What prompted you to write 'The Bootmaker of Berlin'?
'The Bootmaker of Berlin' was informed by my year as a Fellow of the State Library of Queensland. My research project focused on WWII and the experiences of women in Australia, in particular migrant women who were classed as 'enemy aliens' and interned at Tatura in rural Victoria. Additionally, my visits to Berlin over the past 12 years inspired me to write about the city's brutal past. In so doing I came to terms with my own feelings about WWII, the atrocities of the Nazi regime, and the post-war years of national division.
What motivated you to become an indie author?
I want to have control over my own material, including structure, expression, choice of cover, layout. With indie publishing, I answer to nobody but myself, and I think I am a better writer and editor for it. There is no-one standing between my readers and me. My work has to be the best it can be before I hit the 'publish' button.
Read more of this interview.