This interview is part of a series, introducing the members of Australasian Christian Writers, to give you the opportunity to get to know us a little better. Today we’re interviewing Iola Goulton. Welcome, Iola!
Fast Five
Long black or flat white?
Capuccino. Sorry. I don’t like black coffee but I also don’t like milk.
Kiwis or koalas?
Koalas look cuddly, but they’re not. Kind of like most Australian wildlife.
Cricket or rugby?
Cricket. It takes longer, but it’s easier to watch. And it’s a summer sport.
Hobbits or Mad Max?
Have you seen the latest Mad Max movie? Definitely Hobbits 🙂
Books or TV?
Books, obviously!
Getting to Know Iola Goulton
What’s something interesting or unusual about you that not everyone knows?
Iola is actually my second name … which is often the cause of some confusion the first time people send me money via PayPal and worry that they might have sent it to the wrong person. It’s kind of a family tradition—my father and his brother were both known by their second names as well.
Where are you from?
I live in Tauranga, in New Zealand’s sunny Bay of Plenty, although I’m actually from a small village in Wales (although I left before I was old enough to remember it).
What is your town or city most famous (or infamous) for?
Tauranga is the home of Hairy McLairy from Donaldson’s Dairy, and Slinki Malinki. It’s also a major cruise ship port, so if you ever do a cruise around New Zealand, let me know. We can meet up for coffee at the beach after you’ve completed the obligatory tour of either Hobbiton or Rotorua (home of boiling mud and the Pohutu Geyser).
What books are set in your town/city?
My Welsh village may or may not be the inspiration for Llareggub, the setting of Dylan Thomas’s final play, Under Milk Wood. I’m told that when the film came out, the locals amused themselves by trying to work out who was who. Considering most of the characters are best described as flawed, I wonder why they wanted to.
About Your Writing
What do you write?
I write book reviews, blog posts, editing reports, and procrastinate about writing fiction.
Who or what are your main writing influences?
I’m going to slightly restate that into my main editing influences, and will restrict myself to three:
- Dave King, for cowriting the excellent Self-Editing for Fiction Writers and for his informative blog posts at Writer Unboxed.
- James Scott Bell for all his books on writing craft (especially Plot and Structure), and for his contributions to The Kill Zone blog.
- Margie Lawson of Lawson Writer’s Academy for the excellent EDITS system.
Do you have any books published?
Not books I’ve written, but there are dozens of books I’ve edited! You can find a partial list on my website.
What inspired you to start writing?
Like most writers, I’ve always written. I won my first writing competition at the age of thirteen and enjoyed creative writing, but focused on school. English 101 tried hard to kill my love of fiction (no, I don’t read for the underlying symbolism). That was followed by years in the corporate world where I wrote, edited, and published a monthly subscription newsletter as well as endless company reports.
What’s your favourite part of the writing process?
Editing. I especially enjoy editing novels I didn’t write 🙂
What’s your biggest writing challenge?
Physician, heal thyself.
I’m an editor, so I should know how to “fix” my own fiction. But—as any author will tell you—that’s easier said than done.
My other challenge is related to being an editor—I don’t want my work to have obvious mistakes that might reflect on my editing ability. Alas, automistake and the magical ability computers have to make words change from right to wrong in the microsecond between me proofreading them and hitting send.
How does your faith impact your writing?
I have been a Christian since I was about seven and my best friend lead me through the Sinner’s Prayer one Thursday morning after Bible in Schools. Even as a child growing up in a non-Christian home it seemed obvious to me that there was a Creator, so it wasn’t difficult to believe that was the God of the Bible, and that Jesus was the way to Him. I’m an introvert, so I’m not the type to stand on street corners and shout that at people, so I do what I can to point to Him through my writing and editing.
I write and edit for the Christian community for two reasons: I want to help build Christian writers and the Christian writing community to share the gospel and build up others, and I don’t want to be forced to read or edit content that contradicts the Christian world view. I don’t limit myself to only editing Christian works, but I don’t want to edit anything that actively promotes an anti-Christian view. Fortunately, my chosen business name puts off those people who aren’t my target clients 🙂
Finally, where’s the best place to find you online?
If you’re interested in my editing, then you can find me at Christian Editing Services:
And if you want to follow my book reviews, then check out my website:
Hi Iola, When they were younger, my kids loved Hairy Maclary & Slinky Malinki! How fascinating that their book setting is your town! That’s something I didn’t know. Thanks for sharing with us. 🙂
There are statues of Hairy Maclary and friends down at the waterfront. Kids love them!
How cool! There are so many things to do & see in NZ! 🙂
I loved reading the Hairy Maclary books to kids I baby sat and they use to read them on playschool a lot
Kids love the rhymes and repetition – I think it makes them feel like they can read because they know what’s coming next (and Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s dairy!).
Now I know a few more things about you, dear Iola, than before. 🙂 I have set aside today to study your instructions re blogging on WordPress and confess it looks rather daunting. However, I can only try.
I found WordPress looked confusing at first, but it has become second nature – and it has so much more functionality than Blogger!