About Me
It took me a while to do something about the dream I’d always had of being a writer. But when I finally quit my job as a Brand Manager for Maybelline Cosmetics and went back to uni to study creative writing, lots of things happened which made me believe I’d taken the right step. The first piece of writing I ever sent off to a journal for publication - a poem - was accepted. It was the best $100 I’d ever earned. This is easy, I remember thinking!
Of course, it wasn’t always that easy. But I was lucky enough to win the TAG Hungerford Award for Fiction for What is Left Over, After, which was published in 2010. My second book is due out in August 2012.
In between all that, I’ve had three children. Nowadays I write while the kids are sleeping, which is, of course, never for long enough.
My Books
My new book will be released in August 2012. More details coming soon ...
What is Left Over, After
In my defence I can only put forward this disclaimer: I don't consider myself to be a promiscuous person. Promiscuity implies a degree of carelessness whereas I was always very particular about who I slept with.
When it comes to love, Gaelle is careful. But when it comes to friendship, her heart betrays her in unexpected ways. Gaelle flees her life with little more than her clothes, her camera and her cosmetics. In a tiny seaside town, she meets thirteen year old Selena whose friendship, unlooked for and unwanted, will help Gaelle face the legacy of a vagabond childhood and a charismatic but unreliable mother.
'...this haunting, wise book heralds the arrival of a remarkable Australian talent.' The Age
What is Left Over, After, winner of the TAG Hungerford Award for Fiction, is available from all good bookshops. You can also buy it online here, or if you'd like the Kindle edition, please click here.
'...this novel is as luminous and delicate, clean and alive as the best of Sonya Hartnett or Amy Witting.' The Age
Upcoming events
UWA Extension
- I'm re-running the popular course Life-writing: Turing your life into a story at UWA Extension in June & July 2012. More details coming soon.
- I'm also running a follow-up course called Getting your life-writing ready for publication on July 28, 2012. Again, more details will follow in the New Year.
Would you like me to speak at your library, school or festival? You can contact me here. I also regularly run writing workshops so please get in touch if you're interested.
Interviews & articles
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The Age: '... this haunting, wise book heralds the arrival of a remarkable Australian talent.'
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Herald Sun: ‘... a moving story about a woman gaining self-knowledge and maturity ...'
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Australian Women Online: '... a beautifully written, sensitive book.'
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Sydney Morning Herald: 'skillfully structured story ...'
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Flourish: 'Watch Lester ripen into an Australian literary favourite.'
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Scoop: 'This moving tale ... is an unforgettable one.'
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M/C Reviews: '...a beautiful, poignant novel...'
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Canberra Times: 'There's an overall sense of accomplishment here ...'
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Overland: 'My one complaint is that I wish it could have been longer ...'
What I’m reading
Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson
I've just finished reading Kate Atkinson's Behind the Scenes at the Museum. This is an oldie - it was published in 1995 - but don't let that put you off. When I began this book I fell in love with the voice of Ruby Lennox, the main character. Ruby is able to narrate everything it seems, from the experience of being inside her mother's womb as a baby to her own birth. But there is one dark secret she doesn't tell because it is so traumatic that her wonderfully weird family all agree it's better left unsaid.
The book is hilarious, the characters are enchanting and Atkinson's skill at writing in the voice of a wise and funny child is outstanding. I was a bit disappointed with the last couple of chapters and think that the summary style of wrapping up the story didn't work for me, but maybe that's because the first half of the book was so strong. Hunt it out at a garage sale.
My Favourite Books
Rather than provide a list of my favourite books, I'll share one with you each month because this lets me tell you a little more about the book and, hopefully, will entice you to read it!
The Great Fire by Shirley Hazzard
I was recently in Hong Kong and being there reminded me of this book and how much I loved it when I read it almost ten years ago. Hazzard's book is a love story that moves through post-war Asia and Britain, tracing the physical and emotional changes wrought on the characters and the landscapes they inhabit as a result of the war. Hazzard's prose brought Hong Kong to vivid life as I read and if I narrowed my gaze and blurred my vision just a little, I could see the world she described even though I was in Hong Kong some sixty-five years after the book is set. Hazzard isn't fashionable these days but don't let that put you off - this book is worth a read.
What my kids are reading
I'm a passionate advocate of reading books to kids. So every couple of weeks I'll share with you the books my children are enjoying.
Ruby's favourite (suits 4-7 years)
I can confess to being a complete Enid Blyton fan when I was younger and my mum has kept all of my Blyton books, which I hve now passed on to the girls. Ruby is busy giggling over Mr Meddle's Mischief at the moment - we are reading a chapter every night and the tales are so funny and ridiculous that Audrey is enjoying them too.
Audrey's favourite (suits 2-5 years)
Fans of Edward the Emu will be familiar with Rod Clement's illustrative style and flair for drawing birds but in Feathers for Phoebe he also writes an engaging tale about how trying too hard to make an impression can often fail and that sometimes, it's better just to be yourself.
Darcy's favourite (up to 18 months old)
All of my kids have enjoyed Beth Shoshan's book Little Rabbit Waits for the Moon and now Darcy does too. Lovely pictures and a simple and repetitive style of narration draws them in and the beautiful moon at the end is worth waiting for.
Check out my blog for more ideas and discussion about books for kids.
book clubs
I'd love to come along to your book club and talk to you about What is Left Over, After. Please send me a note here so that we can organise a date and time.
I hope these book club notes are useful for prompting discussion in your group.
