Kimberley Freeman, author of Evergreen Falls
Tell us about your latest creation:
Evergreen Falls is set at a luxury hotel in the Blue Mountains in the 1920s. A forbidden love affair sets off a chain of events with tragic consequences, and it all gets covered up. In the present, a young woman arrives at the same hotel and stumbles across a bundle of old love letters and starts to wonder…
Where are you from / where do you call home?:
Brisbane, Queensland.
When you were a kid, what did you want to become? An author?:
I always wanted to be an author or a rock star. Given I don’t like performing, it seemed safer to go with the former.
What do you consider to be your best work? Why?:
Evergreen Falls is my best work. It’s my 25th novel (my 6th as Kimberley Freeman) and I feel like I’ve finally figured out what makes a novel tick.
Describe your writing environment to us – your writing room, desk, etc.; is it ordered or chaotic?:
I write a lot in bed, in my pyjamas, with two chihuahuas sleeping on me. It’s not very glamorous. My desk, when I do use it, is immaculate and my pens are all lined up. I’m tidy to the point of being quite quite boring.
When you’re not writing, who/what do you like to read?:
I love reading Marianne Keyes, and I love reading non-fiction especially about history.
What was the defining book(s) of your childhood/schooling?:
Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery. To this day, I used it as a test of people. If they loved Anne with an E, they are okay by me. My 11 year old son read it last year, and I feel as though I initiated him into a secret club.
If you were a literary character, who would you be?:
I’ve always felt an affinity with Jane Eyre. She has a good moral compass and a strong sense of self. I think I’d like to be more like that. I have a feeling I might be more like Catherine Earnshaw in Wuthering Heights, always brooding and losing my temper.
Apart from books, what do you do in your spare time (surprise us!)?:
I’m a mad-keen cyclist and my favourite kind of riding is hill-climbing. I live at the foot of Mt Coot-tha and I cycle up and around it regularly. I have thighs of steel.
What is your favourite food and favourite drink?:
Tea and a crumpet. Hands down.
Who is your hero? Why?:
I admire my mother so much. She is calm and patient and we have never fought (I’ll just let that sink in… not even when I was a teenager). If I had half her wisdom and grace, I’d be a better person.
Crystal ball time – what is the biggest challenge for the future of books and reading?:
Getting people off Facebook. And that includes writers.
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Kimbe
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KimberleyT
Blog: www.kimberleyfreeman.com