The Booktopia Book Guru asks

Susan Duncan

author of The Briny Café

Ten Terrifying Questions

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1. To begin with why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled?

I was born in Albury, on the NSW and Victorian border and raised until the age of ten, at nearby Bonegilla Migrant Camp. Later, I attended Clyde School, a girls’ boarding school at Woodend,  that has now been amalgamated with Geelong Grammar.

2.  What did you want to be when you were twelve, eighteen and thirty? And why?

I can’t remember if I had a specific ambition at the age of twelve. But at eighteen, I wanted to be a journalist and at thirty, I was quite happy as a journalist and couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

3. What strongly held belief did you have at eighteen that you do not have now?

At eighteen, I just wanted to have fun. Now, I want to work hard but doing what I feel passionately about.

4. What were three works of art – book or painting or piece of music, etc – you can now say, had a great effect on you and influenced your own development as a writer?

I’m not sure whether they fit into the ‘art’ category, but the writing that really rocked me when I was young was Raymond Chandler, whoever wrote the Onion Field (bit hazy on the author and title but it was a fiercely powerful book that reeked of truth) and currently, I think Kate Atkinson is a wonderful writer.

5. Considering the innumerable artistic avenues open to you, why did you choose to write a novel?

Delusions of grandeur? Seriously, I wanted to keep writing about the environment where I live but I couldn’t prevail on the kindness of my neighbours once more time in a work of non-fiction.

6. Please tell us about your first novel…

The Briny Café is set in a water-access-only location (no surprises there!) and it’s about the power of strong communities, friendship and finding the courage to have a go. It’s also about learning to recognise miracles when they appear and, of course, the pleasure of food.

(BBGuru: Publisher synopsis – Brimming with warmth and wit, Susan Duncan’s first novel is a delicious tale of friendship and love, and the search for a place to call home…

Ettie Brookbank is the heart and soul of Cook’s Basin, a sleepy offshore community comprising a cluster of dazzling blue bays. But for all the idyllic surroundings, Ettie can’t help wondering where her dreams have disappeared to.

Until fate offers her a lifeline – in the shape of a lopsided little café on the water’s edge.

When Bertie, its cantankerous septuagenarian owner, offers her ‘the Briny’ for a knockdown price, it’s an opportunity too good to miss. But it’s a mammoth task – and she’ll need a partner.

Enter Kate Jackson, the enigmatic new resident of the haunted house on Oyster Bay. Kate is also clearly at a crossroads – running from a life in the city that has left her lonely and lost.

Could a ramshackle cafe and its endearingly eccentric customers deliver the new start both women so desperately crave?)

7. What do you hope people take away with them after reading your work?

I hope they’re entertained, get a glimpse into a radically different way of life, and that the book inspires people with a  passion to get back in the kitchen to cook up a storm for family and friends.

8. Whom do you most admire in the realm of writing and why?

Wouldn’t know where to start – so many wonderful writers…

9. Many artists set themselves very ambitious goals. What are yours?

Life comes first, so my main aim is to stay healthy. Then whatever falls into place…

10. What advice do you give aspiring writers?

Be unafraid, never give up and read everything you can get your hands on.

Susan, thank you for playing.

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About the Contributor

John Purcell

While still in his twenties, John Purcell opened a second-hand bookshop in Mosman, Sydney, in which he sat for ten years reading, ranting and writing. Since then he has written, under a pseudonym, a series of very successful novels, interviewed hundreds of writers about their work, appeared at writers’ festivals, on TV (most bizarrely in comedian Luke McGregor’s documentary Luke Warm Sex) and has been featured in prominent newspapers and magazines. ​Now, as the Director of Books at booktopia.com.au, Australia’s largest online bookseller, he supports Australian writing in all its forms. He lives in Sydney with his wife, two children, three dogs, five cats, unnumbered gold fish and his overlarge book collection. His novel, The Girl on the Page, was published by HarperCollins Australia in October, 2018.

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