LOOK AT ME KEEPING IT REAL WORDS LINDA READ PHOTOS KRISTA EPPELSTUN Darron Shields with the Swimming Victoria squad on training camp at the University of the Sunshine Coast. L to R: Andrew Rice, Joshua Hargreaves, Bowen Gough, Mikayla Smith 28 <strong>salt</strong>
FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A COPY OF MAGGIE’S BOOK CHAMPAGNE FOR BREAKFAST GO TO THE WIN PAGE AT SALTMAGAZINE.COM.AU WHEN LOCAL AUTHOR Maggie Christensen was walking with her husband along Gympie Terrace in Noosaville one Sunday morning, she saw a woman sitting alone at a table with an empty bottle of wine in front of her. The writer in Maggie couldn’t resist – the woman, oblivious to the inspiration she had just sparked, became Rosa Taylor, the protagonist in Maggie’s latest novel, Champagne for Breakfast, with the glorious Noosa River as its setting. The novel is the sixth in three years for Maggie, whose writing career took off when she retired from a long career as a primary and university teacher. “I started writing fiction when I was getting close to retirement,” Maggie says. “I decided I wanted to write books about mature women. I published my first two books in 2014. They all start with a mature woman in her forties, fifties or sixties, at a crisis or pivotal point in their lives. “I would say my books are mature women’s fiction. They’re called ‘seasoned romance’. It’s becoming a more popular term and is quite a niche market. A lot of books are written about younger women, but it’s nice to read about mature women who have a bit of experience. “Mature women are tired of reading about younger women who just want to have babies.” Although this demographic is Maggie’s main target audience, she says men and younger women are also enjoying her books, which deal with issues such as redundancy, second marriages, stepchildren, caring for ageing parents, and the death of a spouse or child. While many other novels contain older women characters, Maggie says that often those characters lack the depth and realism they deserve. “Quite a lot of books that have mature women in them stereotype those women,” she says. “So if there’s someone in their sixties or seventies, they are falling apart, and their life is over. I think that’s rather sad, because older women have a lot to offer. “Maybe it’s younger writers who do that, I’m not sure, but that annoys me in a lot of books because you do get an older character but they’re not a real older character. Quite a few readers have said to me that it’s so refreshing to read a book where you’re not all washed up.” In Champagne for Breakfast, Rosa, a character from one of Maggie’s earlier novels, has just turned 50 and is celebrating her birthday with a bottle of champagne by the Noosa River. She makes a few changes to her life – some long overdue and others completely unexpected. After running away from his soon-to-be ex-wife, Harry needs to start over, preferably somewhere where the gossips haven’t reached yet. Meeting at a pivotal time in their lives leads Rosa and Harry on a rollercoaster of a ride. Maggie draws her characters from a variety of sources. Some are inspired from real-life situations (such as Rosa), some are from stories other people tell her, and some are “complete fiction” – one of the advantages of being a novelist. “You can draw on things from real life,” says Maggie. “I don’t write about wealthy people travelling around Europe; I write about real people and real situations that people can relate to. My characters are people you might want to sit and have coffee with. “There’s a little bit of me, I guess, in all my books. I become totally involved in the writing process. I also fall a little bit in love with all my male characters – they’re all rather lovely. There’s a little bit of my husband in all the [nice] male characters.” The settings for her novels are also drawn from real life, reflecting Maggie’s travels and experiences. A stickler for detail, she visits places that her characters go to in the stories, so she can give her readers an authentic experience. Originally from Scotland, Maggie migrated to Australia in her mid- 20s to teach primary school in Sydney. She has also lived in coastal New South Wales and has made frequent trips to Oregon and California, with her American-born husband. They now live on the Sunshine Coast. Her Oregon Coast Series is a set of three novels set in that region of the US, while other earlier books have had Sydney as their backdrop. In the latest novel, Noosa has a chance to shine. But there’s no rest for this new and prolific novelist. Her next book, which she is working on now, is set in her home country of Scotland, and she is hoping to have that to the publisher by the end of the year. “My aim is to write two books a year,” says Maggie. “I like to get the first draft of my next book done before I publish the book I’ve finished.” maggiechristensenauthor.com <strong>salt</strong>magazine.com.au 29
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