FLEUR MCDONALD is a leading author of rural literature and the best-selling author of The Prospect and the ‘Detective Dave Burrows’ series.
Good Reading caught up with her to chat about her new book The Missing, childhood, her early writing, and her favourite recent reads.
ABOUT THE BOOK
n the middle of Missing Persons Week, teenager Max Galbraith disappears after a party at the two-up ring on the outskirts of Kalgoorlie. With hundred-year-old mine shafts hidden in the area, no one can sure whether he got lost while under the influence of drugs or if something more sinister has happened.
Lily Carter, a talkshow radio host, receives information about Brendan Cook, another Kalgoorlie teenager who disappeared in similar circumstances the year before. But the police didn’t launch a full-scale search for Brendan. Why not?
Enter Detective Angie Sullivan, new to Kalgoorlie and yet to understand how the town works. With no clear links between the two cases, and Lily accusing the police of incompetence, the town is tipped into uproar. What secrets are hiding out there in the bush? And can Angie discover them before any more kids go missing?
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MEET FLEUR MCDONALD
What was the street name where you grew up?
Fifth Street (Very imaginative, I realise!)
What are your favourite memories there?
We had a wonderful neighbour who was across the road. She had SO many books in her lounge room and they were mostly young adult books (she was a librarian – YES! I lived across the road from a librarian!). I was allowed to borrow these books, so, back then I was a lot long more agile than now and I used to run across the road, hurdle her fence, land on a very mediocre lawn and bound up the steps to her front door. Usually I didn’t need to knock, she would have seen me coming (or heard me) and then I’d be allowed to look through her books for as long as I liked. I did all of this in bare feet and the only thing that would stop me from completely my athletic fete is if I was stung by a bee on Mum’s lawn. Which happened more often than not.
What was your first pet and its name?
My house was always full of pets. Dogs, cats, the occasional pet lamb, horses. The first dog I remember was Bindy; a fat golden lab with a tail that wagged so hard it would knock me over as I was learning to walk. And the first cat I really remember was Lucky a tortoiseshell stray who turned up and I adopted. Lucky used to climb up at the tree next to my bedroom window and I would unclip the flyscreen and hold my arm out as a bridge so she could come inside and sleep the night with me – totally against mum’s rules. Puddles was one pet lamb we had – the name should give you some idea of what that lamb was known for, and we had a Lamb Chops too!
What was your first job?
Does this include slave labour for parents? If so, I was raised cleaning the house. Taught to use an old toothbrush to clean around the edge of the bathroom taps in case there was any gung built up there. Other than that I went to work for a farmer in the south east of South Australia after I left school and have stayed in the agricultural industry ever since.
When did your interest in writing novels first arise?
I’ve written stories ever since I could write. I was one of those kids in primary school that once we had finished silent writing (which was almost my favourite lesson other than silent reading) and the teacher would ask who wanted to read out what they’d written, I’d wave my hand madly in the air. The rest of my classmates would groan because I did the exact same thing the day before and they really didn’t care about my stories!
First piece of writing published?
A poem called ‘The Prayer of a homesick Annesley Girl’, which was published in my high school magazine. The title says it all. No grey areas there!
What’s one of the most memorable moments over your writing career?
Signing my first contract with Allen and Unwin, closely followed by meeting the great Michael Connelly at a Dymocks Literary lunch. Then signing the contracts with HarperCollins Australia. I’m so grateful for these opportunities I’ve been given.
Do your characters live with you day to day in your head? Do you talk to them or constantly consider ideas for them as you go about your day?
Not as much as they used to. When I was writing my first few books, sometimes when I went to town to do the shopping I’d dress up as the main character and pretend to her so I could understand her a little better. But these days when I hit the computer, that’s when they turn up. Although the other day, I had a new character arrive as I was cooking tea. I haven’t met this bloke before and I don’t know his name, but I’ve written his first chapter. I’m sure the rest will come.
Best books you’ve read recently?
Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth
Dust by Michael Brissington
Inside Out by Kathleen Folbigg and Tracy Chapman
There are so many great authors just published or about to be, so I can’t wait for Jane Harper, Chris Hammer and many more!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bestselling rural crime author Fleur McDonald has always had a strong affinity with the land and the vast Australian outback. Raised in Orroroo, South Australia, Fleur loves the open roads, red dust and magical sunsets.
With 25 fiction novels to her name, Fleur has built a strong following of loyal readers with an insatiable appetite for her craft and characters, most notably Detective Dave Burrows. She spends much of her year behind the wheel, traversing our big country, scouting inspiration and potential storylines for future books, and appearing as a guest speaker at a range of events, including country shows, ladies’ days and writers’ festivals.
A trailblazer in all aspects of her life, Fleur has been a jillaroo farming the land for more than 20 years, founded DVassist to help regional dwellers access crucial support for family and domestic violence, and raised two children with developmental and speech delays, teaching them Makaton sign language to communicate.
These days, in between putting out two books a year, she has her sights set on learning to fly a plane. Fleur lives in Esperance, Western Australia with her two children, Rochelle and Hayden, who come and go as they please and an energetic border collie Shadow.
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