Karen Wyld

Thank you.

Well, it's a saga.

It spans four generations.

It's set in rural, remote and urban Australia.

And I focus on the 60s and 70s because

that was a time of social change and there was quite a lot of small political wins for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples during that time.

So, yeah, I think I did put a lot in there and there is politics and there's a lot of big picture things, but I told all that through the smaller everyday story of the main character, Bridget, and her family.

Her daughters, her twin daughters, Victoria and Maggie.

Okay, so she's not perfect.

She makes a lot of mistakes that readers might go, no.

She's stubborn and in some ways she's a little bit naive and clueless about the world that she's travelling through.

Her grandmother very much coddled her and to the point that

She didn't really gain a good idea of herself and her identity and her mother was very distracted.

So she goes out into the world and makes a lot of mistakes but through the kindness of strangers she's helped along the way.

She was told nothing and the subject was always changed.

So, yeah, but even when she does find country, she still isn't able to properly connect to both country and family.

Well, I mean, I don't think I set off to tell her story.

I don't plan.

I'm not a poller in any way.

Generally, what I come up with, whether it's a long, whether it's a manuscript or a short story, it generally just comes from one image that I have either, you know, just while walking the dogs or dream.