Camille Booker had never allowed herself to imagine being a ‘real’ author one day – but faced with new motherhood and a demanding teaching job, she started to dream of the possibility. “I'd always loved reading, language, words, poetry,” she says. “Writing was my creative outlet: a way to avoid burn out, to escape the pressure of the classroom, a moment of daydreaming, or stealing five minutes to write some words or ideas down.”
And by choosing to focus on perfecting her skills she has found success – with a new gothic historical fiction novel, The Woman in the Waves, published by Hawkeye Publishing, and more to come!
Growing and absorbing
“My [earlier] debut novel was released right in the middle of the pandemic,” Camille recalls. “At that time, author events at libraries and bookstores were unheard of! So I was determined to hone my craft and write the next novel that had been brewing inside me.”
Camille was also keen to absorb everything she could about the publishing industry, to create authentic and meaningful relationships with readers and other writers, and learn how to successfully market and launch a book.
To help achieve this, she enrolled in the History, Mystery and Magic course at Australian Writers’ Centre – which she’d learnt about after hearing course creator Kate Forsyth on the AWC podcast, So You Want to be a Writer.
“When I heard Kate's episode, she spoke about five essential lessons to make you a better writer, and mentioned the course she runs through the AWC. It sparked something in me,” Camille says.
Learning from a master storyteller
Camille particularly appreciated learning from renowned author Kate Forsyth. “The fact that Kate Forsyth is teaching the course is of course a huge added bonus: she's such a deep well of knowledge. Listening to her teach is like being told a lullaby – the way she weaves her knowledge of history, myths, narrative craft, storytelling, and creativity, is so soothing. It feels like sitting around a campfire listening to a folk tale.”
The course structure also proved invaluable to her development. “I found the structure of the course and the sample texts to be most useful. Kate did a superb job at explaining a certain concept and then showing how to use it, through carefully chosen examples from the sample texts. It illuminated the core learning concepts in a way that allowed me to think about and apply them to my own writing,” she says.
“The delivery mode was also very useful. Because it was self-paced, it suited my lifestyle really well – as a mum of two young children I'm constantly trying to squeeze in time.”
Building a writing community
The unexpected benefit of the course was finding her literary community. “When I shared on my social media account that I had enrolled in the course, two other writers reached out to tell me that they were also currently enrolled in the course,” Camille recalls.
“We set up a little group chat as a way to connect, share our experiences and support each other. The course not only helped me refine my ideas and make progress on my writing projects, but it also allowed me to meet other writers in the community.”
“Authors so often share advice that the best thing for emerging writers is to find their writing ‘tribe', and that the best way to do this is by enrolling in a course. And, like magic, this happened for me! I'm so grateful.”
A gothic literary creation
Camille's latest novel, The Woman in the Waves, showcases her distinctive literary voice.
“The Woman in the Waves is Peaky Blinders meets Robert Eggers’s The Lighthouse with a feminist spin,” Camille explains. “It's a gothic historical fiction novel and small-town murder mystery, set in 1921 in a fictional town called Widow’s Peak on the south coast of NSW. “I was inspired to write my story while I was living on the south coast of NSW, in Wollongong, the only town in Australia with two lighthouses. The plot, the characters, the themes – all of these elements originated from the setting.”
“I wanted to write something bordering on horror – full of gore, something a bit grotesque and chilling – to make readers sort of recoil and squirm but also be mesmerised by the beauty and the imagery. Kind of like when you watch a horror movie, and you cover your face with your hands but then peek through your fingers.”
The manuscript was shortlisted for the 2023 Varuna/Affirm Press Mentorship Award, runner up in the 2022 CYA Conference Competition, won the 2022 Book Pipeline Unpublished Contest and won the 2023 Hawkeye Publishing Manuscript Development Prize. Hawkeye then offered Camille a publishing contract.
“I popped open a bottle of champagne!” she says. “Writing a novel takes a long, long time. It takes persistence, determination, grit, imagination. It takes sacrifice. It takes overcoming a lot of guilt (for prioritising yourself and your writing over, say, cooking a lovely meal for your family), and it is hard. There is a lot of doubt, rejection, fear, comparison. So, when those rare moments of joy, of success, of surprise arrive, it’s important to celebrate them, because they don’t happen very often.”
A joyful balance
Camille now balances multiple roles that complement her writing career. “After completing my Bachelor of Creative Arts in Creative Writing at The University of Wollongong, I'm now pursuing a PhD in Creative Writing,” she says. Camille has also been on the judging panel of the Hawkeye Manuscript Development Prize for the past two years. “I really love helping writers elevate their manuscripts. I’ve helped writers at all stages, from newbies just starting to bestselling published authors.”
And when asked what she'd say to a friend considering an AWC course, Camille was quick to respond.
“Do it to improve your knowledge and your craft. Do it to find your community, your ‘writing tribe'. Do it to feel inspired. Do it to bring you joy!”
“My [earlier] debut novel was released right in the middle of the pandemic,” Camille recalls. “At that time, author events at libraries and bookstores were unheard of! So I was determined to hone my craft and write the next novel that had been brewing inside me.”
The course structure also proved invaluable to her development. “I found the structure of the course and the sample texts to be most useful. Kate did a superb job at explaining a certain concept and then showing how to use it, through carefully chosen examples from the sample texts. It illuminated the core learning concepts in a way that allowed me to think about and apply them to my own writing,” she says.
Camille's latest novel, The Woman in the Waves, showcases her distinctive literary voice.
