Emerging novelist goes on tour

BORN with a condition called hemihyperplasia, Jan Davidson has had surgeries on her left foot since she was a child.

“Sports weren’t an option, so I would sit a lot, and I’d be bored,” she said. “Of course, my imagination wandered, I’d start to pick up a pen, and jot down ideas.”

Not once did the Invermay local consider becoming an author, until she entered her early-20s.

“I thought I was being very stealthy, writing a book in complete secret. I thought no one knew, but when I left little notepads everywhere, my husband noticed what was going on,” Davidson said.

After she’d finished that manuscript, her husband encouraged her to publish the book, and share it with an audience.

Receiving positive feedback, two more books followed, and another two are due later in 2023.

“J.S. Davidson is my pen name for my fantasy thrillers, with a little bit of horror, and Ella Stone is for my Australian drama and romance novels,” she said.

Her novel Hunted features themes inspired by her experiences as a teenage mother.

“I adore being a mother, but 15 or 16 years ago, there wasn’t the same support for young mums that there is now, and there was a lot of judgement,” she said.

“There were lots of challenges, and I sometimes felt trapped, so that’s filtered into the book.

“The Ella Stone books are very cathartic, and my emotional side goes into that. They’re wonderful to write, it just flows out.”

Davidson is currently travelling through south-eastern Australia as part of her first national book tour, visiting community libraries, meeting readers, and signing books.

“I love the big places, but the small towns are beautiful, and I don’t want anyone to ever feel like I can’t be bothered visiting them. I’m really excited to visit.

“In my talks, I skim over what to expect in my books, a bit about myself, and I like to discuss self-doubt,” she said.

“Many more manuscripts have died to self-doubt than any publisher or agent rejection letter. It’s an artist’s nemesis. I want to encourage aspiring writers to write.

“Not everyone’s going to love your work, but people will love it, so put it out there.”

The first part of Davidson’s tour included South Australia last year, and she said she draws a huge amount of inspiration through travel, and the people she meets along the way.

Behind the scenes, she is the president of the Ballarat Aero Club, where her son is training to be a pilot, a member of the Rotary Club of Ballarat, and a gardening lover.

Her books are available online and are stocked at the Doveton Street North post office in Soldiers Hill.