#MCCOTInterview {32}
Natasha Lester, the New York Times Bestselling Australian Author who has chosen to celebrate strong women left out of the history books
Becoming a bestselling full-time author is a dream chased by a lot of people since they were kids. It is for sure not easy to make it come true. At the contrary, it is quite challenging. But fortunately, it is not impossible at all. It just requires patience (a lot), hard work, devotion and, of course, some luck. Perth-Based New York Times Bestelling Author Natasha Lester know it well. After being an experienced marketing executive for years, in 2018, she has officially started her successful international career as a full-time author. A kind of literary fairy tale, which started as a thirthy-year-old student back at the university with the publication of a poem in a literary journal and went on, years after, with the publication of her first book in 2010. Let's meet a passionate Australian woman who has never give up her dream despite of difficulties. The perfect example which confirms, that sometimes dreams can really come true. And not only in the books.
By Hélène Battaglia
Who are you?
I live in Perth, Western Australia, the most isolated capital city in the world, but definitely the place with the best beaches! I’ve published seven historical novels and my latest is 'The Three Lives of Alix St Pierre'. I’m a New York Times bestselling author and my books have been translated into 21 languages. I have three children too.
Which professional background brought you to your now successful international bestselling author’s career?
I used to work as a marketing executive for Maybelline cosmetics.
How did you discover you were really good at writing?
I went back to university when I was thirty to pursue my dream of being a writer. My very first assignment was to write a poem for a poetry class and my tutor encouraged me to submit it to a literary journal for publication. It was immediately accepted – and it was the best $100 I’d ever earned.
When did you officially started your fulltime author’s career?
My first book was published in 2010, but I wasn’t working as a full-time author until about 2018/2019. It takes quite a few years to earn the kind of income that means you don’t have to do any other work besides writing to support yourself and your family.
Could you tell us the story behind the publication of your first book ever?
I wrote my first book as part of my Masters degree at university. That manuscript was rejected many, many times. But I kept rewriting it after every rejection, using the feedback from agents and publishers to make it better. Finally, I submitted it to the Hungerford Award for Fiction, which is a West Australian prize for an unpublished manuscript. I was lucky enough to win the award and thus my book was published.
Was writing a longtime hobby or passion for you?
I’ve wanted to write from the time I could read. My mum has copies of all the poems and books and stories I wrote when I was a kid. I loved the feeling of being totally swept away to another world when I read a book and I thought it would be wonderful to do that for a living.
You write historical and dramatic novels. Did you choose this category or did the category came to you naturally as your absolute personal path?
My first two novels were contemporary/literary fiction. But historical fiction is the genre I most love to read so it made sense to switch to writing that, which I did in 2016 with my first historical novel, 'A Kiss from Mr Fitzgerald'.
How is your daily routine during the writing?
Once I get my three children off to school, I do some exercise, and clear emails from the US that have come in overnight. By 9am, I'm ready to start writing and I do half-hour ‘sprints’, with 10 minute breaks in between to stand up and walk around, mostly to save my back! I stop at the end of the school day at 3.30pm when my kids get home from school. Later in the evening, once dinner is done, I’ll return to the desk to finish up any other admin tasks. It’s fair to say that I do my best creative work during the day so I try to protect that time for my writing.
Where do you find your main inspiration for your books?
From the incredible women who did amazing things but who’ve been left out of the history books.
How much time do you dedicate for researching before starting the writing?
Some authors research first and then start writing, but I work a little differently in that I do the bulk of my research after the first draft is done. I find this is the most efficient way, as I’ll know exactly which aspects of history I need to understand for my story. Also, I’m not a planner so it’s actually hard to know what I need to research before I write the first draft! For 'The Three Lives of Alix St Pierre', I studied pictures and illustrations of Dior’s very first New Look gowns from February 1947, and read Dior’s autobiography and discovered that Dior relied on fortune tellers and wasn’t going to go ahead with his couture house until a fortune teller told him she could foresee it was going to be successful. There was also some more serious research, particularly into the role of women during and after the war, and into the lesser known theatres of war in Switzerland and Italy, where Alix finds herself embroiled in a dangerous campaign to help the partisans fight the Nazis.
How much of you do you put into your strong female heroines?
Not much! They’re all much braver than I am!
Are by chance some of your books autobiographical?
No.
Three tips you could give to a young female who is choosing to follow in your footsteps…
To actually sit down and write. Wanting to be a writer and actually doing the work of being a writer are two very different things. The muse won’t visit you unless you’re at your desk, ready to turn ideas into words. Oh, and never give up. You don’t know when the luck you need is waiting for you, just around the corner.
Fashion and especially French haute couture are often protagonists of your stories. Which is your relationship with this fascinating and glittering world?
My real interest began when I lived in London for two years and wonderful vintage clothing stores like Steinberg and Tolkien were right at my doorstep, and the V&A museum was down the road, ready to be visited each weekend with its incredible fashion collection. I’ve since started my own vintage fashion collection and now I even do fashion illustration too, so I love including fashion storylines in my books as it’s something I’m passionate about.
As an already New York times bestselling author, what are you now expecting from your career?
To hopefully keep writing books that I love writing and that readers love reading.
How do you usually spend your free time?
I spend time with my three kids, I run, I read and I draw. I’ve been learning fashion illustration over the last couple of years and it’s a wonderful creative outlet.
All the pictures are Courtesy of Mrs Natasha Lester
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