By Brendan Rees
In her new book, author Kylie Kaden explores an intriguing theme: how good people do bad things.
It’s an idea that fascinates her and draws on her background in psychology.
“I tend to focus on making my characters believable, so they all tend to have flaws that I pry open in wicked ways and I hope this makes them more relatable,” she says.
The Queenslander will be speaking about her new book, The Day the Lies Began, at Bunjil Place library on Thursday 26 September from 7pm to 8.30pm.
Kylie is the author of two previous novels: Losing Kate and Missing You. She holds an honours degree in psychology and works a columnist for My Child Magazine.
As a school leaver, Kylie says being an author never occurred to her as a “real job”.
“Real jobs were things you dreaded going to, and I wasn’t cocky enough to think I had enough life experience to write a book,” she says.
“I’ve never formally studied the craft of writing. I write by instinct, learn by doing, and books have become my teachers.”
As a mother of three, Kylie writes “between episodes when life gets in the way” – whether it be waiting in the car at her son’s tennis lessons or plotting scenes while the risotto sticks to the pan.
“Perhaps it’s really just procrastination, but I’m a big believer of the writing strategy I like to call the ‘drawer’ treatment – leaving your half-baked manuscript to ferment for a few weeks at key steps along the way,” she says.
Kylie is also inspired by the Queensland coastline; explaining she has fond childhood memories of the hazy, heat filled summer days spent camping on the Sunshine Coast.
“Lago point is fictitious – wanting the freedom to invent my own waterways and landmarks – but the setting was inspired by towns such as Tewantin and Boreen Point (near Noosa) in Queensland’s muggy subtropics.”
Writing is an outlet for Kylie who admits she never set out to publish a book at first: “I simply wrote for the love of it.”
“When I thought I had what looked like a novel, I thought someone publishing it would justify the time I spent on it, and allow me to keep writing.”
She adds: “I googled the biggest publisher in the world, and thought I’d submit it and ‘reject my way down’.”
Published by Pantera Press, The Day the Lies Began, marks Kylie’s debut in the domestic thriller genre. The story follows a wife and mother, a town cop, a schoolteacher, and local doctor who are caught in their own tangled webs of deceit.
This is Kylie’s first visit to Bunjil Place, and while her stay is not long, she’s excited.
“As a girl from the burbs in Brisvegas, I take any chance I get to experience the food and shopping on offer in Melbourne.
“I’m also taking part in a Sisters of Crime panel called ‘Domestic Noir goes Bush’ at The Rising Sun Hotel (in Richmond) on Friday 27 September,” she says.
Kylie’s talk at Bunjil Place is a free event, but bookings are required. Visit: www.ccl.vic.gov.au/events.
