Sally Hepworth has lived around the world, spending extended periods in Singapore, the United Kingdom and Canada, where she worked in event management and human resources. She is the author of The Secrets of Midwives, The Things We Keep, The Mother’s Promise, The Family Next Door and The Mother-in-Law, and her latest novel is called The Good Sister. Sally now lives in Melbourne, with her husband, three children and one adorable dog.
Today, Sally Hepworth is on the blog to answer our Ten Terrifying Questions – read on!
Sally Hepworth
1. To begin with why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled?
I am the youngest of three children, with two older brothers who only let me play with them if I volunteered to be the wicket when they played cricket. Yes, I lost teeth. If that doesn’t teach you resilience, nothing will.
I was born, raised and schooled in Melbourne – apart from a short stint in Singapore when I was very young, when my parents were transferred there for work. When I was twenty-one, I moved to London for two years, and when I was twenty-six, I moved to Canada for three years with my now-husband. I have a British husband, and a Canadian son (he was born while we lived there so he has a passport for life), and two Australian / British daughters so we consider ourselves a very international family.
2. What did you want to be when you were twelve, eighteen and thirty? And why?
I don’t think I wanted to ‘be’ anything at twelve and eighteen. Other than, perhaps, cool and pretty and part of the ‘in’ crowd. I was very uninspired in that way. There were a few people I knew at twelve who knew what they wanted to do back then, but they were in the vast minority. Most of us were too busy trying to survive in a cut-throat world of bitchy girls and academic pressure to think about much else.
By the time I was thirty, I’d lived enough to know that writing was something I enjoyed. And so, during my maternity leave, I began writing my first, very sub-par novel. By the time I finished writing that book, I knew that being an author was a job I’d like to have.
As for what I’d like to be? At forty, I’ve well and truly given up on cool, I’m fighting an uphill battle with pretty, but I’ll admit, I still haven’t given up for being part of the in-crowd.
3. What strongly held belief did you have at eighteen that you do not have now?
To be honest, I’ve never really believed anything all that strongly. To the contrary, I’ve been riddled with doubt my entire life. My parents indoctrinated me in the dangers of viewing anything as black and white from an early age. In the past 22 years I’ve realised the value of the grey. And I’ve discovered that there are so many more than 50 shades of it.
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?
Emily Giffin’s Something Borrowed was the book that made me decide I wanted to be a writer. I was deeply immersed in it, when I thought – man it would be fun to be able to decide what happens to these characters next. So I may not be a writer if it were not for this book.
The Birth House by Ami McKay was the first book to transport me completely to another time and place. It was the first time I felt like I occupied another person’s body, thought their thoughts and breathed into their lungs.
The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd was the book that made me realise what an important role fiction has to play in the fabric of our society, and the responsibility that authors carry because of that.
5. Considering the innumerable artistic avenues open to you, why did you choose to write a novel?
I would debate that there were innumerable artistic avenues open to me. There was certainly no option of me becoming a painter or singer! But aside from lack of talent, a lack of interest is the main reason I didn’t pursue any other creative endeavours. Reading was always my first love, so writing became my second.
6. Please tell us about your latest novel!
Fern and Rose are fraternal twins. Fern works in her local library and has dinner with her sister three times a week. She has sensory-processing issues which cause her to avoid crowds, bright lights and loud noises. Fern has a carefully structured life and disrupting her routine can be … dangerous.
Fern has relied on Rose to take care of her since they were children. So, when Rose discovers that she cannot fall pregnant, Fern sees her chance to pay her sister back for everything Rose has done for her. Fern can have a baby for Rose. Problem is, she doesn’t mention her plan to Rose.
In Fern’s mission to find a father for Rose’s baby, she will shake the foundations of the life she has carefully built for herself and stir up dark secrets from the past in this quirky, rich and shocking story of unexpected love.
7. What do you hope people take away with them after reading your work?
First and foremost, I hope they will have enjoyed the story. In the current climate, if I can help someone find pleasure and escape, I’m ecstatic. If I can go further and make them think, analyse their own relationships, and look at something a different way … even better.
8. Who do you most admire in the realm of writing and why?
In the Australian literary world we are spoiled with our talent – Liane Moriarty, Jane Harper, Rosalie Ham, Kate Morton … I could go on. Further afield I am entirely enamoured with Sue Monk Kidd, Mary Kubica, Diane Chamberlain, Adele Parks and Lisa Jewell. And so so many more.
9. Many artists set themselves very ambitious goals. What are yours?
My goal is, and always will be, to keep doing what I’m doing – writing novels for a living. That in itself is an ambitious goal, and I will strive for it for the rest of my days.
10. What advice do you give aspiring writers?
Read, read and read some more. Read fiction and non-fiction. Read books about how to write a novel. Read interviews with authors. Read novels in the genre that your writing, and outside of it. When you think you couldn’t read any more, pick up another book.
Thank you for playing!
—The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth (Pan Macmillan Australia) is out now.
This book is part of Booktoberfest, the festival of new books!
The Good Sister
Fern Castle works in her local library. She has dinner with her twin sister Rose three nights a week. And she avoids crowds, bright lights and loud noises as much as possible. Fern has a carefully structured life and disrupting her routine can be ... dangerous.
When Rose discovers that she cannot fall pregnant, Fern sees her chance to pay her sister back for everything Rose has done for her. Fern can have a baby for Rose. She just needs to find a father. Simple. Fern's mission will shake...
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