It is a pleasure to welcome Kaneana May to my blog, Mrs B’s Book Reviews for A Tea Break with Mrs B, a author interview series. To help celebrate the release of All We Have Is Now we sat down for a chat. Thanks Kaneana!
What is your drink of choice as we sit down for a chat about your new book?
I actually love drinks! (Food for that matter too!) But tea, coffee, champagne and gin are all regulars in my household.
Right now, I’m in the mood for an English Breakfast; milky but not too milky.
Can you give us an overview of your writing career to date?
I studied Television Production at university and gained first class honours in Screenwriting. I was lucky enough to land a dream job as a storyliner on a brand-new television series Headland. I went on to work in the script departments of both All Saints and Home and Away. I was able to learn from some of the best in the business about story and plotting. I became a freelance scriptwriter for Home and Away and absolutely loved the world of television.
While I had dabbled in my own fiction writing for years, I became serious about it when I became a mother. When my son had two sleeps a day, one sleep would be dedicated to house chores, but the other would be all mine to write. As the years went on, the housework suffered as turned all of my attention to my writing.
In March 2019 a short story I had written was published in the Underdog Anthology; a series of short stories that celebrated the #LoveOzYA momentum. It’s a contemporary story about two sisters, which earnt its place in the anthology through a nationwide competition.
In June 2019, my debut novel The One was published by Harlequin (Harper Collins). I secured the deal after pitching it at the Romance Writers of Australia conference to publisher Rachael Donovan, in August 2018. It was all so surreal – and definitely one of the most exciting things to ever happen to me.
How different was the experience of writing All We Have Is Now, compared to your previous release, The One?
I was lucky that I had written a fair big chunk of All We Have Is Now when The One came out. I had naively (and enjoyably) been working away in a world of my own. But once reviews for The One started rolling in, the ‘reader’ wedged itself in my mind like it hadn’t done before. There was a certain luxury writing that first novel, that I imagine you don’t get back. I was writing it in the hope that it would be published, but there was so much freedom in how I approached it.
With The One I was able to draw on my experience in working for television. With All We Have Is Now I had to do more research and force myself into a completely different headspace. Emotionally speaking, the issues are much heavier and at times this was difficult and confronting. I tried not to shy away from this – and I hope the benefit will be in the pages.
Can you tell us what inspired the creation of your new book, All We Have Is Now?
All We Have Is Now is inspired by messy complications of real life. There are both good times and bad times for all of us. I used personal experiences and those of people I know to inspire the story threads within the novel. I hope readers will engage with a world that they know; and characters that they recognise are relatable.
What issues do you explore in All We Have Is Now?
I explore loss, grief, healing and friendship.
The book is set in a wellness centre; a place that promotes wellbeing of both the mind and body. I felt like it was a wonderful place to be able to delve into these deep issues.
Each of my three main characters; Olive, Bree and Elsie are thrown their own loss (as such) to deal with. Getting through anything alone is tough. I examine the ways in which friendship can help you through.
Did you have an affinity with a particular character in All We Have Is Now and why?
I loved writing each of the three leading ladies. They each offered me something different;
Olive is very particular about things, which I found really fun to write.
Bree is full of spunk, but I loved trying to dig out her vulnerable side.
Elsie is gentle and sunshiny but battling with a jealously that she wished she wasn’t. I enjoyed trying to provoke her.
I also had a real soft spot for Elsie’s stepson, Jonah. He often made me melt!
What is one thing that you really hope readers will take away from the experience of reading All We Have Is Now?
That we get by with a little help of our friends.
Sometimes life is hard, but the power of friends (family and lovers) can help you through anything.
What attracts you to the contemporary fiction genre?
I love both reading and writing contemporary fiction. I think books help us make sense of the world. They let us experience what others might be dealing with. They let us see how others make their way through life. It allows you to explore, along with feel both joy and empathy for what others might be going through.
When you are not writing, what do you enjoy doing?
I’m a mum to three primary school aged kids, so they keep me pretty busy. I love spending time with them and my husband. We don’t live far away from the beach, so love to spend our weekends and holidays on the sand and take our dog (a chocolate Labrador), Albus, for walks. I love going to bootcamp (so I feel less guilty for all the hours I spend at my desk). I play netball and go to book club and spend time with friends. An all-time indulgent (that I try to do regularly) is soak in the bath with a good book and a glass of bubbles.
What book is next on your reading pile?
I’m currently reading Firefly Lane in paperback. I’m listening to Christian White’s The Wife and the Widow on audio and my next book club read is Becoming by Michelle Obama.
But I have lots of great reads that I want to dive into; Meg Bignell’s Welcome to Nowhere River and Alli Sinclair’s The Codebreakers are waiting ever so patiently.
What are you working on writing wise at present?
I’m working on another manuscript at the moment (what I hope to be Book 3). It’s a story about two friends over a stretch of years. Please keep your fingers crossed for me that I can get it finished and show it to my publisher.
Thank you for the lovely tea break and chat Kaneana. Congratulations on the upcoming release of your new book, All We Have Is Now.
Thanks so much for having me – and for your support.
Healing others is their calling, but what happens if they can’t fix themselves? A richly nuanced and empathetic examination of life, loss and courage from a talented new Australian author.
Health and wellbeing brought Olive, Elsie and Bree together. After five years, their bustling wellness centre is demanding expansion. A beautiful federation house nestled among the picturesque backdrop of their small town is the perfect place to grow their business. But they don’t count on their personal lives getting in the way.
Practical and pragmatic, Olive keeps her past hidden from her friends. But when an old high-school flame shows up, the secrets she’s worked so hard to bury threaten to tear her carefully constructed world apart.
Bree is the fun-loving one, although family tensions lurk behind her free-spirited facade. The reappearance of her troubled sister Winnie brings Bree’s priorities into sharp focus. Will she have to shelve her own happiness to save her sister?
Kind and maternal to all those around her, Elsie’s role as the practice’s counsellor comes naturally. But when tragedy strikes, her world tumbles down like a house of cards.
With everything they’ve built in disarray, their friendship is on the line…
All We Have Is Now by Kaneana May is published on 7th April 2021 by HQ Fiction – AU. Details on how to purchase the book can be found here.
Connect with Kaneana here:
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