Gemma Liviero

Gemma Liviero is the author of the historical novels Broken Angels and Pastel Orphans, which was a finalist in the 2015 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. In addition to novel writing, her professional career includes copywriting, corporate writing, writing feature articles and editorials, and editing. She holds an advanced diploma of arts (writing) and has continued her studies in arts and other humanities. Liviero lives with her family in Queensland, Australia.

Her new novel is An Age of Winters.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

An Age of Winters and the cover set the stage for a chilling if not chilly read against the backdrop of a mini Ice Age. For The Road Beyond Ruin, set mainly in the post-war chaos in Europe, it took me weeks to land on a title that I was happy with. This too, I felt, was perfect for the story.

What's in a name?

In the book, In a Field of Blue, the names were taken from writers I admire. In my new release, I chose character names from historical records. I often look for common names during the period I’m writing in.

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your novel?

Not really that much. As a teenager I enjoyed dark, early period dramas and supernatural stories like The Picture of Dorian Gray, and I wrote short stories with similar themes, combining love or unrequited love and tragedy. As an adult, most of my published novels are about endurance and relationships against the devastating backdrop of war. However, in An Age of Winters I return to some earlier themes to expose the witch hunts and other dark practices of those times, based on actual events in history. My younger self would undoubtedly approve.

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

Beginnings I find easy, however, there have been several books started that I ultimately chose to abandon a third of the way through. Most writers are the hardest markers of their own work. From the start, I often have a finale in mind, but those climactic moments and twists leading up to the end might change in an attempt to keep readers guessing.

Do you see much of yourself in your characters? Do they have any connection to your personality, or are they a world apart?

For some books, I draw from my own experiences and feelings, particularly with relationships and dialogue, to help build the personalities. Some of the characters I would love to be like, some have a very small element of me, and others are people I would not want to come across in real life. For An Age of Winters, the traits of my characters were drawn from my imagination, primary observations in those times, and the type of occupations they hold in the story.

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

People throughout history, especially during times of upheaval, who have put themselves willingly in the path of danger to protect others inspire me constantly. Members of my family volunteered and served in WWI and WWII, and they were a major influence on my life and writings also.

Visit Gemma Liviero's website.

The Page 69 Test: An Age of Winters.

--Marshal Zeringue