Ten Terrifying Questions with Rae Cairns!

Rae Cairns writes crime with heart: thrillers and suspense featuring everyday people facing extraordinary circumstances. Her debut novel The Good Mother draws on her background as a youth worker mentoring disadvantaged youth, many of them children of the paramilitaries, in Northern Ireland during the final years of ‘The Troubles’. Rae has also co-managed a crisis refuge for street children, worked as Program Director for the Sydney Olympic Youth Camp and holds a degree in Performing Arts. She is currently busy writing her second novel, to be published in 2023. When she’s not playing around with the lives of her imaginary characters she loves to read, hike, travel and sing. Rae lives in Sydney with her husband, two children and her dog, Alfie, who snores at her feet when she writes.

Today, Rae Cairns is on the blog to take on our Ten Terrifying Questions! Read on …

Rae Cairns (Photo by David Perryman).

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 England but moved to Sydney, Australia when I was three months old. I was raised by a young single mum who put herself through an Honours Degree in Psychology while my sister and I grew up. This had a huge impact on me. I became obsessed with understanding what makes people tick and loved how books allowed me to inhabit character’s lives and thoughts. We lived out of the catchment area for both the Primary and High School I attended, meaning I never quite fitted in amongst my more affluent peers, but reading taught me how to adapt, and when things got hard, gave me avenues for escape.

I had my first go at storytelling at five years old when I sang a solo at the school’s end of year pageant. In my early twenties I got a degree in Performing Arts and promptly decided a career in theatre wasn’t for me. Instead, I travelled to Northern Ireland for a year where I used music and drama to mentor disadvantaged youth, many children of the paramilitaries like the IRA and UVF. When I returned to Australia I co-managed a refuge for street kids and then worked for the Sydney Olympics. It was only once my son and daughter were at school that I turned to writing crime.

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

At twelve I wanted to be a musical theatre performer. I was performing with the Sydney troupe of Young Talent Time and then went on to study singing in the NSW Conservatorium of Music’s external vocal program.

At eighteen I toyed briefly with studying law or psychology. I wanted to contribute to making the world better for disadvantaged and underprivileged children.

At thirty, I was Program Director for the Sydney Olympic Youth Camp and loved my job but decided not to pursue working for the Athens Olympics as I wanted to raise a family in Sydney.

3. What strongly held belief did you have at eighteen that you don’t have now?

I had a very black and white view of the world – people were either good or bad, and things were only right or wrong. I now understand situations are filled with shades of grey and each human being is much more multi-faceted.

4. What are three works of art – this could be a book, painting, piece of music, film, etc – that influenced your development as a writer?

For character development and motivations, the play Macbeth by Shakespeare. The study of ‘villains’ captured my imagination and taught me that every character believes they are the hero of their own story.

For setting as a character, the novel Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier. Manderley embodies the past, haunts the story’s characters and is integral to the cleverly crafted sense of menace woven through every page of the novel.

For my fascination with how everyday people act when thrown in to extraordinary circumstances – the movie The Fugitive. I found the experience of watching an everyman character forced into an action hero role, with no specific training for what he had to face, absolutely intriguing. It kept me asking myself, what would I do? A question that is at the heart of The Good Mother.

5. Considering the many artistic forms out there, what appeals to you about writing a novel?

The ability to dig into the psyche of characters, to pull apart why they do the things they do. In performing it was my job to convey intention, but writing gives me the opportunity to delve even deeper.

6. Please tell us about your latest novel!

The Good Mother is the story of Sarah Calhoun, a regular Sydney soccer mum, keeping terrifying secrets from everyone she loves.

When two men from Northern Ireland hunt her down, she’s forced to return to Belfast to testify at a murder trial – where her past catches up with her. Caught in the crossfire of an obsessive policeman and a brutal IRA executioner, Sarah faces an impossible choice: lie and allow a killer to run free, or tell the truth and place her children in the line of fire.

With her family and innocent people at risk, Sarah must find the courage to fight for the truth. But righting the wrongs of the past just might cost her everything …

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

I hope they are entertained by a twisty fast-paced plot that leaves them questioning ‘How far would I go?’. I also hope readers will take away a little insight into Northern Ireland and the impact of historical violence on families and individuals. When peace was announced in Northern Ireland in 1997 the place disappeared from the news, and the people were expected to just switch off from thirty years of conflict.

8. Who do you most admire in the writing world and why?

I’m part of a writing group called the Inkwells containing Joanna Nell, Pamela Cook, Penelope Janu, Michelle Barraclough, Laura Boon, Angella Whitton and Terri Green, and I admire each and every one of them. They’ve all been writing for years – winning competitions, publishing traditionally and independently, teaching and mentoring other writers – and yet they constantly strive to improve their craft. But they don’t do it at the expense of the rest of the group. They do it as a team. Over the past few years each member of the Inkwells has experienced ups and downs, but we always have one another’s backs. That’s been a huge support and inspiration to me.

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

At the moment my primary goal is to hand my second novel in to my publisher. I’m almost there! As far as long-term goals I want to keep learning and improving as a writer. I want every book to be better than the last.

10. Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

You’re going to have to be brave! Things won’t always work, or go the way you hoped or expected, but if you don’t take chances, you won’t be in the running for good things to happen. This applies to all things writing – research, meeting other writers, attending events, competitions, submissions, publication and even the writing process itself. You’ll need to take risks and venture beyond your comfort zone, but the rewards and sense of satisfaction are worth it.

Thank you for playing!

—The Good Mother by Rae Cairns (HarperCollins Australia) is out now.

The Good Mother

by Rae Cairns

Sarah Calhoun is a regular Sydney soccer mum, but she's keeping terrifying secrets from everyone she loves . . . and her past is about to catch up with her.

When two men from Northern Ireland hunt her down, she's forced to return to Belfast to testify at a murder trial. Caught in the crossfire of an obsessive policeman driven by a disturbing past, and a brutal IRA executioner, Sarah faces an impossible choice: lie and allow a killer to walk free, or tell the truth and place her children in the line of fire...

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