Where the Truth Lies

Karina Kilmore, a long-time journalist turned novelist, is the author of the critically-acclaimed crime novel *Where the Truth Lies.*
A Melbourne-set story that follows a union dispute with deadly consequences, this page-turning thriller is one of our Books We Love favourites. In this interview, Mary Martin staffer Lindsay chats to Kilmore about the crime genre, the link between the author and her protagonist Chrissie O’Brian and the perks of writing in lockdown.

You have had extensive experience in the world of journalism. To what extent did you pull from real life in writing your novel?

Most of the storylines and settings for Where the Truth Lies are based on fact, including plot lines and characters, albeit tweaked and disguised. Like me, my main character Chrissie O’Brian is a journalist, so the scenes in the newsroom and the process of investigating a story are based on real life. As a journalist and a union member myself, I have also had a front row seat to big union disputes.

I also come from a family of wharfies and truckies, so the wharf setting is very close to me too.

Crime fiction has a long tradition. What attracts you to the murder mystery genre as a writer and a reader?

I really love finding stuff — in all aspects of my life. I’ll slam the brakes on my car and pull over if I see a second-hand shop, especially if there’s stuff spilling out on to the footpath. And it’s the same with my reading list. I love a book that keeps dropping hints and leads me through the story as I’m half-guessing, half-just going along for the journey and that usually means they’re crime books. Plus, the crime genre has evolved a lot during recent years to include a wider range of novels.

But I’m sure my career as a journalist has something to do with it too. As a daily journalist I was looking for answers every day. Many of my news stories involved white collar crimes, especially in my main round as a finance and business journo.

What’s the biggest thing you learned about the craft of writing in the course of creating your book?

Despite writing almost every day of my life as a journalist, I had to learn or relearn a lot when it came to writing a novel. As a journalist you put the new information first and then usually tell the story chronologically or logically. The same applies for most nonfiction books — and I’ve written three nonfiction books.

However, for a fiction novel there are no rules. You can start the story almost anywhere. Apart from that “freedom” of writing without a formula or recipe, the biggest change for me was the use of adjectives and lots of descriptive passages. I suddenly had to unlearn my news training of using as few words as possible and start being descriptive with lots of details about people, events, objects and settings.

Have you got any favourite reads of 2020?

I’m a judge this year for the 2020 Davitt Awards, which are awarded to women crime writers by Sisters in Crime Australia, so I have a heap of recommendations. However, we haven’t made the announcements yet, so I’ll be cheeky and suggest people have a look at both the Davitt longlist and shortlist for some great crime reads.

On a personal front, I love crime and thrillers but I’m also just a big reader of most genre. Some of my favourite authors are Ian McEwan, Liane Moriarty, Jane Harper and Cormac McCarthy. I think all, except McCarthy, have new books coming out this year. I’m particularly hanging out for Jane Harper’s new book The Survivors.

Are you working on anything at the moment?

I’ve just finished the manuscript of my second novel. Oh wow, just saying that makes me excited all over again. It has still a long way to go, as I edit and redraft but that first stage of just getting it all written is such a big milestone. Journalist Chrissie O’Brian is still at The Argus and is investigating another crime in another ‘male’ dominated world, sheep shearing.

That also has another connection to my family. My great grandfather left his Sydney home at age seven (yes, seven) to work for a travelling sheep shearing crew across NSW and Victoria.

What is it like to write during lockdown?

I loved having a genuine reason for being a hermit! As awful as the lockdown has been for many people, I didn’t feel any impact from physical distancing, instead it gave me extra time to write. With my first novel I had to squeeze writing in late at night, usually after 10pm to early hours of the morning, then get up, drop my daughter at school and go to work. My daughter has now graduated high school and I’m no longer working full-time, so the lockdown worked well for me to get this second manuscript completed. And knowing many authors, I think most of them felt the same. Writing is a bit of a loner occupation.

Do you have any tips for writers?

My tip for new writers would be to set a writing “hour” or a writing “period” each day. Even if you don’t actually do much writing towards a current project or current novel, just sit at your writing spot for that time, regardless. Use this for thinking time, which is a wonderful luxury. Think about books you like or books you want to write. Then maybe write an outline, or a rough plot line, or rewrite a story from memory, or make up a story on the spot. Create this daily (even just 30 minutes) writing routine for yourself and stick to it, even if you’re not writing, you can use it as time to think about writing.

You can find Lindsay’s review of Where the Truth Lies on our Books We Love page.

Where the Truth Lies: An interview with author Karina Kilmore