Making Here Home talks to Cath Brew, author of Living Elsewhere.
How did you find the ‘writing’ process? And how long did it take you to write the book?
It took a little over a year from the idea to publication. Initially I created a long list of typical expat scenarios and a guide of principles that set up an ethos for the book. From here I worked out how to depict each of those scenarios. Some were quite difficult and it took a few attempts to find the right way of expressing the situation or getting the right expression. My sketchbook came with me everywhere – I never left it in my car or anywhere that it could be stolen. In all honesty, it felt irreplaceable and became more important to me than my wallet or passport in my ways. I sketched out each drawing in pencil, before going over it in black pen. When all 100 were roughed out, I redrew them all again to a higher standard, scanned them and emailed them off to the publisher.
“You need to read and write a lot,” she advises. “And to pitch and pitch. I have about three successes for every ten I send out and I try to pitch most days. Oh, and you need to think of yourself as a writer too.”
Author, Joanne Pasquale, talks to Sassy Mama about her family, her life in Singapore, homeschooling her son Jamie who has special needs, and about her first book.