Interview with Author – Peter Rake
Author Bio:
Peter Rake spent the 1950s and 1960s in outback Queensland, moving from town to town, from one sheep station to the next, enjoying the expanse of land and the satisfaction of a long day’s work. Along the way he met a great many “characters” and amassed a wealth of experience as a roust-about, drover, stockman and contract musterer, as well as helping out with a windmill expert, driving tractors, delving bore drains and a couple of rides in rodeos for a bit of boyish fun.
It was in the 1980s, after Pete had settled down somewhat in Sydney, that these experiences began to inspire some witty tales. After over thirty years of spinning yarns, Peter Rake’s short stories, and a novel called Freda, are being published on Amazon Kindle, starting in July 2012.
It is rare that an Australian, who had such wonderful experiences in their youth, comes to fictionalize those times with such candour and humour. Peter Rake is a modern author writing about a time that is sadly often seen as an historical backwater, and yet the cultural spirit that is alive in his writing, still resonates in the Australian way of life today. That fortitude is celebrated in his writing and made accessible by the endearing characters and situations he has concocted from a life well lived.
Whilst his short stories would fair well in a retelling around a campfire, his literary command is such that the dialogue is distinctly outback-Australian, as are the inner thoughts and motivations of his characters, and of course that famous Aussie wit.
What inspires you to write?
I have always loved putting characters on paper to see where they go. Many stories have died and gone to the waste paper collectors. My imagination demands that I do something with it other than use it for my own entertainment, so you get my words through the person behind my publisher MetaPlume, which is now more of the real reason on what has inspired me, as I can now see others enjoying my mind, and that is a big ego kick.
Tell us about your writing process.
Contrary to the method of having a beginning, a middle and an ending in mind before I start something, I create characters that I feel will fit the story that are, maybe, hanging around in my head for a long time (my first novel, The Outback Story – The Loves and Adventures of ‘Tiger’ Williams, began in 1988). Having my characters, knowledge of the settings and an overall thought on the storyline is a small part of my process as I find that the characters often take over and the story goes in another direction. If one can think, one can write those thoughts down.
I am definitely a seat of the pants writer. Even if a story I start on goes bum-up, I will often use parts of it for another entirely different yarn. I guess that is the crux of it, I love to tell yarns… Fair Dinkum!
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I certainly listen to these characters, and to make them more realistic. I come up with a character as a character from a composite of people that I actually know or have known. Everyone that writes is interacting with their characters. Sometimes mine ‘talk back’, and I change what they have done or said. If you do not relate to your characters then how can you expect to ‘behave’ to a preconceived plan?
What advice would you give other writers?
I am still in the receiving advice market, but all I can add to the great advice already out there with the great number of the puppies of the writing litter is to use the three things that make a good story … Edit, Edit and Edit.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
A sheer fluke. I had looked at publishers and I looked at the amount of money that they wanted up front. Then one fine day through someone that lives in Canada, I heard about MetaPlume and Fiona Gatt, my
publisher. I still hesitated for some time before I finally sent an email to Fiona. The delay in her reply gave me the thought that I was not going to publish at all in my dotage, I am 74 ya’ know.
Then the reply, the verbal agreement, the ready acceptance, which was a surprise, a pleasant one, and talking of pleasant, that of Fiona herself who, although a true blonde, is starting to work me out.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
When you see the amount of talent around, I believe that the future of publishing is alive and well, and will only get ‘weller’, despite the electronic gadgets that are taking some of the need for hard print books that can be held in the hand and devoured like your most favorite dessert.
What do you use?
Professional Editor, Professional Cover Designer
What genres do you write?
Romance, Short Story, Outback Adventure
What formats are your books in?
Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Author Home Page Link
Link To Author Page On Amazon
Your Social Media Links
https://twitter.com/OldPeteRake
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