Today on The Tales Compendium I have YA author Jessica Davidson stopping by for a chat as part of my Aussie Author Month. Jessica is the author of What Does Blue Feel Like, which led her to win the Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelist Award in 2008. Last year her second novel, Everything Left Unsaid, was published and turned out to be one of my favourite books from 2012.
"Everything Left Unsaid
beautifully shows the pain and confusion two people can feel when faced
with losing the other through no fault of their own. This is an
exceptional read that I highly recommend, although make sure you have a
box of tissues within reach."
(From my review)
Here is your chance to get to know Jessica Davidson!
I was the kind of kid who… could be found curled
up under the blankets with a book and a torch, long after I was
supposed to be asleep.
My mother always told me… that I wasn't allowed to leave the house until I had eaten breakfast. (I'm not a morning person!).
The biggest lesson I learnt at school was… that people are just people. They shouldn't make you nervous.
My first big crush was… a boy in my class at primary school. It passed.
I earnt my first pay cheque… waitressing at a Chinese restaurant for $10 an hour.
I
really hate it when… I really hate being late! To the point that I'll
arrive ridiculously early to important appointments, and then have to
sit around waiting.
I’m very good at…
cooking. The last birthday cake I made required a glue gun. Yes. A glue
gun. (It was a castle cake and the turrets and towers had to be glued
together in order to be transported).
The
hardest thing I’ve ever done… well, one of the hardest things I've ever
done was getting Everything Left Unsaid finished, and the final edits
done- I was pregnant with my third child and very, very sick with
hyperemesis (morning sickness so severe I couldn't keep anything down),
while parenting my two other small children. There was a period of time
just after my third child was born where I was drinking energy drinks at
10pm to try and stay awake.
I’m frightened
of… the possibility that the piece of seaweed touching my leg in the
ocean is actually a shark. And crows, although I'm not exactly sure why.
When I’m in the shower I sing… whatever happens to be in my mind at the time!
My
road to publication was… when I was at university, I'd procrastinate
from writing my assignments by writing what ended up being my first
book, What Does Blue Feel Like. I was very lucky- six weeks after I'd
submitted it to PanMacmillan, I was offered a publishing contract. I
started writing Everything Left Unsaid in 2007- but it took a little
longer to finish than expected.
The last book
I read was… actually a re-read, for me- it was Carrie, by Stephen King.
I'm also flicking through a very large book of Vintage Grimm fairy
tales at the moment.
I would love to meet… David Levithan, I think he's an amazing author.
When
I get the munchies I eat… it really depends on my mood! Mushrooms on
toast are always a favourite standby- though there seems to be a large
number of chocolate-chip pancakes made in this house.
I’m
currently working on… a rough draft that is so terrible it's only seen
the inside of my computer! I currently want to delete the lot, but I
can't bring myself to, so I suppose I'll have to keep at it.
I
hope I never… stop asking questions, and noticing things. Writing the
kind of stories that feel real, even though you know they're not.
Life
is… imperfect, and temporary. You are a perishable item- so it's
important to live accordingly, being kinder than necessary.
Thankyou so much for participating in Aussie Author Month, Jessica!
Jessica on Twitter: @JessicaDavidsn
My review of Everything Left Unsaid
Everything Left Unsaid on Goodreads
What Does Blue Feel Like? on Goodreads
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