NEXT CHAPTER AUTHOR

Amanda Apthorpe

Amanda Apthorpe PhD is an Australian writer. Born in Melbourne, she came late to writing following very early marriage and motherhood and a twenty-five-year career as a science teacher. During those years, she scribbled a few stories in rare spare moments, dipped her toes in the water of writing courses, then submerged herself in her first novel, Whispers in the Wiring, completed for a Master of Arts degree. Following the publication of this novel, and with an injection of confidence, Amanda took a leap of faith. She traded teaching science for teaching creative writing and completed her second novel A Single Breath as a component of a PhD. Each of these novels has been re-released by Next Chapter.

No sooner has the ‘ink’ dried on one novel, Amanda is writing the next. One Core Belief and Hibernia follow Whispers in the Wiring and A Single Breath into the Next Chapter catalogue, and she is currently working on the fifth novel: Quantum Entanglement.

Amanda’s inspiration for writing fiction comes from real life – her own, those she knows and has known, and draws on the brilliance and despair of the human condition in its everyday familiarity. Her characters are diverse – a priest raising his fifteen-year-old niece (Whispers in the Wiring), an obstetrician searching for redemption (A Single Breath), each member of family (Greek) struggling with their personal demons (One Core Belief), and a soon-to-be-divorced gallery manager hoping for her own renaissance on a small island (Hibernia). A common theme that imbues these novels is one that is significant in Amanda’s own life – to walk the middle path, to find the interface between faith and its absence, between the rational world of science and the intuitive world of the heart.

Drawing on her experience as a teacher of writing and editing at the tertiary level, Amanda is creating the Write This Way series of instructional guides to writing fiction. Individual volumes provide instructions, exercises and advice on topics such as: time management, finding your writer’s voice, creating strong characters, plot and structure, dialogue and description, and the editing toolbox. (to be published by Next Chapter). She has works published in academic journals, popular magazines, has presented at international and national conferences on writing, and has been interviewed on radio.

Amanda resides in Melbourne with her partner, Chris, various family members (as the need arises), and Pearl, the cat. She is a life-long student of yoga and, of course, an avid reader, which is where the love of the written word began and continues.

IN THE AUTHOR’S WORDS

Author interview

Interview submitted 7 June 2022.

What inspired you to start writing?

Most writers begin as readers, and this is certainly true for me. I fell in love with the worlds created in fiction and, over time, developed some confidence to create my own. More comfortable with the written word than spoken, I discovered that writing was also a vehicle to express myself, to process the realities of life - the good and the bad, to explore other interests through my characters, and to simply enjoy their journeys.

Who are some of your favorite authors and books?

Favorite authors reflect different stages and circumstances of my life. Hermann Hesse was a favorite in my early years (and still) because his novels appealed to the philosopher in me; Australian authors Tim Winton and Liane Moriarty appeal for different reasons - Winton for his extraordinary ability to depict the Western Australian landscape and to reflect this in the lives of his characters, and Moriarty for her ability to portray the 'ordinary' lives of women with pathos and humor.

What would you like to tell readers who have just discovered your books, but haven't read one yet?

I believe in the beauty of the life experienced by each of us. As such, my characters' lives are extraordinary in their 'ordinariness'. I love my readers to have the 'aha' moment, when they relate to something my characters experience, feel and say. I relish that feedback from those who enjoy my books and hope to find that connection with each of my readers.

Who is the favorite character you created, and how did they come into being?

While I love all my main characters, my favorite is Rupert from the first novel, Whispers in the Wiring. Rupert is a Jesuit priest whose identical twin, an alcoholic, dies in a car accident leaving his daughter, Neti, in Rupert's care. Rupert's crisis of faith following Ross's death mirrors my own following my sister's death in the same way. A significant character in the novel is Athena Nevis, a neuroscientist and atheist who represents rational, scientific thought in contrast to the spiritual. Rupert and Athena's conversations provided a vehicle for me to sort through much of my own grief, as did the opening scene when Rupert rubs the ashes of his brother into his forehead. Despite this sounding grim, the book is filled with hope and love.

What are your future plans as a writer?

My future plans are to keep writing and perfecting the craft as much as I can. I don't imagine that it is possible to reach perfection, but rather than it stopping me, it inspires me. In addition, I would like to explore other genres of writing to expand my repertoire.