ANZ LitLovers LitBlog

Photo credit: Pam Souris

Just recently, I had the pleasure of reading Skimming Stones, winner of the Hungerford Award and the debut novel of WA author  Maria Papas.

Maria Papas holds a PhD from the University of Western Australia where she researched the ways people share narratives of illness and trauma. She has written for TEXT, Griffith Review, Axon, The Letters Page and other journals.

This is the blurb for Skimming Stones:

Grace first met her lover, Nate, as a teenager, their bond forged in the corridors and waiting rooms where siblings of cancer patients sit on the sidelines. Now an adult, for Grace, nursing is a comforting world of science and certainty. But the paediatric ward is also a place of miracles and heartbreak and, when faced with a dramatic emergency, Grace is confronted with memories of her sister’s illness. Heading south to Lake Clifton and the haunts of her childhood, Grace discovers that a stone cast across a lake sends out ripples long after the stone has gone.

You can read my review here.

Maria is very busy with the release of her novel into the bookshops, but she has very kindly agreed to participate in Meet an Aussie Author. Here are her answers to my questions:

1. I was born on a Sunday.
2. When I was a child, my mum used to buy me Little Golden books every time she did her shopping.
3. The people who encouraged me the most were my parents. They taught me to dream and work, two qualities useful in a writer.
4. I write on the ground next to a sunny window, on a comfy armchair, at the kitchen table. Everywhere, really, but a desk.
5. I write whenever I can, but if I had a magic wand, I would always choose to write between ten and two.
6. Research is integral to my writing, but research doesn’t always have to be academic or written. Research comes in many forms.
7. I keep my published works on the top shelf of the bookcase I purchased way back when I moved into my first home.
8. On the day my first book was published, it struck me what a strange feeling it was to truly share my work with others
9. At the moment, I’m writing in a little blue journal. I call it my Greek book and it’s a joy to research and write.
10. When I’m stuck for an idea, I take a break, walk, read, chat. I don’t worry too much. Ideas arrive at the oddest times.

Skimming Stones  is available in bookstores now.

You can find out more about Maria by visiting her website