The DS Walker thrillers have enthralled readers across the world since the first book exploded onto the literary scene just a few years ago. With the latest title Hero out now, Walker is back on home turf and neck deep in a brutal new case. We caught up with author Patricia Wolf to reveal more about the series, her inspirations, and her writing journey.
What first sparked your desire to become a writer, and how has that motivation evolved over time?
I’ve been an avid reader since I was in early primary school. I read so much that the local library ran out of books for me and offered me a Saturday job instead! I think it’s reading that sparked my love of words and writing. At 10, I wrote a non-fiction book called ‘The habits of chooks and chickens’ and I still remember the first short story I wrote for school and how amazing it was to imagine a whole different world. But as an adult, the idea of being a ‘writer’ felt a bit out of reach. I always wrote for pleasure – diaries, short stories, bits of novels – but I didn’t treat it seriously for a long time.
Your journalism career spanned more than 15 years, how has that journalistic experience shaped your approach to writing fiction and crafting your books?
Writing for newspapers and writing fiction are quite different, so the biggest challenge was adapting my writing style to suit a more descriptive, creative, and much longer format. Writing for newspapers is all about ‘less is more’: reporting requires brevity and getting to the point.
I think I was also drawn to crime fiction because it allows me to research and report on contemporary issues, a bit like I did in journalism. However, the freedom to make things up is a real pleasure!
DS Lucas Walker is shaped by both his environment and his personal history. When developing him, which elements of his character came to you first, and which emerged more slowly as the series progressed?
The first thing that came to me was that he grew up in the outback, in Caloodie, and had a strong relationship with both the place and his family, especially his grandmother. Very early on, I had completely clear picture of Grandma’s house, and their relationship and Walker’s connection to Caloodie. His character traits of focusing on work over his personal life, his slight disdain for authority, his protective instinct, these all developed a bit later.
What is one new detail you’re excited to explore that you haven’t yet touched – culture, crime type or relationship beat?
In Hero, the next book, I was very interested in researching the rise of sports gambling. It opened up a whole new world of crime for Walker. I find it interesting to write about crimes that are broader in scope than simply ‘random murder’. I’m also happy to be getting deeper into the relationships around Walker. For most of the series he’s been a bit of a loner but in this book, he has a policing partner and plenty of friends and family around.
The DS Walker series moves through diverse Australian landscapes. How do you choose each setting, and how does place influence the tone of each book?
Sense of place is super important to me; I treat place almost as a character in my books. It influences so much, from the kind of crime to the characters to the plot.
In general, I choose to write about places I know well, which usually means outback and coastal Queensland and Berlin, where I’m currently based. I miss Australia when I’m not at home and I think I choose these locations because I want to spend time there – not just physically but in my mind.
What advice would you give aspiring writers who hope to publish their own books one day?
Write! Write every day, even if it’s only for 10 minutes. It’s surprising how quickly the story moves forward if you write every day. I also think it’s important not to try to write a perfect first draft. There is no such thing as a perfect first draft and never has been in the history of writing!
Keep writing, keep moving the story forward until you get to the end. Then let it sit for a few weeks and go back to the beginning. Only now, is it the time to craft the sentences, change the plot, develop the characters, to tinker and perfect.
What are you currently reading?
I’ve just finished Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy. I thought it was brilliant!
It’s set on an isolated and almost unpopulated island off the shore of Tasmania. The lighthouse keeper and his three children are living there alone, when a woman is washed up on the beach from a shipwreck.
When she recovers, she discovers that the island holds some wild and violent secrets. The book is a wonderful mix of strikingly atmospheric sense of place, family dynamics that aren’t what they seem and plenty of suspense and mystery. I’d totally recommend it.
