WEBVTT - How to change your career 0:00:04.120 --> 0:00:07.400 Get everybody Sam here with another episode of the wood Off, 0:00:07.480 --> 0:00:09.680 a little bit of a different episode and something that 0:00:09.960 --> 0:00:12.360 I'm really interested in hearing about. I always love these 0:00:12.760 --> 0:00:16.000 stories where someone has changed tact or done the hard 0:00:16.079 --> 0:00:19.520 yards and then reap the rewards in the end. And 0:00:19.640 --> 0:00:21.599 it's quite close to my heart as I have a 0:00:21.640 --> 0:00:23.720 little six year old just turned six, Willow a couple 0:00:23.760 --> 0:00:27.560 of weeks ago, who is very much into her reading 0:00:27.600 --> 0:00:30.280 at the moment, and we're trying to, I guess, navigate 0:00:30.840 --> 0:00:36.000 what's the next book in the progression from both the 0:00:36.040 --> 0:00:38.199 words that she can read and she can articulate and 0:00:38.280 --> 0:00:41.240 stuff that she's interested in. And we have a best 0:00:41.240 --> 0:00:44.360 selling author today who I think books will be slightly 0:00:44.400 --> 0:00:46.320 too old for Willow for the now, but not for 0:00:46.440 --> 0:00:50.199 much longer. It's a wonderful best selling children's author by 0:00:50.200 --> 0:00:52.479 the name of Rhese Carter. That's coming up next, and 0:00:52.520 --> 0:00:55.360 that's going to kick off a whole conversation about the 0:00:55.400 --> 0:01:20.120 importance of hobbies today on the Woodline. So we have 0:01:20.240 --> 0:01:23.680 someone on the podcast today that is a nutritionist and 0:01:23.720 --> 0:01:26.960 guess what we are not going to talk about food? 0:01:27.000 --> 0:01:28.800 Well, we might I might head down that path. 0:01:28.840 --> 0:01:31.080 I don't know but we are there is no intent 0:01:31.240 --> 0:01:34.240 to talk about nutrition in any way, shape or form, 0:01:34.280 --> 0:01:37.160 because this fantastic human being is. 0:01:37.120 --> 0:01:38.240 Now not a nutritionist. 0:01:38.319 --> 0:01:41.520 He's a full time fiction writer, and he's book, A 0:01:41.640 --> 0:01:46.200 Girl Called Corpse is now a best selling kid's book, 0:01:46.280 --> 0:01:49.040 and he has a new book coming out called Lighthouse 0:01:49.240 --> 0:01:52.240 of Elston Fright, and that's out now too. We're going 0:01:52.320 --> 0:01:55.720 to get into how he made that transition. Reese Carter, 0:01:55.920 --> 0:01:56.840 Welcome to the WOODLFE. 0:01:57.000 --> 0:01:59.000 Hey, Sam, thanks for having me. It's great to be here. 0:01:59.280 --> 0:02:01.040 So Madam, I mean this in all sincerity. 0:02:01.280 --> 0:02:03.400 You're a very different guest to one that we would 0:02:03.400 --> 0:02:06.280 typically have on this show, and I love it because 0:02:06.320 --> 0:02:09.680 I think it's interesting that our paths have crossed. But 0:02:09.720 --> 0:02:13.200 I think they've crossed for good reason, because I think 0:02:13.200 --> 0:02:16.200 when we strive for wellness or happiness, and we always 0:02:16.200 --> 0:02:19.240 associate happiness with wellness or contentment or whatever it might be, 0:02:20.440 --> 0:02:23.800 we always think about, you know, what we eat, and 0:02:23.919 --> 0:02:26.080 are we doing exercise, and how much sleep are we getting, 0:02:26.080 --> 0:02:28.000 and what are the relationships that we're keeping, all the 0:02:28.040 --> 0:02:32.760 sort of the big core pillars, and so often what 0:02:32.840 --> 0:02:36.200 we do for more hours than any of those other 0:02:36.280 --> 0:02:40.520 things put together maybe outside of sleep we don't really 0:02:40.600 --> 0:02:43.360 reflect on. And I love the fact that you have 0:02:43.480 --> 0:02:46.440 taken a career change to something that you are clearly 0:02:46.440 --> 0:02:50.839 not only very very talented in, but passionate about. And 0:02:51.040 --> 0:02:53.000 from the beaming smile on your face, mate, I can 0:02:53.080 --> 0:02:54.959 see that you're pretty happy with the choice that you've 0:02:54.960 --> 0:02:57.919 made and it looks like it's full steam ahead from here. 0:02:58.000 --> 0:03:00.800 So congratulations on the success. 0:03:01.240 --> 0:03:04.519 And tell us about how how this little. 0:03:04.480 --> 0:03:06.800 U turn or left turn or right turn, whatever you 0:03:06.880 --> 0:03:09.480 call it, happened, and how long it's been going for. 0:03:09.840 --> 0:03:13.520 Yeah, looks it's funny because I don't necessarily think of 0:03:13.560 --> 0:03:15.440 it as a U turn, because I've been doing this 0:03:16.680 --> 0:03:18.880 since I was a kid myself. I was one of 0:03:18.919 --> 0:03:22.959 those kids who absolutely loved reading, and then as a teenager, 0:03:22.960 --> 0:03:25.040 so when I was at high school, I actually under 0:03:25.040 --> 0:03:28.480 the recommend day after a brilliant teacher of mine, my 0:03:28.520 --> 0:03:32.320 English teacher, recommended that I maybe try writing my own stories. 0:03:32.639 --> 0:03:34.680 You know, I fell in love with writing as well, 0:03:34.880 --> 0:03:38.560 and I've never stopped, so, you know, initially it was 0:03:38.720 --> 0:03:41.280 just a bit of fun, a bit of play, creating characters, 0:03:41.320 --> 0:03:44.320 creating worlds, starting a story, never quite finishing it, and 0:03:44.360 --> 0:03:47.200 then at twenty five, I made the decision, now I 0:03:47.280 --> 0:03:49.240 really want to give this a crack. I really want 0:03:49.320 --> 0:03:52.280 to try and write a novel the kids that is published, 0:03:52.960 --> 0:03:56.520 and sort of yeah, committed to it more fully, I suppose. 0:03:56.720 --> 0:04:00.120 But as any author will tell you, any right will 0:04:00.160 --> 0:04:03.320 tell you, especially fiction, getting your first novel published can 0:04:03.400 --> 0:04:06.400 at times feel like a real long shot. And so 0:04:06.440 --> 0:04:08.480 I did have another career. As you mentioned, I was 0:04:08.480 --> 0:04:11.760 a nutritionist, So I thought it was nutritionist by day, 0:04:11.800 --> 0:04:13.800 and then at night I was going home and I 0:04:13.800 --> 0:04:18.360 was leading this secret double life of writing fantasy books 0:04:18.360 --> 0:04:19.120 for the kids. 0:04:19.279 --> 0:04:21.760 That's actually exactly how I pitched it, you know, just 0:04:21.800 --> 0:04:25.719 this great creative outlet that was a hobby because and 0:04:25.800 --> 0:04:27.840 the only reason I call it a hobby is is 0:04:27.960 --> 0:04:30.480 not bringing any money. You know, that's maybe not the 0:04:30.640 --> 0:04:33.680 correct definition to what a hobby you should or shouldn't be. 0:04:33.760 --> 0:04:37.000 But clearly the quality of what you were writing was 0:04:37.040 --> 0:04:39.599 probably wonderful. It just wasn't being read by that many people. 0:04:39.680 --> 0:04:43.240 Yet it was, and it's taken off I'll say that. 0:04:43.440 --> 0:04:45.640 But the quality of what I was writing initially was 0:04:45.720 --> 0:04:47.440 probably pretty rubbish, to be honest. 0:04:48.520 --> 0:04:49.960 So actually I. 0:04:51.920 --> 0:04:54.919 Wrote, as I said, I sort of really sort of 0:04:54.920 --> 0:04:57.400 dedicated some time to this at around twenty five, and 0:04:58.200 --> 0:05:00.400 over the course of the next few years a number 0:05:00.440 --> 0:05:04.400 of manuscripts, none of which got published. But that's all 0:05:04.440 --> 0:05:06.080 part of the process as well. You know, I wrote 0:05:06.120 --> 0:05:08.440 three duds so that I could learn how to write 0:05:08.440 --> 0:05:10.240 a good one. And it was that fourth one, a 0:05:10.240 --> 0:05:13.440 girl called Corpse, that finally got that attention and found 0:05:13.440 --> 0:05:16.839 a publisher. But you know, again, that's just part of 0:05:16.880 --> 0:05:18.720 the gig, isn't it. Like I think we often talk 0:05:18.760 --> 0:05:23.320 about creativity or talent as if it's something that people 0:05:23.360 --> 0:05:27.200 have innately, but I don't necessarily know if I agree 0:05:27.240 --> 0:05:30.800 with that. I think that most creatives and their work 0:05:30.880 --> 0:05:33.559 is actually just the product of hard work and putting 0:05:33.600 --> 0:05:35.279 in those ten thousand. 0:05:35.040 --> 0:05:36.120 Hours or whatever it may be. 0:05:36.200 --> 0:05:38.560 So I suppose there was some rubbish writing, but I 0:05:38.600 --> 0:05:40.800 had to do that to write something that was. 0:05:41.520 --> 0:05:43.640 Well, hopefully decent. People seem to like it. 0:05:44.720 --> 0:05:45.640 Yeah, I really do. 0:05:46.279 --> 0:05:49.600 How long did it take from when you made it 0:05:49.920 --> 0:05:53.760 a career choice to when you had any success? 0:05:53.880 --> 0:05:58.160 Was it six months? Was it three years? How scary 0:05:58.320 --> 0:05:58.640 was that? 0:05:58.800 --> 0:06:02.120 And how long did it before you went I actually 0:06:02.200 --> 0:06:04.240 do feel like I've made the right choice. 0:06:04.680 --> 0:06:08.000 I mean the moment that I was offered a publishing 0:06:08.040 --> 0:06:10.440 deal for a girl called Courts, which is the first 0:06:10.520 --> 0:06:15.200 one there, there was no question about it. I knew 0:06:15.200 --> 0:06:17.119 that I you know, that this is what I wanted 0:06:17.120 --> 0:06:19.040 to do and that I had made the right choice. 0:06:19.360 --> 0:06:21.720 But in the years proceeding that, you know, I think 0:06:21.720 --> 0:06:22.520 that happened when I. 0:06:22.560 --> 0:06:26.680 Was was it maybe I was thirty three, So that's 0:06:26.720 --> 0:06:30.120 eight years of between twenty five and thirty three, that's 0:06:30.200 --> 0:06:32.440 eight years of writing without having any success. 0:06:32.640 --> 0:06:32.839 Yeah. 0:06:33.120 --> 0:06:34.800 And I say this a lot when people say, oh, 0:06:34.839 --> 0:06:37.800 what's the hardest part of being a writer, it's absolutely 0:06:37.839 --> 0:06:39.840 the self doubt. You know, there were so many there 0:06:39.839 --> 0:06:42.120 were so many hurdles to overcome, and so many setbacks 0:06:42.120 --> 0:06:43.760 along the way. It would have been very easy to 0:06:44.920 --> 0:06:46.359 decide that it was all too hard, or that it 0:06:46.400 --> 0:06:48.560 was not going to work, that it wasn't going to 0:06:48.600 --> 0:06:50.599 happen for me. It just so happens. I'm a very 0:06:50.640 --> 0:06:51.520 stubborn person, and. 0:06:52.000 --> 0:06:55.040 It wouldn't stop. Yeah. But as soon as that opportunity 0:06:55.040 --> 0:06:56.600 came along, you know, I was in. 0:06:56.880 --> 0:06:59.279 You know, we always remember the success stories, and we 0:06:59.320 --> 0:07:03.520 always forget the grit and the determination and the grind 0:07:03.600 --> 0:07:05.600 that was going on, whether it's you know, I was 0:07:05.640 --> 0:07:08.560 only hearing her, was it? Matt Damon on a podcast 0:07:08.760 --> 0:07:11.200 last week, and you know he was going to audition 0:07:11.280 --> 0:07:13.600 after audition or after audition and getting callbacks but never 0:07:13.600 --> 0:07:15.480 getting it and him Beneflete. We're best friends and they're 0:07:15.480 --> 0:07:17.680 going through this process together and then they decided to 0:07:17.680 --> 0:07:19.240 write a movie and it having to be Good Will 0:07:19.320 --> 0:07:21.320 Hunting and they won an Oscar for the writing, and yeah, 0:07:21.640 --> 0:07:24.760 like we had to be and they joke that, yes, 0:07:24.800 --> 0:07:26.640 we won an Oscar for that incredible movie, but we 0:07:26.680 --> 0:07:29.560 actually wrote the script to give ourselves apart because no 0:07:29.560 --> 0:07:30.520 one else would give us one. 0:07:30.560 --> 0:07:32.160 And you go, well, that's Matt Damon. That's crazy. 0:07:32.160 --> 0:07:35.640 But you know, like these absolute legends of our lifetime 0:07:35.720 --> 0:07:38.880 that still were doing it tough. And I'm sure everybody 0:07:38.920 --> 0:07:41.720 now goes, ah, Recee was always going to be successful. 0:07:43.600 --> 0:07:44.800 Years. 0:07:44.960 --> 0:07:47.040 Yeah, I can tell you it didn't feel like it 0:07:47.120 --> 0:07:49.760 was going to happen at some points, but yeah, you're 0:07:49.800 --> 0:07:52.240 quite right, like whether it be a sports person, an 0:07:52.280 --> 0:07:55.840 athlete and act because we only become aware of them 0:07:55.880 --> 0:07:59.000 once they had some degree of success, it's easy to 0:07:59.000 --> 0:08:01.440 think of that as their starting point but the starting 0:08:01.440 --> 0:08:04.960 points well before that, and I will you know, I'm 0:08:05.000 --> 0:08:08.000 sure that with Matt Damon as the example, as he 0:08:08.040 --> 0:08:09.960 said it was trying going to audition. Going to audition 0:08:10.080 --> 0:08:12.840 wasn't working, but he was determined, so he found another 0:08:12.880 --> 0:08:15.480 way to do it. And I'm sure if that hadn't worked, 0:08:15.480 --> 0:08:16.960 he would have found another way to do it, another 0:08:17.000 --> 0:08:17.440 way to do it. 0:08:17.480 --> 0:08:18.520 Yeah, which is really good. 0:08:18.720 --> 0:08:21.120 I mean, I sometimes feel a bit guilty when I 0:08:21.160 --> 0:08:25.000 talk to my friends who hate their jobs, and most 0:08:25.400 --> 0:08:27.440 well I speak to don't necessarily hate their job, but 0:08:27.440 --> 0:08:29.640 they don't like it. And I love what I do, 0:08:29.800 --> 0:08:32.680 I genuinely love it. And then when I have these 0:08:33.400 --> 0:08:38.040 deeper conversations with people that are really not enjoying what 0:08:38.080 --> 0:08:42.480 they do, I'm quite bullish in saying to them, you 0:08:42.600 --> 0:08:46.120 get one life, and if you are unhappy, you know 0:08:46.200 --> 0:08:48.440 these people I speak to that are ten years in, 0:08:48.679 --> 0:08:52.040 sometimes twenty years in. Or I've been saying to myself, 0:08:52.040 --> 0:08:54.120 I'm going to change careers because I don't even know 0:08:54.160 --> 0:08:56.160 how I ended up here, but I don't like it. 0:08:56.160 --> 0:08:59.320 It doesn't interest me. I'm not stimulated, there's nothing really 0:08:59.440 --> 0:09:02.240 keeping me here. Accept sort of fear of the unknown 0:09:02.360 --> 0:09:06.400 or fear of change. How scary was it? And what 0:09:06.440 --> 0:09:10.520 would your advice be to others that are sitting there 0:09:10.600 --> 0:09:13.160 going I'm not sure if this is what I was 0:09:13.200 --> 0:09:18.080 meant to spend my life doing. Okay, question without notice, 0:09:18.120 --> 0:09:19.960 I know, and I know it's a big one. 0:09:20.200 --> 0:09:23.040 So it's okay, And it is a big one, because, 0:09:23.800 --> 0:09:25.600 to be completely honest with you, I was so ready 0:09:25.640 --> 0:09:27.840 to leave nutrition by the time it happened. I had 0:09:28.200 --> 0:09:31.160 actually I was one of those people who hated my job. 0:09:32.240 --> 0:09:35.120 I had fallen out of love with it completely. And 0:09:35.160 --> 0:09:36.679 if you had to ask me why, I would probably 0:09:36.679 --> 0:09:39.480 say I'd grown quite frustrated with the way the industry 0:09:39.480 --> 0:09:42.400 had changed in Australia. I think it had come to 0:09:42.440 --> 0:09:45.600 a point that it was extremely fad based. There are 0:09:45.640 --> 0:09:47.600 a lot of it still prought up. It still is, 0:09:47.679 --> 0:09:49.720 absolutely it still is, and there are voices, there are 0:09:49.720 --> 0:09:52.679 great voices out there, you know, like yourself, cutting through that. 0:09:52.880 --> 0:09:53.920 But I don't think I had. 0:09:53.960 --> 0:09:57.760 It in me to do that, and I really, you know, 0:09:57.880 --> 0:10:00.600 it really took a toll on my mental health participating 0:10:00.600 --> 0:10:04.360 in this industry that i'd really grown quite disillusioned with, 0:10:04.640 --> 0:10:07.520 I suppose, And it was a really scary time for me, because, 0:10:07.559 --> 0:10:09.800 as I said, I was working. 0:10:09.480 --> 0:10:10.479 As a nutritionist. 0:10:11.120 --> 0:10:15.160 Now, my degree and my post grad study are not 0:10:15.200 --> 0:10:18.000 a particularly transferable set of skills, and I didn't want 0:10:18.000 --> 0:10:20.280 to be in that industry anymore. And I didn't know 0:10:20.320 --> 0:10:22.920 what else was really available to me, and I didn't 0:10:22.960 --> 0:10:25.440 know whether a publisher would ever buy one of my novels. 0:10:25.720 --> 0:10:28.600 So it took a real real impact on my mental health. 0:10:28.600 --> 0:10:30.760 And I was really frightened because I didn't know what 0:10:30.800 --> 0:10:33.400 I was going to do. And so you know, that's 0:10:33.440 --> 0:10:35.200 probably part of the reason why I went. A publishing 0:10:35.240 --> 0:10:38.679 contract was put in front of me, I jumped. I 0:10:38.800 --> 0:10:42.160 was really well and truly ready to make that change. 0:10:42.440 --> 0:10:46.160 And just to push you a little bit harder, if 0:10:46.160 --> 0:10:48.760 someone said to you that you never met they were 0:10:48.800 --> 0:10:52.120 inspired by your story. I've been working at a bank 0:10:52.400 --> 0:10:55.679 for twelve years. I go to work every day. I'm 0:10:55.760 --> 0:10:59.160 so uninspired. I'm so you know, I feel like I'm 0:10:59.160 --> 0:11:02.120 a creative person or whatever it might be. What would 0:11:02.160 --> 0:11:05.040 your advice be, should I quit my job? Let's say 0:11:05.040 --> 0:11:07.640 that was that direct. If they said, rees should I 0:11:07.760 --> 0:11:08.600 quit my job? 0:11:08.679 --> 0:11:10.000 What would I what would you say? 0:11:10.600 --> 0:11:13.280 I would actually come back with another question, and I 0:11:13.320 --> 0:11:15.160 would say, well, how creative are you being right now? 0:11:15.679 --> 0:11:17.880 I would ask how much time are you spending being 0:11:17.880 --> 0:11:21.280 creative right now? Because there are benefits that come from creativity, 0:11:21.320 --> 0:11:23.760 even if it doesn't become your job, you know. 0:11:23.760 --> 0:11:24.120 What I mean. 0:11:24.160 --> 0:11:25.400 And so people who say, oh, I think I'm a 0:11:25.400 --> 0:11:28.520 creative person. I would like to write or act or sing, 0:11:28.640 --> 0:11:30.640 whatever it may be, I'd ask them how much time 0:11:30.679 --> 0:11:32.679 they're spending doing it, and doing it now, And if 0:11:32.679 --> 0:11:34.920 they're not spending any time, just do it an hour 0:11:34.960 --> 0:11:36.640 a day, an hour a week, if that's all you 0:11:36.679 --> 0:11:40.720 can manage. You know, I was writing alongside a career. 0:11:41.400 --> 0:11:44.320 I didn't jump out of nutrition without without something to 0:11:44.600 --> 0:11:47.360 jump into. I just knew that it was something I 0:11:47.400 --> 0:11:49.120 wanted to do. I didn't know how long it was 0:11:49.160 --> 0:11:51.720 going to take, but I started writing. I started writing 0:11:51.760 --> 0:11:54.120 and said I will continue to work towards this. And 0:11:54.160 --> 0:11:56.760 so I suppose that that's what I would say to them. 0:11:56.760 --> 0:11:59.640 I wouldn't sort of recommend they check out their job, 0:11:59.679 --> 0:12:01.280 but I'd just start pursuing your passion. 0:12:01.360 --> 0:12:01.520 Now. 0:12:01.679 --> 0:12:04.559 You don't have to leave your stable job, you don't 0:12:04.559 --> 0:12:06.679 have to do anything, just start being creative. 0:12:07.200 --> 0:12:10.920 Actually, that's a brilliant answer, and I just it just 0:12:10.960 --> 0:12:14.240 makes me think where we lose our hobbies along the way, 0:12:14.400 --> 0:12:20.080 and I think, you know, work gets super busy, social 0:12:20.160 --> 0:12:22.520 life gets super busy. Then kids come along and you 0:12:22.679 --> 0:12:25.600 just you don't even know which ways up anymore for 0:12:25.679 --> 0:12:28.000 a few years there, if not a decade in some case, 0:12:28.040 --> 0:12:30.440 depending how many kids you have and what your circumstances are. 0:12:30.920 --> 0:12:32.280 I mean, I look at my wife. 0:12:32.000 --> 0:12:34.920 Sneze, who's a brilliant painter and drawer, but I've never 0:12:34.960 --> 0:12:37.319 seen her really do it unless it's making around with 0:12:37.360 --> 0:12:41.080 the kids. And she's very talented, and she talks about 0:12:41.160 --> 0:12:42.720 you know, I used to have an easel at home 0:12:42.760 --> 0:12:45.920 and go out in the garden and paint, and you know, 0:12:46.280 --> 0:12:48.600 I listen to your advice, and I think that I 0:12:48.640 --> 0:12:51.640 think she would benefit from a mental perspective and a 0:12:51.679 --> 0:12:57.720 happiness perspective enormously from reintroducing that once a week into 0:12:57.760 --> 0:12:59.720 her routine. It doesn't have to be for three hours 0:12:59.720 --> 0:13:01.880 every day. I think that's really good advice. 0:13:02.040 --> 0:13:03.160 That's exactly it. You know. 0:13:03.240 --> 0:13:06.520 I think if there's part of your nature that is creative, 0:13:06.559 --> 0:13:08.840 and I think for most people, to varying degrees. 0:13:08.600 --> 0:13:09.360 That is the case. 0:13:10.040 --> 0:13:13.520 There are huge benefits to happiness from just flexing that 0:13:13.600 --> 0:13:17.080 creative muscle and doing it and so and as you know, 0:13:17.120 --> 0:13:18.839 you made a really good point there about the fact 0:13:19.240 --> 0:13:22.840 we often lose hobbies. I think the world can make 0:13:22.920 --> 0:13:26.280 us feel quite guilty about spending time on things that 0:13:26.400 --> 0:13:29.960 aren't productive, things that we do purely for the joy 0:13:30.000 --> 0:13:34.080 of it. And so as commitments build up, whether it 0:13:34.160 --> 0:13:36.680 be work, family, you know, there's so much to be 0:13:36.679 --> 0:13:38.959 stressed about, and there's so much for us to do 0:13:39.559 --> 0:13:41.960 in our busy lives, it is often one of the 0:13:41.960 --> 0:13:46.160 things that gets swept aside or gets neglected, hobbies. And 0:13:46.160 --> 0:13:48.600 I think a big part of the reason is they're 0:13:48.679 --> 0:13:53.320 again not productive. But there's so much benefit to come 0:13:53.400 --> 0:13:56.360 just from you know, as I said, flexing that muscle, 0:13:56.440 --> 0:13:59.080 pursuing whatever that creative passion is that you've got. 0:13:59.600 --> 0:14:02.120 It's so funny you say that, I, you know, I 0:14:02.160 --> 0:14:05.280 haven't read sort of business books or you know, and whatever. 0:14:05.360 --> 0:14:07.760 At work we bang it emails. No, and that's an eyelid. 0:14:08.080 --> 0:14:09.600 But I had a mate who was meeting me at 0:14:09.600 --> 0:14:11.480 my office. It would have been a year ago probably, 0:14:12.000 --> 0:14:15.320 and I was actually reading a novel and I'll see 0:14:15.360 --> 0:14:17.040 on my couch in my office reading a novel and 0:14:17.040 --> 0:14:17.880 he's like, what are you reading? 0:14:17.880 --> 0:14:21.280 Because it wasn't clearly wasn't anything to do with my work. 0:14:21.720 --> 0:14:24.040 I said, I just realized that I'm ready and it was. 0:14:24.160 --> 0:14:26.840 And his responses all that must be nice was in like, oh, 0:14:26.920 --> 0:14:28.360 how much spare time do you have? 0:14:28.640 --> 0:14:29.960 Like what bit? 0:14:30.160 --> 0:14:33.080 Yeah, Like it was a throwaway comment. He wasn't being 0:14:33.120 --> 0:14:35.600 an asshole, but it was just, you know, it was 0:14:35.640 --> 0:14:39.280 a really interesting reaction to something that I'd sort of 0:14:39.400 --> 0:14:42.040 broken away a little thirty or forty five minute pocket, 0:14:42.040 --> 0:14:44.680 and it was just something that it was an escape 0:14:44.720 --> 0:14:46.560 for me. I guess, you know, when there's lots of 0:14:46.600 --> 0:14:50.360 reading as part of your work and you're always around people, 0:14:50.480 --> 0:14:53.440 it's just nice to sort of disconnect yourself a little 0:14:53.440 --> 0:14:57.640 bit and take yourself, you know, let your imagination run wild, 0:14:57.720 --> 0:15:00.280 which again we say we lose our hobbies when we've 0:15:00.280 --> 0:15:02.800 become adults. We all most our imagination our sense of 0:15:02.880 --> 0:15:03.560 fun as well. 0:15:04.080 --> 0:15:05.720 Well, well, it's one hundred percent. 0:15:05.840 --> 0:15:09.320 It's interesting to use imagination and fun in the same 0:15:09.360 --> 0:15:14.560 sentence there, because being creative or being imaginative is player. 0:15:14.800 --> 0:15:16.160 I think that's part of the reason why I love 0:15:16.160 --> 0:15:20.320 it so much. It's remaining curious about the world around you. 0:15:20.360 --> 0:15:23.360 It's being playful. It's you know, looking at real life 0:15:23.360 --> 0:15:26.360 situations and then imagining them in a different way, in 0:15:26.400 --> 0:15:28.960 my case, imagining what they might be if magic existed. 0:15:29.000 --> 0:15:29.520 You know what I mean. 0:15:29.600 --> 0:15:34.160 It's play and so it is fun innately, it's fun 0:15:34.200 --> 0:15:34.400 to do. 0:15:35.280 --> 0:15:38.320 So I've gotten to know you over the last twenty minutes. Race, 0:15:38.680 --> 0:15:41.480 what's this book? What's what's your first book about? We 0:15:41.560 --> 0:15:44.760 would have lots of parents listening to this podcast. Where 0:15:44.760 --> 0:15:47.520 did the idea come from? What is a girl called Corps? 0:15:47.640 --> 0:15:49.920 It's a fairly interesting name, and tell us a bit 0:15:49.960 --> 0:15:50.480 about it. 0:15:51.480 --> 0:15:54.560 So I'll start with where it came from, because I 0:15:54.560 --> 0:15:57.080 think that's the way this story works best. I was 0:15:57.120 --> 0:15:59.640 living with a made of mine in Paddington. We were 0:15:59.680 --> 0:16:02.200 in a sort of terrace style house, you know, a 0:16:02.200 --> 0:16:04.280 little bit older, a little bit run down, and the 0:16:04.320 --> 0:16:06.480 manhole up into the roof was in my bedroom and 0:16:06.520 --> 0:16:09.320 I had the strangest habit of just popping open for 0:16:09.360 --> 0:16:14.080 no reason, and so first couple of times it happened, 0:16:14.200 --> 0:16:16.600 just thought it was weird. The third time it happened 0:16:16.880 --> 0:16:18.800 was late at night, I was touched up in bed 0:16:19.040 --> 0:16:20.960 lights were off, looked up and as my. 0:16:20.920 --> 0:16:22.960 Eyes adjusted to the darkness, I saw that it was 0:16:23.000 --> 0:16:23.520 open again. 0:16:23.560 --> 0:16:26.480 At that time was a little bit scary, not gonna lie, 0:16:26.840 --> 0:16:29.280 And so I started questioning. You know, I said that 0:16:29.600 --> 0:16:32.480 creativity is curiosity. I started asking myself questions, All right, 0:16:32.480 --> 0:16:34.760 who are what would be in a roof? Why would 0:16:34.760 --> 0:16:36.960 they be looking down? What would they want? What would 0:16:36.960 --> 0:16:38.640 they look like? And I came up with this character 0:16:38.680 --> 0:16:41.680 of corpse, who was a kid ghost made of wax 0:16:42.480 --> 0:16:44.240 and you know, and I sort of grabbed a piece 0:16:44.240 --> 0:16:46.080 of paper and a pen and I wrote down everything 0:16:46.120 --> 0:16:48.280 I knew about her, went to sleep, and the next 0:16:48.360 --> 0:16:49.080 day I started. 0:16:49.120 --> 0:16:51.920 I sat down and I started writing her story. As 0:16:51.920 --> 0:16:54.240 soon as I imagined her, I sort of not just 0:16:54.280 --> 0:16:56.520 saw what she looked like, but I sort. 0:16:56.280 --> 0:17:00.280 Of how she sounds, sense how she sounds. 0:17:00.280 --> 0:17:02.920 And most importantly, when writing a character, what she wants 0:17:02.960 --> 0:17:05.119 more than anything. And that's really important because that then 0:17:05.160 --> 0:17:06.679 gives you a story. You know, does she get it? 0:17:06.720 --> 0:17:09.280 Does she not? Does it look different to what she 0:17:09.359 --> 0:17:10.760 imagined it would? You know? 0:17:11.119 --> 0:17:14.639 So I can't It sounds you know, very airy fairy 0:17:14.680 --> 0:17:16.840 that this character came to me fully formed, But she 0:17:16.920 --> 0:17:19.439 really did, and it made the process of writing A 0:17:19.440 --> 0:17:22.880 Girl Called Corpse reasonably straightforward. I think I wrote every 0:17:22.880 --> 0:17:26.320 other manuscript i'd written before then took me probably two years. 0:17:26.359 --> 0:17:28.040 Each one took two years. I think I wrote the 0:17:28.040 --> 0:17:31.240 first draft of A Girl Called Corpse about four months, 0:17:31.280 --> 0:17:33.640 and then spent two months editing it and then sent 0:17:33.680 --> 0:17:36.879 it out. So that's how that came about. And the 0:17:36.920 --> 0:17:38.480 one thing I haven't actually told you was what the 0:17:38.520 --> 0:17:39.280 story is about. 0:17:39.520 --> 0:17:41.200 Well, I didn't know how much you were. I didn't 0:17:41.200 --> 0:17:43.240 know if there are any spoiler alert. I wasn't sure 0:17:43.480 --> 0:17:44.520 what she could tell with that. 0:17:44.880 --> 0:17:48.040 I mean, it's probably not your audience listening to my podcast, 0:17:48.040 --> 0:17:50.399 I must admit, so you can probably you can probably 0:17:50.400 --> 0:17:52.440 divulge a bit if I don't have this ter many 0:17:52.480 --> 0:17:54.679 eight to twelve year olds listening to The Woodlife on 0:17:54.720 --> 0:17:55.720 a weekly basis. 0:17:55.800 --> 0:17:59.000 Yeah, that you make a good point, but still I 0:17:59.000 --> 0:18:01.360 won't give away any spoil I have heard from some 0:18:01.520 --> 0:18:04.240 enthusiastic parents who really enjoyed reading it after their kids. 0:18:04.800 --> 0:18:05.200 It's good. 0:18:05.280 --> 0:18:06.120 I like to spoiler. 0:18:06.200 --> 0:18:08.880 But it's about this kid ghost who has built herself 0:18:08.920 --> 0:18:11.920 a body made out of wax. She's got seaweed for hair, abaloni, 0:18:11.960 --> 0:18:14.960 shells for eyes, pibbles for teeth. But what she doesn't 0:18:14.960 --> 0:18:17.600 have her memories. She doesn't know what her real name 0:18:17.720 --> 0:18:20.040 was when she was a kid. She doesn't know who 0:18:20.040 --> 0:18:22.880 her family was. She doesn't know why she was snatched 0:18:22.880 --> 0:18:25.000 by witches and became a ghost in the first place. 0:18:25.000 --> 0:18:28.080 And so when she learns there's a treasure. 0:18:27.760 --> 0:18:30.480 Out there which can reunite her with all of those answers, 0:18:30.960 --> 0:18:33.000 she had her best mate, a Huntsman spider by the 0:18:33.080 --> 0:18:35.440 name of Simon, go searching for that treasure. 0:18:36.640 --> 0:18:41.480