Victoria Purman
Victoria Purman talks about the writing process for her novel A Woman’s Work, an historical novel set in Melbourne in 1956.
We discussed so many writing craft aspects including:
how a pamphlet in a second hand bookstore gave her the idea for the novel
how she fills the saggy middle of a novel
the importance of a first line
how her readers are a treasure trove of stories and ideas
her approach to backstory
the editing process
how she overcomes self-doubt
You’ll find links to buy both paperback and ebook versions of A Woman’s Work here.
ABOUT A WOMAN’S WORK
It's 1956, and while Melbourne is in a frenzy gearing up for the Olympics, the women of Australia are cooking up a storm for their chance to win the equivalent of a year's salary in the extraordinary Australian Women's Weekly cookery contest.
Fortwo women, in particular, the prize could be life-changing. For war widow and single mum Ivy Quinn, a win would mean more time to spend with her twelve-year-old son, Raymond. Mother of five Kathleen O'Grady has no time for cooking competitions, but the prize could offer her a different kind of life for herself and her children, and the chance to control her own future.
As winter turns to spring both women begin to question their lives. For Kathleen, the grinding domesticity of her work as a wife and mother no longer seems enough, while Ivy begins to realise she has the courage to make a difference for other women and tell the truth about the ghosts from her past.
But is it the competition prize that would give them a new way of seeing the world - a chance to free themselves from society's expectation and change their own futures - or is it the creativity and confidence it brings?
Praise for Victoria Purman
'Heart-achingly raw yet filled with the beauty of the human spirit, [The Nurses' War] is a triumph that will linger in the heart and psyche.' Karen Brooks, author of The Good Wife of Bath
'A richly crafted novel ... [The Women's Pages] graphically depicts life during those harrowing years. A touching tale and an enthralling read.' Reader's Digest
ABOUT VICTORIA PURMAN
Victoria Purman is an Australian top ten and USA Today bestselling fiction author. Her 2023 novel, A Woman’s Work, is out now. Her books The Nurses’ War, The Women’s Pages, The Land Girls and The Last of the Bonegilla Girls have all been Australian bestsellers. Her earlier novel The Three Miss Allens was a USA Today bestseller. She is a regular guest at writers festivals, a mentor and workshop presenter across Australia, and has judged the fiction category for the 2018 Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature and the 2022 ASA/HQ Commercial Fiction Prize for an unpublished manuscript.
Website: https://www.victoriapurman.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/VictoriaPurmanauthor/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Victoria-Purman-Author/132297233615790
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/VictoriaPurman
To enter this month’s competition, head to Writers Book Club Instagram or Facebook and look for the giveaway post.
Order A Woman’s Work by Victoria Purman here.
Full show notes available at writersbookclubpodcast.com
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