Just So Stories

Welcome Favel, to Just So Stories! What a pleasure it is to have you share some insights into your life and work with my readers.

In 2011, you made quite the splash (sorry, had to be done!) with your debut novel Past the Shallows, shortlisted in the Miles Franklin, Winner of the Dobbie Literary Award, and yourself awarded Best Newcomer in the 2023 ABIA. This was followed by two other hugely successful novels. Now you have blazed your way into the hearts of so many kid readers, first with Wandi, and now, I predict, with Kimmi. So, there is much to talk about here! 

What were you doing before you were writing professionally?

I am a high-school graduate, and after school I had a series of hospitality jobs before becoming a postal worker for a time. It was then that I decided to go back to study, and I enrolled in Professional Writing and Editing at CAE TAFE in Melbourne. I never finished my diploma, but I learned a lot and started crafting Past the Shallows.

Can you tell us about your early writing?

During my time at TAFE, I knew that I really did want to become a writer, and I worked hard. I wrote many short stories and eventually got some of them published or shortlisted for prizes. I didn’t think I could ever write a novel, but the early sketches of Past the Shallows kept coming up in my writing. I rented a small writing studio in the Nicholas Building in Melbourne with two of my fellow students, and from the day we moved in, I started treating my writing as a real job. I put in the time whenever I could. IT really was such a magical time even though I had no publishing contract.

What lead to that first successful novel?

It took me a very long time to write Past the Shallows. At least 5 years. When I had something that felt ‘good enough’ I started sending my manuscript to agents and publishers. I was unsuccessful, but I won a mentorship with the Australian Society of Authors and then I got into a Manuscript Development Program with Hachette Australia. I then worked on the novel for another year and sent it back to Hachette. After a long wait, it was picked up!

Then, following that, how did you first become involved with the dingoes, and inspired to write the two delightful books about Wandi and Kimmi?

I visited the Dingo Discovery and Research Centre in Victoria about 5 years ago, and it was such an incredible experience that I begged to volunteer there. Now, I am there once or twice a week and I love every minute being with the dingoes. They are sensitive and highly intelligent. Plus dingo cuddles are the best thing in the world.

Obviously, you are writing narrative non-fiction with a goodly degree of anthropomorphism, but how much of the two books is factual and how did those facts come to light?

Both books are based on real facts and both books are important reminders of how threatened dingoes are. That is why I wrote them. Plus, I have worked with both dingoes for many years and I know them well. I wanted the reader to feel what it might be like to be a dingo and be in so much danger.

Can you tell us a bit about your childhood? E.g. What was little Favel like?  Were you the swot or the scamp at school?  (By the way, it’s an unusual name, I’ve only heard it in Latin before.)

Favel means Favour in old English I think. As a child I was very quiet and small and shy, and I daydreamed all the time. I loved dogs and being read to. I did not like my red hair.

I always ask creators this same question. What is your working day like? And your working space?

The morning is the best time to write for me, and if I miss it – the day is often a bust. I try to finish at around 3 pm and then go for a walk or do some gardening. I find that my brain really goes to sleep at around 3 pm. But I do read in the afternoons often.

My ‘office’ is a small room in my house, and it is very messy and chaotic, and my dog ‘Bear’ is often snoring while I work.

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not working/writing?  Do you have any special interests or hobbies?

I absolutely love to roller skate – at home or with my friends at the skating rink. I love planting trees and working in the vegetable garden. I am passionate about birds and all wildlife. Recently, I have started learning Norwegian. I would really love to be able to speak another language!

Are you working on any new projects? Do you have plans for more dingo books for us to enjoy?

There are plans for another dingo book that is based on a true story. But for now, I am working on an adult novel that I began during a residency in Trondheim, Norway (this is why I am learning Norwegian).

Finally, can you sum yourself up in a six-word sentence?

I AM A WORK IN PROGRESS

Favel, I thank you very much for being so generous with your time and I wish Kimmi all the success she deserves, now she’s on our shelves.

Check out the Dingo Foundation and the sanctuary, and the cast of dingo characters.