/strong><\/p>\n You mean my TBR mountain<\/em>. Like many writers, I have a serious problem when it comes to writing books – I buy WAY more than I\u2019ll ever be able to read, but I figure there are worse addictions. Some books currently at the top of my pile are Dear Mrs Bird<\/em><\/a> by A.J Pearce, Arcadia<\/em> <\/a>by the lovely Di Morrissey and The Cry<\/em><\/a> by Helen Fitzgerald.<\/p>\n Do you have any unusual writing and\/or reading habits?<\/strong><\/p>\n YES, my really annoying writing habit is having to skim read pretty much the whole book before I start writing for the day. This is okay when I\u2019ve only written a few chapters but when I get towards the end and 100,000 words or so, it\u2019s a massive form of procrastination. But I can\u2019t seem to kick it. Also I feel I write much better when I drink Diet Coke while doing so!<\/p>\n If Lost Without You had a theme song, what would it be?<\/strong><\/p>\n Since there\u2019s a bit of an 80s theme in the book, it would have to be an 80s hit – and I love them all, but the most suited to the book is perhaps ALWAYS by Bon Jovi.<\/p>\n Lost Without You by Rachael Johns is available to order now from Booktopia.<\/a>\u00a0*Signed copies are available for a limited time, only while stocks last. Bestsellers of the Week<\/b><\/p>\n 1. Any Ordinary Day by Leigh Sales<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n 2.\u00a0Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n 3. The Land Before Avocado by Richard Glover<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n 4. The Barefoot Investor\u00a02018 Update<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n 5. Ottolenghi Simple by Yotam Ottolenghi<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n 6. Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n 7. The Lost Man by Jane Harper<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n 8. The Ice Monster by David Walliams\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n 9. The Three Secret Cities by Matthew Reilly<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n 10. Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n
\n
\n<\/strong>
\nI was listening to a Mamamia Out Loud podcast (I was up to date with the fab Booktopia Podcast<\/a>) and one of the presenters was talking about how she\u2019d just sold her wedding dress to a listener of the show. The others joked that they could keep passing the dress between listeners and it could be The Sisterhood of the Travelling Wedding Dress, a bit like the old book (and movie) The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants<\/em><\/a>. I thought OMG YES, what a fantastic idea and my brain started ticking. The book in the end is nothing like what I initially imagined but it still does revolve around a wedding dress!<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>
\nThis is a hard question because when I first start writing I\u2019m simply hoping to give my readers a few hours escape and relaxation, a rollicking read, but issues and themes have a way of working themselves into a novel even if you don\u2019t consciously mean them too. This book is about how a person\u2019s past can influence their present and future and about how when such decisions\/secrets are revealed, they can also influence current relationships, etc. I guess I hope that Lost Without You<\/em><\/a> will remind everyone to be kind and not judge others who may have made a decision or taken a path they wouldn\u2019t agree with. I hope it reminds people to try and put yourselves in others\u2019 shoes and have empathy. Not always easy, but important.<\/p>\n![\"rachael](\"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/xlost-without-you.jpg.pagespeed.ic_.l_2V8lXZcw.jpg\")
What book do you most often recommend\/give as a gift?
\n<\/strong>
\nMy friends and I are Scrooges and so we don\u2019t actually give gifts unless it\u2019s a significant bday and I have a very small family \u2026\u00a0 but I give books to my kids ALL the time. I just can\u2019t help myself (doesn\u2019t have to be a special occasion). I do sometimes buy fancy or cute notebooks for my writing friends as I don\u2019t get to see them as much as I\u2019d like, so when I do, I like to give them something. I\u2019m also obsessed with anything with funny sayings\/quotes on, so like buying those for people too.<\/p>\n
\n<\/em><\/p>\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Are-you-a-crime-fiction-50.png\")
<\/p>\n