The Mudgee Readers’ Festival is excited to introduce the magical author and guest for this year’s line-up - Karly Lane!
Appearing in two events, 'Take Me Home, Karly Lane' and quiz extravaganza 'Who Reads Wins!', Karly is the rural romance queen, here to talk about finding joy in country life and escaping to Scotland in her latest novel Take Me Home.
Meet Karly Lane…
What’s the premise of your latest book, Take Me Home?
Take Me Home centres around Elle a young woman who really doesn't know who she is or where she wants to go in life. When she's asked to return her Gran's ashes to Scotland, she begins a journey that unravels family secrets and her own destiny.
You often talk about drawing from memories to fuel your stories; what’s your personal connection to this book?
The idea for this book started out as a holiday to Scotland to research my own Scottish ties and like Elle, visit some of the places that I’d grown up hearing stories about.
I felt that pull of history and family heritage that Elle also discovers and wanted to write a book that included aspects of history as well as a family connection to Scotland that so many people have.
You’ve lived in the country for most of your life, and now write almost exclusively about it. What is that you find most appealing about rural landscapes and small towns?
Setting my books in rural Australia just comes naturally to me. I think it comes down to the old adage of “write what you know” but I also find when writing my books that the towns themselves become a character.
There’s also a freedom that comes with a rural setting, small country towns are so much more than CWA meetings and farmers. They’re made up of communities which are diverse and sometimes complex and always make for interesting material.
What discussions are you looking forward to having at this year's Festival?
Any excuse to talk books and writing! I’m so looking forward to my talk with Kim Kelly, a fellow author whom I’ve been a big fan of and have admired for years. I also can’t wait to connect with readers and answering any questions they may have.
MRF will be hosted in a Covid-safe manner over the weekend of 21 + 22 August 2021. We will keep you posted about any event changes as they arise.