Claire Nicholls

The book is about a couple of jailbreaking musos evading the law.

And before it was a book, it was this song from Forster's solo album, Songs to Play.

It's a beautiful song.

When did you write this song?

Is it usual for a song to stay with you for that long, Robert, to have more questions about a song you've written?

You mentioned your wife.

Is that your wife's voice we're hearing singing along with you on that track?

I love hearing the evolution of this.

So you come up with the song in 2009.

It takes another six years for you and your wife to record it together.

The question still stays with you.

What happened to these blokes?

Why were they in jail?

And the answer is a novel, Robert Forster.

Had you ever had aspirations to write fiction before?

No.

And what made you think, now is the time, maybe I can actually write a novel?

You keep talking about the fact that you didn't have the skills, Robert, but of course you're an acclaimed songwriter.

You do have a way with words, with the lyrics you've written.

Did those skills not help you with the transition to longer form writing?