I love Aussie YA. I love reading books from authors that live in the same country as me, that know things that people out of Australia might be so confused about. I love how sometimes they can incorporate this into their book and it is fabulous. 

So in saying that, I have decided to start a new feature on Angel Reads spotlighting Australian YA Authors. Each Friday for the next couple of months, I am going to interview an OZYA Author. I thought it would be a fun way to share my love for Australian Young Adult authors with not only fellow Aussies, but everyone around the world. I want more Australian YA books to be read, because they are amazing. 

First week I interview Sarah Ayoub, then Fleur Ferris, followed by Will Kostakis, then last week Shivaun Plozza. This week we have Gabrielle Tozer. Gabrielle is the author of The Intern (HarperCollins, 2014), Faking It (Harper Collins, 2015) and Remind Me How this Ends (HarperCollins, 2017).

Hi Gabrielle, and welcome to Angel Reads. First can you introduce yourself to everyone? Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Hello and thanks for inviting me to stop by! My name is Gabrielle Tozer and I’m an author and journalist from Wagga Wagga in regional New South Wales, but I now live and work in the heart of Sydney. My first YA novel, The Intern, won the State Library of Victoria’s 2015 Gold Inky Award, and its sequel Faking It came out last year. It’s been a busy few years! My third novel Remind Me How This Ends – a contemporary YA standalone set in regional Australia – and my first picture book, Pip and Pop (illustrated by the marvellous Sue DeGennaro), both hit shelves in 2017.

I also work as a freelance writer, editor and sub-editor and have contributed to publications including Dolly, Girlfriend, Cosmopolitan, TV Week, Who, Cleo, Woman’s Day, Bride to Be, The Canberra Times and news.com.au.
When I’m not working on my next project, I love relaxing with my husband, friends and family, speaking at schools and writers’ festivals and watching too much television.

What has your writing journey been like? Where did you start? Why?

I often describe it as a roller-coaster. There have been plenty of ups and downs, laughing, screaming and some nausea. I’m one of those annoying people who’ve known what they want to be when they “grow up” since they were little. My love of writing stemmed from my love of reading (thanks, Mum and Dad!) and by about six years old, I announced I wanted to be an author – not that I really knew what it involved. But I suppose it shows my love of storytelling has been there from a young age.

What was the process of getting your first book published?

First things first, no journey to publication is the same. I realised that early on after meeting a few of my author idols – and no writer journey is the same either. The cool thing about it? There’s no “one way” to become an author, so anything is possible! All of my writer buddies have different stories to tell on how they got their break – it’s an important reminder not to compare, methinks.

Mine came about 12 years after my first stint of journalism work experience – and, for those 12 years, I was taking part in writing competitions, studying journalism and creative writing, staying up writing short stories and some (truly terrible) poetry, and working fulltime as a magazine journalist and sub-editor. I also did the occasional course to stay inspired – and it was at one of these courses that I met a lovely non-fiction publisher. We stayed in touch for years and one day I received an email out of the blue from a publisher at HarperCollins asking me whether I’d like to pitch them some ideas – the non-fiction publisher had recommended me! I nearly fell off my bed during that call. I pitched them three YA ideas – one of them was The Intern, not that it had a name back then – and they encouraged me to write a few sample chapters. I ended up writing a novel on spec, which means I didn’t have a contract locked in, but once I’d written my manuscript (and edited it about four times!) I sent it off. The rest, as the cliché goes, is history.

Was it different when getting your proceeding books published?

Yes. Like I mentioned, no author journey or path-to-publication journey is the same – that goes for each book’s journey, too!Faking It was part of the two-book deal I signed for The Intern. After Faking It came out, I pitched another YA novel idea, which got close but didn’t quite make it over the line, so I kept brainstorming until I came up with the story for Remind Me How This Ends. I also wrote five or six picture book drafts and they were all rejected except for one… Pip and Pop, which comes out next year. Rejection is part of the process, whether you’re working as an author or a journalist. I’ve been getting stories rejected since I was 18 so I’ve had a lot of practice at failing, picking myself up again and repeating.

What was the difference between getting your books published here in Australia and internationally? 
I haven’t attended overseas writers’ festivals or schools to promote my books yet, so that’s probably one of the biggest differences. I love doing those events in Australia! Maybe one day I’ll get the call: “Gabby, we need you in America / New Zealand / Germany now!” Imagine that. A gal can dream, I suppose…

You are an OZYA author, what are some of your favourite Aussie YA books?

I love Australian literature and my shelves are heaving with it. In the interest of stopping myself from listing every #loveozya book on my shelf, it might be safer to reveal the two books that officially locked in my love of YA all those years ago: Looking For Alibrandi and Tomorrow, When The War Began.

You can find Gabrielle at @gabrielletozer on twitter, gabrielletozer.com and add her book to your goodreads. 

The Intern by Gabrielle Tozer

Pages:227
Publish date: 2014
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 9780732297053
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Dymocks

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Thank you Gabrielle for joining me at Angel Reads. That is it for this week’s #LoveOZYA Interview. What did you think of Gabrielle and her books? I know that I am in love. I hope you enjoyed it. Let’s Chat!

Come back next week for some more Aussie fun. If you want to know more about the #LoveOZYA movement check out the website for all the details.