Q: What drew you to write a YA novel specifically?
A: I love YA stories because they centre on the time in everyone’s life when they’re figuring out who they are – however exciting, terrifying or messy that may be.
Q: Henry Hamlet’s Heart is very much set in Brisbane. How much was place an influence on the story?
A: When writing the first draft I lived on the north side of the city and worked on the south side, so I was driving across most of Brisbane each day. Lots of bridges, buildings, blue skies and Jacaranda trees. I’d sit in traffic running late because I had stopped for coffee and think: there’s a setting here.
Q: What do you hope readers will take from the story of Henry and Len?
A: Henry and Len’s journey was inspired by several real-life stories about those friendships which are maybe-definitely more than that. I hope readers take away that it’s (always) okay to love whomever you love.
Q: And can you tell us what your soundtrack was as you wrote the book?
A: Yes! Music is a big part of my writing process. I listened to a mix of classic emo bangers (My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, All Time Low, Panic!) and contemporary stuff (every Cub Sport album, lovelytheband, Bleachers, Gflip). Sometimes a song would inspire a scene – ‘This is Gospel’ by Panic! at the Disco and ‘Everybody Lost Somebody’ by Bleachers both unlocked pivotal moments in Henry’s story. It also didn’t hurt that the Bard Taylor Swift released two albums while I was editing everything last year.
