A Q& A with
Authorpreneur Hazel Edwards, who has recently taken up a life of crime writing.
You’re best known as the
author of the much loved children’s classic ‘There’s a Hippopotamus on Our Roof
Eating Cake’. Why have you turned to writing adult crime mysteries? I’ve always written in a variety of genres, but
it’s just that the cake- eating hippo picture books are better
known. Motives interest me most whether I’m writing for children or
adults and so mysteries were a natural progression when I was trying to improve
my plotting. The technicalities of viewpoint and why someone might have acted
in that way intrigues me. Diversity and coping with being different have been
common themes in my stories for all ages. The tension comes from
doing something which is different from the values of the society in which the
character lives. For a child, the society is the playground. And humour is often a
way of coping.
In adult non-fiction,
I’ve co-written ‘Difficult Personalities’ with psychologist Dr Helen Mc Grath
and that has been translated into Chinese, Russian, Polish, Korean, audio,
Braille and even American. ‘Difficult Personalities’ deals with motives but
also with strategies. So does our co-written ‘Friends’ book. Writing factual
strategies makes a fiction author conscious of outcomes.
Thus crime was the
natural progression of extreme motives. But my type of crime writing is
‘softened’ with humour or irony. Often things don’t work out and the bumbling
narrator-sleuth is revealed as inept. So getting the tone right is a challenge.
Brief crime or
crime-lettes (my term) meant I could use varied settings and different
narrator-sleuths. I chose first person, to get the reader onside quickly
through the first character they meet. Later, readers may re-consider whether
they wish to remain emotionally involved from that character’s viewpoint.
To what extent is
‘brand’ important for an author? What is your ‘brand’? In the last decade the term ‘brand’
has been thrown around, but I was writing and getting published in my late
twenties when I wasn’t even aware of the concept. Authors were
writers of the books. They weren’t ‘brands’. Originally an author
was associated with one publishing house and that publisher was the brand. Now
authors move with each book, and they are the
brand. Versatility is vital for survival. A self-
employed writer needs a portfolio of skills.
My marketing manager
daughter Kim ‘re-branded’ me with a new self -managed website about ten years
ago. That was because readers expected I wrote only fanciful hippo
books. But I had a variety of publishers and kinds of books. She
wanted to indicate the back-list range and also that I was a conference speaker
on subjects such as ‘Writing a Non boring Family History’ or
‘Authorpreneurship’ which related to my non- fiction adult titles. Plus I was
moving into diversity issues such as gender with ‘f2m; the boy within’, or
‘Hijabi Girl’. And there was the adventurous Antarctic literature after my
expedition experience.
Inbetween, I’d been
co-writing with ‘experts’ from different cultures and skills. Readers were
getting confused.
Kim isolated my ‘brand’
to three descriptors, ‘Quirky, Issues-based,
Authorpreneurial’ my aim is to take the reader into a
different world and values (culture) for the length of that story, and maybe
beyond, and to be known as an author-speaker as well as a writer. But I decided
to stay with the one name.
Have you ever used a
pseudonym or considered using one? Yes. I’ve been 25% of A.K.Aye, four
women who co-wrote ‘Formula for Murder’. We chose the pseudonym mainly because
our four names were too long to fit on the cover. A.K.A means ‘also
known as’ in police circles. Our collaboration was a fun hobby, until Maryse
was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and so finishing the mystery became
therapy. We self-published our adult novel to enable Maryse to have her copy.
How long did your
current novel ‘Celebrant Sleuth’ take to write? About a year. I’d write from 6 am until 8 am
every day, even weekends. Plotting was complicated as I was experimenting with
new techniques and voices but my brain was clearer early in the day.
Apart from a print book,
where would you like ‘Celebrant Sleuth’ to
go? Television. I’ve had the experience of abortive
TV and film options before, and often the project is not completed due to lack
of finances. But I think ‘Celebrant Sleuth’ is especially suited to television
because of the episodic stories around specific funerals, weddings and diverse
cultural and aged groups linked by the celebrant’s role as a problem-solver.
Having a country town as
the setting, enables continuity of roles and overlap of the florist, caterer
etc.
I’d like an audio
version. Plus there’s the niche of LBTQI readers as Quinn is
asexual. And currently same-sex marriage is topical. I did not predict that.
Why have you also
released a collection ‘Almost a Crime’ on Kindle? These were my apprenticeship in self publishing online. The adult short stories
were written over a long period and there’s sufficient variety in settings
based on places I had researched. Antarctica. French barge. Maximum security
prison. Suburban Pokies venue.
As the stories were
short, I called them ‘Crime-lettes’ as most suited to time- poor readers who
use their devices intransit. A short story read in one trip can be satisfying.
How do you describe your
occupation? Authorpreneur’ on my business card is a talking
point.
What is meant by a
‘Hybrid author’? One who is simultaneously self and traditionally
published. A ‘hybrid’ author can be published by traditional ‘big’
publishers like Penguin Random House with a contract, advance, royalties and
the support of distribution and marketing rights internationally. But the
writer can self-publish other titles for niche markets or special projects
which big publishers consider uncommercial or culturally difficult. Then the
author is the publisher and has to handle the distribution but sub- contracts
professional editing, cover design etc. Still has to publicise. And pay the
bills.
This is NOT Vanity
publishing where a naïve amateur-writer just wants something in print and an
unscrupulous, low quality printer rips them off at a high cost with no quality
control nor distribution. Author publishing is comparable
quality but where the writer under-writes the costs. Distribution is still a
challenge, but often a speaker-writer will sell at workshops and talks. They
have calculated whether there is an existing market before they publish.
Circumstances have
changed. The means of publishing digitally is more accessible and faster.
What gives you the most
satisfaction in the writing process? The initial idea.
With the exponential changes in the publishing industry, what digital/new skills have you had to
learn? Updating a web-site even when I’m not a visual
person. Social media is a challenge. I try to learn one tiny digital skill per
day, even if just how to upload the appropriately sized photo. And
the fine line between ego and business PR when sharing life as an
author. Legal stuff like important clauses in contracts. Going to a ‘dummies’
class on updating Ipad skills and how to use photos on various devices for PR.
At a launch, making sure
a generic photo is taken of co-authors and book which can be labeled for quick
finding, also allowing time for
administrivia, deciding which events
are strategic and when to say ‘No’.
What proportion of your
time is spent in original writing? About 20%
What is your next
project? Children’s theatre, and for my existing books to
travel into new mediums, especially audio.
********************************************************
Hazel Edwards OAM has
published 202 books including ‘There’s a Hippopotamus on Our Roof Eating Cake’
series currently touring as ‘Hippo Hippo the Musical’ ‘Hijabi Girl’
co-written with Muslim librarian Ozge Alkan about a feisty 8 year old who wants
to start a girls’ footy team, is her latest junior book. A cultural risk-taker,
Hazel co-wrote ‘f2m: the boy within’ a YA novel about trans youth. A believer
in participant-observation research, Hazel has been an Antarctic expeditioner
.She mentors ‘Hazelnuts’ writers and was a director on the Australian Society
of Authors’ board.
‘Not Just a Piece
of Cake: Being an Author’ is her memoir based on anecdote as a creative
structure. Her books have been translated in ten languages and adapted for
other mediums. ‘Difficult Personalities’ (PRH) co-written with Dr Helen Mc
Grath is available in Russian, Polish, Korean, American and
audio. Currently writing adult mysteries including ‘Celebrant
Sleuth’.
MEDIA
Resources (downloadable hi res author photo & bio)
https://hazeledwards.com/book-day-resources.html
