Debut novelist excited for writers’ fest

VENTURING from the world of educational editing to fictional story writing, author Vanessa Len said she is very excited to share her work with the Bendigo audience at next month’s writers’ festival.

Len’s first novel Only a Monster was published in February and sees the newcomer author go all in on the fantasy genre.

The story follows Joan Chang-Hunt who discovers that not only has her family been hiding a monstrous secret, but her crush is part of family of sworn enemies to her own.

“I grew up watching big blockbuster movies where good guys and bad guys are clearly demarcated, but I would often find that the heroes rarely looked like me,” she said.

“I found that, because I’m half Asian, sometimes the characters on screen who looked at me at all only appeared in the fight scenes and would be fighting against the hero usually.

“It just gave me the idea that it would be interesting to write a book about one of those classic, good heroes, but from the point of view from a monster.”

Len said writing a fantasy novel let her delve fully into world building and telling a story without the “rules of real life” while also incorporating science-fiction elements such as time travel.

The Bendigo Writers’ Festival will be Len’s first major event appearance as an author, and she said she can’t wait to be there in person.

“I feel I’m so excited that I can meet a whole bunch of new people, readers and writers and be able to chat about writing,” she said. “It won’t be a Zoom call so I’m super excited about that.”

Len will appear alongside fellow author and friend C. S Pacat on Friday, 13 May at 2.15pm at the La Trobe Art Institute and then with First Time Podcast on Saturday, 14 May at 1pm at the Strategem Studio.

For tickets to the festival head to bendigowritersfestival.com.au.