The 1990s are often looked back at fondly as a largely peaceful time. But for former Australian ambassador to Germany Ian Kemish, the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia and Northern Ireland featured largely in his job at the time. Now retired, he has chosen to set his debut thriller novel, Two Islands, during this timeframe. In this episode he shares his inspiration for the book, the real life characters and how to capture the nuances of the story and the decade. What do you do after you retire from a celebrated 25-year diplomatic career? Play golf? Take up birdwatching? No, you write your first novel.

00:00 Welcome
07:26 Writing tip: Ask “why?” to being blocked
10:31 WIN!: Aubrey Wants to Die by Pip Knight
12:15 Word of the week: ‘Absquatulate’
16:16 Writer in residence: Ian Kemish
17:14 Ian describes what Two Islands is about
19:34 What are the two islands in question?
22:04 Remembering Yugoslavia and Northern Ireland
23:30 Inspiration for the novel
25:53 Why the Balkans?
27:35 The inspiration for the Australian character, Anita
30:01 Writing about the 1990s: distance before the internet
31:22 How the story took shape
34:07 Researching the book
38:15 From bad poetry to diplomacy: finding his writing voice
40:52 The challenges of writing fiction for the first time
45:28 Landing the publishing deal
47:54 What’s next?
49:09 Ian’s tip for writers
50:32 Final thoughts

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

The 1990s are often looked back at fondly as a largely peaceful time. But for former Australian ambassador to Germany Ian Kemish, the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia and Northern Ireland featured largely in his job at the time. Now retired, he has chosen to set his debut thriller novel, Two Islands, during this timeframe. In this episode he shares his inspiration for the book, the real life characters and how to capture the nuances of the story and the decade. What do you do after you retire from a celebrated 25-year diplomatic career? Play golf? Take up birdwatching? No, you write your first novel.
00:00 Welcome 07:26 Writing tip: Ask &ldquo;why?&rdquo; to being blocked 10:31 WIN!: Aubrey Wants to Die by Pip Knight 12:15 Word of the week: &lsquo;Absquatulate&rsquo; 16:16 Writer in residence: Ian Kemish 17:14 Ian describes what Two Islands is about 19:34 What are the two islands in question? 22:04 Remembering Yugoslavia and Northern Ireland 23:30 Inspiration for the novel 25:53 Why the Balkans? 27:35 The inspiration for the Australian character, Anita 30:01 Writing about the 1990s: distance before the internet 31:22 How the story took shape 34:07 Researching the book 38:15 From bad poetry to diplomacy: finding his writing voice 40:52 The challenges of writing fiction for the first time 45:28 Landing the publishing deal 47:54 What&rsquo;s next? 49:09 Ian&rsquo;s tip for writers 50:32 Final thoughts
<a href="https://www.writerscentre.com.au/blog/ep-708/">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;