Fiona Tarr’s Grave Regret piques the interest of Cook Shire Council Mayor Robyn Holmes. Photo: Supplied.
In a sea of stories set in famous cities like Paris and New York, Cooktown locals are getting their turn at experiencing the fun of recognising local landmarks in a novel series.
Australian author Fiona Tarr paid a visit to the Cooktown library on 30 July to promote her Dawn Graves series, which is set in and around the Cooktown region.
Locals got the chance to get up close and personal with the author, getting an insight into her writing process and her trips to the region which inspired the stories.
“I visit every winter, and it’s a very unique spot,” Ms Tarr said.
“I tend to write rural or remote country town crime fiction, and Cooktown was just that perfect setting.
“I think [the library visit] was really good, because some of the people who were there had read some of the books, and some hadn’t, so I think it opened the readership up to new eyes, because they went, ‘oh, it’s based in Cooktown, let’s read it’.”
Ms Tarr said she was drawn towards small towns because of the locals, adding she never planned the story before writing, so interesting characters who drove the narrative forward were essential to her writing process.
“It means that I can find those quintessential Australians characters, and some of their quirks and some of their unusual personality traits to add flavour and add depth to the book,” she said.
“I don’t plot my books; I basically just wing it once I’ve got that opening scene, so I let the characters drive the story, and the circumstances of what would actually happen in those situations drive the story.
“I always joke with my readers that if they’ve managed to pick out who the murderer is before the end of the book, they’ve done better than me, because generally, I don’t know who the murderer is until about three-quarters of the way through the book.”
Ms Tarr also promoted her latest release, Her Lost Bones, which is her seventh book in the Opal Fields series.
“The locals were great; they had so many really good questions to ask about how I put the stories together, why I based some of it in Cooktown, and they were really finding out more about the series,” she said.
“Most of my interaction with my readers, because I am sold internationally as well, is digital.
“When I get to do library visits, I find them really energising, because you’re face-to-face with your readers, you get some feedback … and it’s a really lovely way to interact.”
Ms Tarr’s fourth book in the Dawn Graves series, Grave Secret, will be released this month, and is currently available for pre-order on her website.
