About Roz
Let me make one thing clear.
I don't dream of a career as a novelist. What I've always wanted to be is a writer, and I am that in my actual job, my dream job. It's also the kind of job that involves writing up to 20,000 words a week, or reading 300 pages a day. There's not a lot of brain capacity for writing fiction in my downtime after all of that. Think of being a professional marathon runner during the week and then trying to spend your evenings and weekends running marathons too - and add being a parent on top of it. Yep. Not much left in the tank.
What I've dreamed of since I was four is entertaining people with imaginary worlds, big concepts and gripping characters. The stories shared here are my first steps towards this goal - the learning and the mistakes and the gradual (I hope) improvement. For your interest, I've included notes about where these stories came from and the challenges encountered along the way.
The stories deal with issues that matter to me personally: race and multi-racial societies; history and its impact on the present; class and social status; disability; and politics, bureaucracies and systems of government. But try not to take these themes too seriously, because I certainly don't.
Now. A second thing to clear up.
The writing published on this website is for entertainment purposes. It's not intended to be highbrow. It's not intended to be literary. It's young adult fantasy, because that's what I enjoyed reading growing up. It's also not romance. Romance on screen and on the page makes me want to run screaming into the night. I've got nothing against it personally, or against those who enjoy reading, watching or writing it; I just feel extremely uncomfortable producing it myself. However, the person in my life who introduced me to romance pointed out that for many, romance is the most interesting part of a story. It's because of his love of a good tragedy and a romantic subplot that I include romantic subplots under duress in some of the novels here. But don't expect me to take romance seriously or make it the point of a story. Read other books for that.
And as for me, and who I am? I grew up in country Western Australia in a family who worked in agriculture and trades (you'll notice that many of my characters have those kinds of jobs). I have a sibling with a disability (you'll also notice that a number of my characters have a disability). I've taught piano, worked in a pet shop, coached tennis, attempted farm-hand work, done a PhD, worked as a researcher and written a LOT of non-fiction. In the midst of all of that, I lived overseas, became multilingual, researched mass violence, worked on social policy, got married, became a parent, ate a steady diet of vegemite and cheese sandwiches, failed miserably at many things, and survived bushfires, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods and tsunami warnings, all while working on the novels shared here. It's been a hell of a ride.
Welcome, friend. Thanks for your support.
Below are answers to some questions you may have.
Why do you have more than one work-in-progress?
1. I get bored.
2. I regularly read back what I’ve written, decide it’s terrible and move on to one of the other novels for a few months until my self-esteem returns. The cycle repeats a few times a year.
3. I meet deadlines and finish things quickly in my professional life. Stop asking difficult questions.
How much have you written?
Much, much, MUCH more than is available on this website. Hundreds of pages more.
Why haven’t you uploaded more than a few chapters of your work?
The world isn’t ready for my level of genius.
How long have you been working on your stories?
The Crippled Emperor: since 2004 with a long break in-between.
Apprentice: since 2014.
The Siege of Aubergen: since 2017.
The Historians: since 2020.
How fast do you write?
I write fast and edit slow. Apprentice has been through about twenty major re-writes and looks very different from its original version. And, as mentioned, I have a job and a family, and fiction writing isn’t high on my list of priorities.
Why don’t you finish things faster?
You can’t rush genius.
Can I copy your work and claim it as my own?
Are you familiar with copyright law? If not, go read it and take a good, hard look at yourself (read this for a start). Then check your bank account and reconsider whether you can afford the legal fees when I sue you.
Why haven’t you published your books?
I’m currently not at a stage of my life where I feel able to cope with millions of adoring fans.
Why did you create this website?
Self-aggrandisement, mostly.
And also because of popular demand (that is, my husband has been demanding this website for years and I finally said fine, okay).
