Q&A with Annie Seaton

Author of 'Kakadu Sunset'

Annie Seaton is the author of 'Kakadu Sunset', a captivating new novel from Pan Macmillan Australia. She is also an award-winning e-book author. I’m delighted to have the chance to chat with Annie about her writing career.

Annie, you’ve had a varied and respected career as an educator. What inspired you to begin writing fiction?

Deborah, the desire to write has always been a part of me. I remember walking into a public library in Brisbane with my mother when I was four years old and my love affair with the written word began. Reading became my favourite activity from that day on but although my initial career was in librarianship, the desire to write was always there, however the opportunity to write was delayed by study, career, marriage and family.

Kakadu National Park is more than a mere backdrop for your first full-length novel – it’s almost a character in its own right. Would you agree?

Absolutely! Kakadu is not just a geographical location. Although the physical landscape of the park is majestic, much of its beauty comes from the spiritual sense that surrounds you as you walk through the park. The silence is amazing. Aboriginal people have occupied the Kakadu area continuously for at least 40,000 years and the park is renowned for the richness of its Aboriginal cultural sites. Walking through those sacred places had a profound effect on me. Ubirr Rock and Jim Jim Falls are unforgettable.

Ellie Porter, your female protagonist, is an intrepid helicopter pilot. The scenes in the helicopter (which would have been a nightmare for me to write as I’m mechanically challenged) are so deftly written that I’d think the author was a pilot herself! How did you go about researching Ellie’s job?

That’s a great question. Ellie’s profession just happened; it wasn’t even something I had consciously planned. I had never been in a helicopter because I don’t like heights or small planes, let alone helicopters! So as all good researchers do, I went hands on researching and took a helicopter training flight. It was absolutely awesome and I was much better placed to convey the sense of piloting a ‘bird’ because I had done it.

Kakadu Sunset is the first book in the Porter Sisters Series? Can you tell us a little bit about this trilogy? And will the next two novels weave together romantic and suspense elements in the same way as this one?

Book Two, 'Daintree Sunrise' is complete and with my editor now. I won’t give away any clues, but again, it weaves together suspense and romance, and some eco-environment issues. I am currently researching and writing Book Three, 'Kimberley Moonlight' and loving it. It is shaping up to be my favourite as this one has a real combination of environment, cultural issues, suspense and a foray overseas as well as being set in the East Kimberley. I love writing strong female leads, and Drusilla in Book Three is a very strong and feisty character.

Your travels provide inspiration for your stories. Do you write while you’re on the road, or do you wait until you’re back home behind your desk?

The story simmers away in my mind as we travel, and I jot down ideas. It takes a few weeks for the threads to join together in my head and then I sit down and write very quickly when it has all come together and I am back at my desk.

Which writers have most influenced your own writing?

I have very eclectic taste in my choice of reading, so I had to think about this answer. Strangely enough, it is historical writers such as Sharon Penman, Diana Gabaldon and Anya Seton who shaped my writing. The ability to let the reader feel with a character is not genre specific, and I always wanted to be able to make a reader become emotionally entangled with the characters as I reading those particular authors.

And finally, what are your top three tips for aspiring novelists?

Persevere. Have determination, and keep the faith in yourself. Develop your own voice, follow your heart and stay with what you believe.

Thanks for having me visit, Deborah.

It’s been a pleasure, Annie. 

You can read my review of ‘Kakadu Sunset’ here.

And visit Annie's website here.