ANZ LitLovers LitBlog

Eleanor Limprecht burst onto the Australian literary scene when her debut novel What Was Left was shortlisted for the ALS (Australian Literature Society) Gold Medal in 2014, and longlisted for the inaugural Voss Literary Prize in the same year.  (See Whispering Gums if, like me, you didn’t know the story of the Voss Prize).  I discovered her work when I recently read her second novel Long Bay (see my review), and the first thing I did when I’d finished it was to buy a copy of What Was Left! 

So I was very pleased when Eleanor accepted my invitation to participate in Meet an Aussie Author:)

1.  I was born in Washington DC, via caesarean booked in before the end of the financial year so my mother could claim me as a tax credit.
2. When I was a child I wrote letters to my friends and family, since we moved every three or four years and there were always people I loved who lived far away.
3. The people who encouraged me to write are my mother, who has a PhD in English Literature and passed on her love of books (though not her financial wisdom), and my grandfather Hollis Limprecht, who was a journalist for the Omaha World Herald and wrote a book about the Nebraska Cornhuskers (Go Big Red).
4. I write in my studio above the garage. For years I shared my writing space or used the kitchen table but finally I have my own room. I love it. I have a sign hanging above my desk, “Eleanor’s Empire” that my grandma gave me when I was a little girl. My older sister’s name is Alma and I still think it’s hilarious that she got a sign saying “Alma’s Area”. Because we all know an empire is way better than an area.
5. I write when my children are at school and I’m not teaching, or reading, or researching.
6. Research is an enticing forest which I frequently get lost in.
7. I keep my published work on the bookshelf in our living room. I still get a thrill out of putting my work beside books like The Sound and The Fury and Anna Karenina.
8. On the day my first book was published, I thought life would suddenly change (it didn’t).
9. At the moment, I’m writing a novel about a war bride who moves from Australia to the US after marrying an American GI during World War II.
10.When I’m stuck for an idea I go for a run or a walk with my energetic kelpie. Why write when you could be throwing sticks?

I think this is the first time Meet an Aussie Author had a Kelpie as a writing muse… it’s very appropriate for an Aussie author, eh?

You can find out more about Eleanor at her website and there are links to where you can buy her books here.