How do you discover the ebooks you read?
I pore over endless lists of titles looking for a perfect symmetry of quality and value. I used to be a dedicated hard copy devotee. My family ran one of Perth’s best bookshops for a quarter of a century. Ebooks are great, as they offer immediacy, but I do miss the tactile experience of a real book and visiting quirky bookshops in different cities.
Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?
I remember being at primary school and I was at a new school because my parents had relocated across town. I had been attending a more advanced primary school and the new school held me back for a year to fit in with the rest of my year. I read books and wrote stories for that year. One of them was a story about bikies and I placed members of my class as characters within this sensationalist and poorly written story. Obviously, I was desperate to belong and this was an unsuccessful attempt at gaining the approval of my classmates.
What is your writing process?
I usually find myself in a fervour via a particular idea or cause. In my case, it is important to give free reign to this and get it all down. Subsequently, I will go over this early draft and rewrite and edit.
Do you remember the first story you ever read, and the impact it had on you?
I cannot remember that in this moment but I would say that I have reread important books after decades and the results have been surprising. In many instances, it is like another person reading the book in question for the first time. I think that I have changed, as a person, to such a degree that the ideas within a novel speak to a different person. Great books have so many ideas and themes within them that they reach out to multiple stages of life and connect differently to the various demographics and to different individuals. Recently, I read Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote and found it laugh out loud hilarious, whereas in decades past I was possibly too earnest to appreciate this fantastic book. Novels speak to our hearts and minds, to our values and ideals – these can change over a lifetime.
continued at https://www.smashwords.com/interview/SudhaHamilton
