Winner of the HarperCollins Australia Banjo Prize and AWC alumni Dinuka McKenzie needs no introduction – both because her growing body of work has found such acclaim, and also because we have chatted with her twice before on the podcast! In this episode, she is back to share the experience of creating her latest psychological suspense novel, She Lied First – with insights into her process as well as her thoughts on using social media in the author space. Listen now:

00:00 Welcome
15:51 Writing tip: Get a supportive inner coach
18:21 WIN: Bad Words by Rioghnach Robinson
19:33 Word of the week: “Aptronym”
20:30 Interview with Dinuka McKenzie
21:51 Explaining She Lied First
23:10 Sisterhood origins
25:13 Writing toward the twist
27:39 Subverting South Asian stereotypes
29:04 Timelines without confusion
34:05 Developing the distinct POV voices
37:08 Career longevity through feedback
41:40 Dinuka’s experience building her platform
46:15 The course tools that helped her
48:42 Final thoughts

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Visit WritersCentre.com.au | ValerieKhoo.com

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Real-life pharmacist and acclaimed British author Amit Dhand says the only difference between medicine and poison is the dose – a fantastic backdrop for his most recent books, of which The Kingpin is his latest. In this episode, Amit (writing as A.A. Dhand) explores the world of crime/thriller, his singular approach to writing and his own slate as a storyteller.

00:00 Welcome
11:45 Writing tip: Finding adverbs
14:47 Writers in the wild: Annika
16:20 WIN: The Centre by Hannah Tunicliffe
17:48 Word of the week: “Dudgeon”
18:38 Interview with A.A. Dhand
19:21 What The Kingpin is about
20:40 Setting and pharmacy authenticity
26:19 Write what you emotionally know
28:00 Why crime stories?
29:22 Research and realism
35:15 Pharmacy as a thriller world
40:37 Writing routine and process
46:18 What’s next?
49:08 Writing tip
50:35 Final thoughts

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Connect with Valerie and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook
Visit WritersCentre.com.au | ValerieKhoo.com

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Are YOU a middle child? Author and AWC grad Seetha Dodd is, and that’s just one of the parallels between her life and the characters in her debut junior-fiction novel, Myra in the Middle – a fabulous take on finding your place in your family, and the world. In this episode, Seetha discusses how she found her way back to writing and her experience bringing this book and its characters to life.

00:00 Welcome
06:28 Writing tip: Take part in Furious Fiction!
09:02 WIN: Missing Molly by Natalie Barelli
10:18: Word of the week: “Darkle”
11:11 Interview with Seetha Dodd
13:55 Furious Fiction beginnings
19:23 Courses and confidence
24:28 The importance of community
27:25 About her book, Myra in the Middle
28:53 Culture on the page
31:05 The book’s themes
32:42 Working with an illustrator
34:03 The pitching, editing and publication timeline
38:56 Writing picture books
43:20 Writing advice
44:34 Book recommendations
47:00 Final thoughts

Read the show notes

Connect with Valerie and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook
Visit WritersCentre.com.au | ValerieKhoo.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.