Interview Heather Garside

by

A. Dee Carey

1. Heather, tell me what inspired you to become a writer? Is it something you have always loved or a new part of your life?

Except for a lengthy non-productive period when my children were growing up, I have always loved to write. I first started writing poetry at the age of seven, and published my first novel at the age of twenty-four.

2. What inspired this book?

A Hidden Legacy is the sequel to The Cornstalk, an August release with Wings. So it was inspired by The Cornstalk, which in turn was inspired by my love of local history.

3. Tell us a bit about your hero and heroine. Is he anything like a man in your life? Is she someone you are or would like to be?

My hero is nothing like the man in my life! He’s a bit of a bad boy, but as he’s very young I think he gets away with it. He does grow up during the course of the story. I would certainly like to resemble my heroine, who is courageous and determined and quite bold by nineteenth century standards.

4. Tell us are you a disciplined writer or do you write whenever the opportunity presents itself?

Unfortunately, I’m not disciplined. I do my best writing when I feel ‘inspired’, but that doesn’t happen often enough.

5. What is your all time favourite book and why?

That’s a hard one. Perhaps an Australian classic called The Shiralee, by Darcy Niland. On the lighter side, Devil’s Cub by Georgette Heyer.

6. If you could have coffee with anyone, living or dead, what character from what book would you choose?

When I was young, I might have chosen Dominic from Devil’s Cub, but I think he’d be more likely to drink brandy!

7. Are you an outliner or a "seat of the pant" writer?

I used to write by the seat of my pants--The Cornstalk was written that way. But about the time I commenced to write A Hidden Legacy, I did a course in novel writing, for which I had to do an outline. Since then I’ve outlined first--but I’ve struggled more with inspiration, so I’m not sure if it helps me.

8. What's on your Christmas list?

A new car! As farmers, we’ve been in drought for several years, but the season has been more favourable over the past year or so. So now, hopefully, we can finally afford a new vehicle.

9. Tell us some things that are on your "I want to do this someday" list.

I’d like to travel more, within Australia and overseas.

10. How would you describe yourself? i.e. writer, mother, wife Answer with what first comes to your mind.

All three! I try to keep a balance in my life, and don’t devote myself exclusively to writing. When I’m on a roll with my writing, I tend to become consumed by it and quite introverted, so I need to guard against that.