• Don't hold your breath - a backflip is a given, based on the sad track record of this incompetent federal government in such matters - not that the Coalition will do any better. Sad days for normal sport-loving Aussies. - devuman
  • Hazel Hawke must be the best loved Australian Prime Minister's wife. Thinking of her children tonight - who shared her with the nation for so long. - miranda
  • At an event tonight the amazing musician and educator Richard Gill, reminded us of the extraordinary contribution Hazel made in supporting young Australians' journey in music. A wonderful pianist herself, she knew the value of music in our culture... and was tireless in helping Aussie kids pursue their love too. Vale Hazel Hawke. We loved you. Lots. - Wendy Harmer
  • Condolences to Hazel's family. What an amazing woman to have both given and endured so much. A wonderful Australian indeed. - Jane
  • Buen Camino We walked the Way with our daughter in a carrier. She was 12 months old. It was an amazing, soulful adventure. Thank you for sharing your journey - Michelle
  • Life can be cruel and indiscriminate. Hazel Hawke's life is an inspiration to all Australians, irrespective of gender or age. We have lost a wonderful Australian. - matilda
  • [...] Someone I Loved Had Dementia [...] - HAZEL: WE'VE ALL LOST A FRIEND
  • The problem is that there just aren't enough jobs to go around. If there were more jobs then there wouldn't be any discrimination. The responsibility lies with the job creators - which, in part, is all of us. I think there are also a generation of baby boomers who own their own homes and whose kids have left home and who could afford to retire and make way for those of us in our 40s who still have mortgages to pay and kids to get through school, but who just won't. I know a barrister who had done his time at the bar, earned a huge amount of money and at age 60 was appointed as a magistrate on $300,000 a year so he "could take it easy". Retire already and give my generation a chance. - Old enough
  • Imagine my surprise when happily reading whilst hubby watched Fridy night football to find myself turning into a screaming harpy, yelling at the TV. Was I barracking for our beloved Broncos? No. I found myself screaming at the TV saying Get off Waterhouse, what the hell do I need to have you pushing live odds down my face for, if I want to put a bet on I'll go to the Tab. Hubby looked across the room at me and asked if I was a little upset? I decided I was over reacting, until the next week. then it was hubby yelling, get off Waterhouse, I'm trying to watch the footy. So now, as soon as he appears we switch channels until its over. I wonder how long it's going to take until we switch off altogether? One thing is for sure, our enjoyment of watching this sport on TV has been compromised. - Jenny
  • An incisive, eloquent piece, Anne. You highlight the way deeply entrenched and discriminatory - "systemic" - views on women have underpinned, and adversely impacted on their position in public office. As you imply, the default position is a kind of generalised lack of respect that simply does not occur with their male counterparts. Lucid, excellent stuff...keep it up! - Lee-Anne
 
Categories:  Books, Entertainment, The Book Shelf

MEET THE AUTHOR: JAYE FORD

Jaye Ford became the biggest-selling crime debut in 2011 with her first novel Beyond Fear.

Now she is set to strike terror in our hearts all over again with her psychological thriller Scared Yet?. Ford takes us into the life of Livia, who finds herself the victim of stalking and can now trust no-one, not even her nearest and dearest.

Meredith Jaffé spent some time finding out what makes this crime writer tick.

How did the idea for this particular story evolve?

I was still writing my first book Beyond Fear when I went to a meeting of Partners in Crime, which is a group for fans and writers of crime. They had a forensic psychologist come and talk about the research she’d been doing into stalking and the research itself was both horrifying and completely fascinating. I had my own teeny-tiny story of that kind of experience so I went away from that meeting thinking, wow there’s got to be a story in that. And there was.

The lead character Livia is a tough cookie and pretty capable of looking after herself who you then put into a dire situation. What was the attraction of Livia for you?

I wanted to write about a woman who was both mentally and physically strong. Mentally because stalking is a psychological assault, so she needed to be mentally strong. Physically strong, because I knew that there would be some kind of physical outcome in this and it doesn’t make sense to have somebody who’s not had some kind of physical training to be able to deal with that. So that was my starting point.

Part of it was about logistics. A lot of stalking goes on over years and I didn’t think you could sustain the suspense for that length of time so it needed to be contained in a tight time frame. I figured your average tough girl is not going to fall apart within a two-week period and I decided it would work better if she were not in a good place in her life to start with.

Stalking is bad enough in itself, but how much worse to be having to deal with that on your own? One of the stories the psychologist told that day was of a woman who’d been stalked for 10 years by a colleague who she offered to buy a sandwich for once. And her husband left her during the 10 years. I kept thinking, how awful it would be to have to deal with it on your own and not have anyone that you could trust.

Often what a writer chooses to write is the complete opposite of their personality. Comedians are often depicted as bitter, twisted depressed souls and I was thinking does that apply to crime writers? Are you all very happy chirpy people who bake cookies and sing 1950s songs from musicals when you’re not off killing people?

My daughter reckons that I’m actually living this alter ego by writing my books that gets to do these outrageous things. My husband thinks that if I wasn’t writing books I’d probably go insane.

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  • devuman: Don't hold your breath - a backflip is a given, based on the sad track record of this incompetent federal government in ...

  • miranda: Hazel Hawke must be the best loved Australian Prime Minister's wife. Thinking of her children tonight - who shared her w...

  • Wendy Harmer: At an event tonight the amazing musician and educator Richard Gill, reminded us of the extraordinary contribution Hazel ...

  • Jane: Condolences to Hazel's family. What an amazing woman to have both given and endured so much. A wonderful Australian in...

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