I love Aussie YA. I love reading books from authors that live in the same country as me, that know things that people out of Australia might be so confused about. I love how sometimes they can incorporate this into their book and it is fabulous.  

So I decided to created a feature where I interview Australian Young Adult authors about their craft, journey and some interesting facts. I thought it was a fun way of everyone around the world to get to know these authors and maybe make them want to pick up their books. And that is what I am aiming to do, spread the word about #LoveOZYA and get everyone reading it. 

So far on #LoveOzYA Interviews, I have had  Sarah Ayoub, Fleur Ferris, followed by Will Kostakis, Shivaun Plozza and Gabrielle Tozer. Then Jay Kristoff and Kylie Fornasier, followed by A.J Betts, Megan Jacobson then Christopher Currie, Steph Bowe, Tim Sinclair and Meg Caddy. And the last two books on  Angel Reads I had Lynette Noni and  Sophie Hardcastle. 

This week I have Rose Foster, author of The Industry (2012, Harper Collins) and The Estate (2016). 

Hi Rose, and welcome to Angel Reads. First can you introduce yourself to everyone? Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I was born in Brisbane though I’ve lived in Melbourne all my life. I enjoy writing a combination of long form fiction and screenplays. I love the Melbourne writer community; I’m extremely grateful to be part of it. If you intend to be a writer, make friends with them. You won’t regret it.

What has your writing journey been like? Where did you start? Why?

My writing journey has been pretty focused. Being a child is hard and being a teenager is harder. Nowadays, being in your twenties isn’t easy either. These are the times when stories and avenues of escape are essential, be it in the form of books, TV shows, movies, games, comics, music, anything. I took my strength and comfort from stories when I was younger. I took a lot from the writers and artists I loved and at some point felt like I wanted to give. I’m incredibly proud to write for young people; I think it’s an important job. For me, writing YA means endeavouring to create recognisable characters for readers to draw comfort and strength from, and unrecognisable settings and situations for readers to escape into. Whether I achieve that or not is something else but the intention is there.  

What was the process of getting your first book published?

The first book began as a conversation without dialogue tags between two people imprisoned together in the same cell. The criminal underworld of The Industry was built bit-by-bit over the years. I worked on the story and plot for the series as a whole to ensure I knew where I wanted to go before drafting the first book. I took the manuscript to my high school and appealed to the year seven and eight students there.

Some of them were very kind in reading The Industry and offering very astute and valuable feedback. YA first and foremost must be about writing for the intended audience and I wanted to see how that audience received it. After adding in changes I found an agent and soon after I was talking with a wonderful publisher in Melbourne.

No matter how determined you might be to become a writer, you still feel very underprepared when publication comes around.

Was it different when getting your subsequent books published?

The two experiences couldn’t be more different. I became very unwell after The Industry was published. I’d managed to write The Estate but it wasn’t the book I’d planned it to be. My publishers knew that and released me from the contract to focus on my health. It was difficult to come to terms with losing my contract and I felt ashamed of disappointing those who had enjoyed The Industry.

I’d worked toward publishing the series for a very long time and it all fell away before the job was done. I didn’t think it would take so long to recover, but now that I have I’ve rewritten The Estate, hopefully to the standard the readers of The Industry expect. That being said, there’s a lot I would change about The Industry now too if I could, but there’s nothing to be done about that.

Without the might of a publisher behind it The Estate will be published as an ebook. The process is very self-driven this time around, just a few wonderful publicity/design helpers and me. I hope those who enjoyed The Industry forgive me for the long wait and enjoy The Estate.

You are an OZYA author, what are some of your favourite Aussie YA books?

I have many but there’s one I revisited a few weeks ago and it just killed me all over again in all the best ways. Hating Alison Ashley by Robin Klein. Hating Alison Ashley was my favourite Australian book as a kid and it’s my favourite Australian book as an adult. It’s slightly more middle grade than it is YA but it’s the Aussie book that has stayed with me most over the years. I adored the humour, the characters and the shambles of a school. I loved the age-appropriate insights on class and the geographical integrity Klein gave Baringa East. It felt like the realest of Aussie suburbs, one I could picture and navigate easily.

Erica Yurken lives her life terrified she’s not good enough and offsets that by pretending, with great conviction, that she’s better than everyone else. She has big dreams about becoming a beautiful, elegant actress and there’s a quiet desperation underpinning the story that she might not achieve those dreams. She realises at the end-of-term school camp — with such high-octane and heart-warming drama on Klein’s part —that she won’t ever be what she’s always believed she should be. Instead, she’s told she has talent as a writer, something reinforced brilliantly by her new friend Alison, and she realises very quickly that she’s actually thrilled with that, and thrilled with her family, her school, her whole life. Hating Alison Ashley made me laugh as a kid and it made me cry as an adult. 

Thank you Rose for joining us here at Angel Reads. You can find Rose on twitter at @_rosefoster_ or at @industrybooks. You can also add her books to your goodreads. I also review The Industry, this week – I enjoyed it quite a bit. 

The Industry by Rose Foster

Pages: 312
Publish date: March 20th 2012
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0732293308
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Dymocks 

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Thank you Rose for joining me at Angel Reads and sharing your journey. Have you her books? Did you like them? Are you going to read them? 

Come back next week for some more Aussie fun. If you want to know more about the #LoveOZYA movement check out the website for all the details. Also if you have any Australian YA authors that you would like to see me interview, just let me know and I can see what I can do.