By Ethan Benedicto
Dire stakes and high-octane action are coming to Bunjil Place on 17 October, as a best-selling author gears herself up to indulge local residents with a deeper look into one of her latest novels.
Candice Fox, Sydney’s local and decorated crime fiction author known for keeping readers at the edge of their seats, believes in reaching out, where author-to-reader relationship is key, but also for inspiration.
“I get out to places I’ve never been before to meet fans I’ve never met before,” Fox said.
“I have fans who come to every event when I’m in Sydney and they’re regulars, I see them all the time, but going to places that are a bit further out is wonderful because you get brand new interactions with readers.
“It’s about hearing those new stories of how people have covered my work, how they’re enjoying it – but also they’ve never heard me speak live, there are some things you can’t say on the radio or in an interview!”
However, it’s more than just meeting new people, as someone who writes on the move, Fox is keen for spikes of inspiration, where Bunjil, if not Casey could be the foundation for those.
“I want to see what the town is like, I want to meet the people, I want to hang out,” Fox said.
“I want to drink your coffee and go into your shops and see local sites, and it’s inspiring because I always write on the road, it’s inspiring being in those new settings and interacting with readers.
“People have no idea how often I just grab someone off the street and put them in a novel, or you know, it’s somebody at a cafe who I have a particular interaction with which inspires me for that day, so I’m excited to get to Casey.”
For Connected Libraries’ adult programs manager, Courtney Rushton, any event where authors come down to speak and connect with their fans is nothing short of “wonderful”, considering that the City of Casey are filled with “big readers”.
“Often in the outer suburbs, we miss out on these big, well-known author events because they’re traditionally being hosted to bigger Melbourne audiences.
“We’ve had feedback from previous events where people have said that coming to them has created a deeper connection for them with the author and insight into their world,” Rushton said.
Furthermore, the event, as much as it is a meet-and-greet, is also about forming those social connections with people who read, “because it’s creating an environment for them to connect with one another through what is a solitary activity”.
Regarding Fox’s inspiration from the city, Ruhston believes that Casey has more than enough to offer, with places like Bunjil Library itself and the myriad of dense botanical gardens offering more than a supple setting for the nature of the author’s novels.
Providing a peek into her inspiration, Fox said that some things that happen in real life are often “stranger than fiction”.
“I have an eye on true crime all the time, so it never stops inspiring; some of the things that happen you can’t even use because the reader won’t believe you.
“I’m also just someone who listens all the time, someone who will ask the uncomfortable questions, [because] everyone is full of stories.”
To Ruhston, events like these are all about connection, from the readers to the author, their ideas and feelings, and to one another.
For more information on the event, visit events.connectedlibraries.org.au/event?id=82549
