Author Interviews

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 I decided to created a feature where I interview Australian Young Adult authors about their craft, journey and some interesting facts. I thought it was a fun way of everyone around the world to get to know these authors and maybe make them want to pick up their books. And that is what I am aiming to do, spread the word about #LoveOZYA and get everyone reading it. 

You can check out my previous interviews with authors like Jay Kristoff, Gabrielle Tozer, last weeks guest Rose Foster and more through Angel Reads. 

This week on my #LoveOZYA feature, we have Paula Weston, author of The Rephaim series (2012-2015, Text Publishing). 

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

Thanks for having me. I live in Brisbane and write young adult speculative fiction. My four-book series, The Rephaim (Shadows, Haze, Shimmer, and Burn), was first published here in Australia and has now also been published in the UK, US, Canada and Turkey (in translation). It’s a about a dysfunctional society of half-angels and features a lot of sword fighting and sexual tension, with a strong Australian flavour. (And there’s swearing. Quite a bit. The series is definitely aimed at older teens and beyond.)

For my day job, I’ve worked as a print journalist and government media/communication specialist. I still work full-time and write in the evenings/weekends/on days off. I’m an avid reader, lover of animals (with a particular fondness for ex-racing greyhounds), obsessed with good coffee and pinot noir, and am happily married.

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

I’ve been writing stories since I was in primary school. I’ve always loved to daydream and lose myself in fiction. My journey to publication spans six manuscripts, a short-listed short story, and two plays. It was 16 years between my first rejection letter and my first publishing contract.

What was the process of getting your first book published?

I was writing for a long time before I finally secured a publishing deal. I’d come close on previous occasions with other manuscripts, but it wasn’t until I wrote Shadows that I finally had success. Ironically, I started writing that book for fun – for me – after a particularly frustrating round of rejections. Instead of working on the second book of the fantasy series my agent was pitching to publishers, I started playing around with a scene I’d had bouncing around in my head for months. The story and characters flowed. A few weeks later, when I had around 90 pages written, I decided to show my agent. She loved it and told me to keep going.

Once I had a final draft, she shared it with a publisher who had previously shown interest in my work. They didn’t feel it was right for them, but then my agent mentioned it in passing to a senior editor at Text Publishing. Text had few speculative fiction titles on its list at that point, but it turned out the team was looking for YA spec fic that might fit its list.

Long story short, the team at Text liked Shadows and the series concept, and I found myself with a book deal. Needless to say, that was a huge day of celebration in the Weston household. J I don’t think I stopped grinning for a week.

I then really enjoyed the process to publication. The rounds of structural and line edit, having input into jacket copy and catalogue blurbs – and then interacting with bloggers, readers, librarians and booksellers after the first book was released.

I learned an enormous amount about the publishing process and industry, and fell in love with Australia’s YA community.

Was it different when getting your proceeding books published?

I’d roughly plotted out The Rephaim story as four books, which Text Publishing was aware of when I was signed. My original contract was for the first two books; the final two were then contracted the week before Shadows was released.

So the process for getting the subsequent books published was different than if I’d written four stand-alone, unrelated novels. Because of that, I tend to look at The Rephaim series as a single book: it’s one story told in four parts.

The big challenge for me was seeing if I could secure a contract for a book beyond that series. I’ll be honest: it was just as nerve-wracking the second time around. There are no guarantees in life, especially in the publishing world, so I didn’t take anything for granted. I’m grateful, then, that Text Publishing has taken on my new book. It’s a stand-alone spec fic YA thriller scheduled for release next year. I’m pretty excited about it. 

What was the difference between getting your books published here in Australia and internationally?

Text Publishing picked up the world rights to The Rephaim series, which meant they have on-sold the series to other interested territories on my behalf. I have different publishers in certain parts of the world and each operates a little differently to each other.

While I was closely involved in each step of publication with Text Publishing, I’ve had varying degrees of involvement in cover art, blurb, taglines etc. overseas. (To be fair, my North American publisher, Tundra Books/Penguin Random House Canada, has been very inclusive.)

And, of course, there are the small wording changes that occur in overseas editions to minimise confusion for readers (‘jumpers’ become ‘sweaters’ in North America etc.). But otherwise, the process to print was similar.

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

So many! Here are a few (in no particular order): 

Saving Francesca – Melina Marchetta                                                             The Lumatere Chronicles – Melina Marchetta

All I Ever Wanted – Vikki Wakefield                                                                                        Friday Brown – Vikki Wakefield

InBetween Days – Vikki Wakefield                                                                                          When Dogs Cry – Markus Zusak

The Book Thief – Markus Zusak (though technically not YA)                                                           Raw Blue – Kirsty Eagar

Saltwater Vampires – Kirsty Eagar                                                                                                  Summer Skin – Kirsty Eagar

Night Creatures series – Marianne de Pierres                                                                     Girl Defective – Simmone Howell

Wildlife – Fiona Wood                                                                                                                     Graffiti Moon – Cath Crowley

Every series – Ellie Marney                                                                               The Colours Of Madeleine – Jacklyn Moriarty

Head of the River – Pip Harry                                                                                                          Pieces of Sky – Trinity Doyle

Disruption/Corruption – Jessica Shirvington                                                Illuminae – Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufmann

This is Shyness – Leanne Hall                                                                                                                Intruder – Chris Bongers

The Trial of Ashala Wolf – Ambelin Kwaymullina                                                 Chenxi and The Foreigner – Sally Rippin

Does My Head Look Big In This – Randa Abdel-Fattah

I have yet to read these books and I have no idea why, because it’s all things that I love, I will have to get onto it soon. You can find Paula on twitter at @PaulaWeston, her website and don’t forget to add her books to your goodreads.

Shadows by Paula Weston

Pages: 388
Publish date: June 1st 2012
Publisher: Text Publishing
ISBN: 9781921922503
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Dymocks