Wendy James is the author of six books, including The Mistake (2012) and Out of the Silence, which won the 2006 Ned Kelly Award for Best First Crime fiction and was shortlisted for the Nita May Dobbie Award for women’s writing. James writes about women’s lives: their domestic and interior lives as well as the bigger picture – the intersection of the political and the personal. She currently lives in Newcastle, New South Wales, with her husband and two of their four children.
HOW I GOT PUBLISHED
I actually started out writing short stories, so my first published work was a story that was published in the lovely literary journal, Voices, which was put out by the National Library of Australia, back in the mid nineties. A few months before the story was accepted I’d won a university short fiction competition, quite unexpectedly, and that gave me the confidence to reach for the stars — publication. I was young and naive, and had no idea about the realities (and hard work!) of writing and publishing, and somehow imagined that everyone would be just as thrilled as I was … I remember feeling really silly when I asked the publisher’s assistant whether she’d enjoyed the story (who asks this?) and she replied rather tersely that she didn’t really know, as she was too busy typing up the damn manuscript to read it. This was back in the early-ish days of home computers, and my already outdated Mac didn’t have a word-processing doc that was compatible with the publisher’s computer. I’d written the story as a bit of an experiment – there’s a bit of playing around with language and technique – and to be honest, these days I find this story a little painful…
There’s not quite any feeling to match the exhilaration of that first publication, but even now, almost twenty years later, and with a quite a few stories and articles and novels out there, I still find it incredibly exciting to see my words in print, available for all the world to read. These days I do manage to resist the temptation to ask readers whether they enjoyed it …
HER LATEST BOOK
From the bestselling author of The Mistake comes a hauntingly powerful story about families and secrets and the dark shadows cast by the past.
Curl Curl, Sydney, January 1978.
Angie’s a looker. Or she’s going to be. She’s only fourteen, but already, heads turn wherever she goes. Male heads, mainly . . .
Jane worships her older cousin Angie. She spends her summer vying for Angie’s attention. Then Angie is murdered. Jane and her family are shattered. They withdraw into themselves, casting a veil of silence over Angie’s death.
Thirty years later, a journalist arrives with questions about the tragic event. Jane is relieved to finally talk about her adored cousin. And so is her family. But whose version of Angie’s story – whose version of Angie herself – is the real one? And can past wrongs ever be made right?
The shocking truth of Angie’s last days will force Jane to question everything she once believed. Because nothing – not the past or even the present –
is as she once imagined.
Carol Balawyder 
This sounded so good that I just bought the ebook of the Lost Girls on Kobo!
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Oh, Judy, I loved the book. I wrote a great review of it on Amazon.com. I’m now reading The Steele Diaries which is not a crime novel but very thought provoking and beautifully written. A book about the world of art and the inner struggles of artists. Thanks for commenting. 🙂
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Really interesting! Thanks to both of you. I’m a big fan of Wendy James, so I’m excited to learn from her!
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Me too I’m a big fan of hers. She’s an amazing and very talented writer. Thanks, Margot for being here. 🙂
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“The Mistake” sounds like a great book. I’ll have to check it out. 🙂
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That’s on my TBR list for sure, Carrie.
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Nice to read about a highly successful, fellow Australian. 🙂
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This is great Carol and I love hearing how Authors started their journey. There is hope for us all!! 🙂
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This is an awesome introduction to Wendy James. She and her books sound intriguing.
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Well I’ll be adding another one of your picks to my TBR! I’ll have to admit, I was never a great reader if crime fiction but after reading many of your Femme Fatale posts and reading excerpts I’m in! 🙂
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The Lost Girls is a very unique type of crime fiction. It focuses more on the victims and on the interactions of family relationships. It’s very thought provoking.
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Carol, these interviews you supply us with are so great for motivation! Nice to learn about Wendy and she’s quite right about the excitement associated with the first publication! 🙂
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And what’s nice is that she still gets excited to see her words in print.
I’m still having problems with PayPal in ordering your book.
Is there any possibility that I could mail you a check for the book and shipping and you can mail me a copy?
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Wendy James has been on my TBR for some time after some great recommendations, I really must find a way to push her up the list!
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And I’ll look forward to reading a review on your blog.
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Thanks for having me, Carol. Lovely to share this story!
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My pleasure, Wendy. I wish you all the best. I have finished reading The Steele Diaries and will soon post on Amazon and Goodreads. It was so different from The Lost Girls in plot but your voice shines through in both of these novels. 🙂
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Hope all is well with you, Carol. I’ll replying your email soon. Just got back from Bali over the Chinese New Year holidays. Did you visit your Chinatown? Hugs x
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I LOVE Wendy James’ writing. She has such a deft talent with words and crafting a tantalizing tale. And she has the ability to reel you into her world–something I believe most authors are continually striving to achieve.
Thanks, Carol, for a terrific interview and for highlighting a dynamite author. Cheers
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Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Wendy James is a new discovery for me and a wonderful one at that. I’ve now read two of her books and want to read more. That’s the problem, isn’t it? There’s always so much to read. 🙂
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