Fiction Friday: Getting to know Rosanne Hawke

Please welcome Rosanne Hawke to our blog today for Fiction Friday

Rosanne Hawke is our guest today for Fiction Friday. We will be getting to know more about Rosanne Hawke.

1. Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I am a YA and children’s author from rural SA and have recently had my 30th fiction title published. Being interested in displacement, belonging, relationship, Cornish and Middle Eastern themes and how faith and art work together. I write in an underground room in our 160 year-old Cornish-built farmhouse.

2. When you were a child did you have a favourite book or books?

I did love Enid Blyton’s mysteries. Also I loved The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain but I think it was a version for children.

3. Do you have a favourite genre to both read and to write?

I like books set in Cornwall or in the subcontinent culture and my cultural work mirrors this. Liking to read and write historical novels too. I also like to put mystery into most of my stories.

4. Did you have any favourite authors growing up who have influenced you?

I think it’s more who I read as an adult who have influenced me like MM Kaye who wrote Far Pavilions; Wendy Orr who wrote Peeling the Onion. Though that Mark Twain story I loved as a child has probably influenced The Keeper series. That’s about a man and a boy just like Mark Twain’s. I only noticed that a few years ago.

5. When did you know you wanted to be an author?

I wanted to be an author at age 6 but knew I never could. It was just a dream as I was sure books came out of castles in England.

6. How did you go about becoming an author?

As I used to tell stories as a teacher and to my own children. My eldest daughter made me write one of these for her and then to get it published. I did it for her but realised during the process that this is what I was meant to do. Then I kept reading to see how other did it, rewriting, and sending manuscripts around the country without success.

I have a folder of rejections which I realise now are the signposts to becoming a writer. Then I rewrote each time I received feedback. Then I also asked for help from a journalist friend when a particular book got many rejections. Rewriting on his recommendations. I can say that I began writing through storytelling but learned to write through reading. It was much later that I went back to uni to do a creative degree. When my first book was accepted and then published a lady prayed for my career and I felt this is what God wanted me to continue doing.

7. If you were not a writer what would you like to be?

Probably a teacher-librarian. At one point I wanted to be an archaeologist or a historian and work in a library and research things. Or dig them up. As a child I used to write sentences, put them in tins so I could dig them up again. I like finding things and exploring, which is a lot like writing.

8. Outside reading and writing what do you like to do?

Walking, travelling/exploring with my husband, crocheting, jigsaws…

9. Do you have a place you love to visit or would love to visit?

I visited Cornwall twice and would love to do it again. It is the land of my paternal ancestors and it is a fairyland.

10. If you could have a meal with 3 living people who would you choose and why?

I would like to meet Kate di Camillo as I love her books, though our very own Lisa Shanahan writes in a similar beautiful way. Guy Sebastian, as I’d like to hear how he and his wife help victims of domestic abuse. Hugh Jackman, again, to see how a man of wealth gives to those less fortunate than himself and how he marries his lifestyle with the knowledge that there is so much need. Tim Costello, oh that’s 4 or maybe 5.

Finally, can you tell us about your latest release? Where can we buy the book and where can we find you on the web?

My latest release is a writing book I wrote for my students at Tabor Adelaide where I’ve been teaching creative writing since 2006. It’s called Riding the Wind and is basically what I’ve learned about writing over the last 25 years. This can be bought at Morning Star Publishing and here is the direct link:
https://morningstarpublishing.net.au/product/riding-the-wind/

On my website you can see all my books with teacher notes, including the latest children’s book Chandani and the Ghost of the Forest, a picture book about slavery for 6-10 years which my daughter and I wrote together. You can find Rosanne Hawke at www.rosannehawke.com