“Please sir, can I have some more Dickens?” In this episode, author Kathy George discusses her latest novel, The Scent of Oranges – a retelling of the classic Dickens story Oliver Twist from the perspective of character Nancy. Kathy shares her love for gothic literature and why she chose this story to rewrite.

00:00 Introduction
04:46 Nat Newman’s writing tip: Character milestones
08:36 WIN! The Hidden Hand by Stella Rimington
10:30 Word of the week: ‘Susurrous’
13:02 Writer in residence: Kathy George
16:25 Getting the narrative voice right
22:22 Researching Nancy’s character
24:51 Kathy’s love for gothic literature
25:53 Understanding what “gothic” means
28:39 Thoughts on Dickens' female characters
30:24 On fleshing out Nancy's story
33:01 Retelling classic stories
36:48 Writing process and discipline
40:26 Kathy’s advice for aspiring writers
44:35 Final thoughts

Read the show notes

Connect with Valerie and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook
Visit WritersCentre.com.au | ValerieKhoo.com

&ldquo;Please sir, can I have some more Dickens?&rdquo; In this episode, author Kathy George discusses her latest novel,&nbsp;The Scent of Oranges &ndash; a retelling of the classic Dickens story Oliver Twist from the perspective of character Nancy. Kathy shares her love for gothic literature and why she chose this story to rewrite.
00:00 Introduction 04:46 Nat Newman&rsquo;s writing tip: Character milestones 08:36 WIN! The Hidden Hand by Stella Rimington 10:30 Word of the week: &lsquo;Susurrous&rsquo; 13:02 Writer in residence: Kathy George 16:25 Getting the narrative voice right 22:22 Researching Nancy&rsquo;s character 24:51 Kathy&rsquo;s love for gothic literature 25:53 Understanding what &ldquo;gothic&rdquo; means 28:39 Thoughts on Dickens' female characters 30:24 On fleshing out Nancy's story 33:01 Retelling classic stories 36:48 Writing process and discipline 40:26 Kathy&rsquo;s advice for aspiring writers 44:35 Final thoughts
<a href="https://www.writerscentre.com.au/blog/ep-645/">Read the show notes</a>
Connect with Valerie and listeners in <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/2346749828883788/">the podcast community on Facebook</a> Visit <a href="https://www.writerscentre.com.au/">WritersCentre.com.au</a> |&nbsp;<a href="http://valeriekhoo.com/">ValerieKhoo.com</a>

Everything you’ve always wanted to know about succeeding in the world of writing and publishing. Learn practical writing techniques, go behind-the-scenes and discover how real-life authors got their big break. Uncover the creative processes of writers who have made it. Your host is Valerie Khoo – author, journalist, creative and CEO of the Australian Writers’ Centre. 

Everything you&rsquo;ve always wanted to know about succeeding in the world of writing and publishing. Learn practical writing techniques, go behind-the-scenes and discover how real-life authors got their big break. Uncover the creative processes of writers who have made it. Your host is Valerie Khoo &ndash;&nbsp;author, journalist, creative and CEO of the Australian Writers&rsquo; Centre.&nbsp;

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