NOT long after Heather Whitford Roche released her first historical fiction novel, Finding Eliza in 2018, lots of her readers wanted to know, \u2018what happens next?\u2019<\/p>\n
Issie Mac is Roche\u2019s new book and standalone sequel set in the 1950s and 60s about the daughter of the first story\u2019s protagonists.<\/p>\n
\u201cFinding Eliza is about a young man who finds out he isn\u2019t who he thought he was and goes on a journey to find out who he really is,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Issie Mac, Isabella McMillan meets a young lecturer who is married with children, she is convinced to run away with him, and she has a fall from grace.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, the story continues.\u201d<\/p>\n
In her professional life before retirement, Roche was a family therapist, which she said has inspired lots of her writing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was really aware of families and the incredible things that happened to them, both wonderful things and no-so-wonderful things,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of my writing\u2019s been about difficulty, struggle, and courage and that\u2019s been something I\u2019ve worked with in my profession, but I\u2019ve been encouraged by the way people can overcome trauma and difficulty.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are lots of background stories which were really important, and I also had another story from my own background which got me started with my book writing.<\/p>\n
\u201cFinding Eliza grew from a seed, a snippet in my family, and I carried that notion in my head for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Roche completed the University of Ballarat TAFE\u2019s novel writing course over a decade ago.<\/p>\n
She said she\u2019s enjoyed being a part of the writing fraternity as a member of groups including Ballarat Writers, Writers Victoria, and the Australian Society of Authors.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve met some amazing people, wonderful people, likeminded and different people with different ideas and thoughts about the world,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve made some very good friends.\u201d<\/p>\n
Roche said she encourages older people to start writing if they\u2019ve always wanted to do it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe skills you had in your professional career or workplace, they\u2019re very transferrable, like being disciplined and solution focused, and learning out how to find something out if you don\u2019t already know it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of older people have done really interesting jobs and have learnt a lot about life and people. You can bring that to your writing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe underestimate it, and sometimes don\u2019t give ourselves enough credit for what we bring.\u201d<\/p>\n
Roche is now working on her third book, a modern women\u2019s fiction novel, and will be at the Creswick Market on Saturday 17 February, and Clunes Booktown in March.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NOT long after Heather Whitford Roche released her first historical fiction novel, Finding Eliza in 2018, lots of her readers wanted to know, \u2018what happens next?\u2019 Issie Mac is Roche\u2019s new book and standalone sequel set in the 1950s and 60s about the daughter of the first story\u2019s protagonists. \u201cFinding Eliza is about a young […]<\/p>\n