Theory on Thursday with Fiona McCallum

Today, I'm very excited to have BEST-SELLING rural author Fiona McCallum on Theory on Thursday (especially because Fiona's books are also published by Harlequin Australia, so we're stable-mates). And she's answering the question EVERYONE wants to know of authors - WHERE DO WE GET OUR IDEAS?! 



Over to you Fiona...





I thought today I'd address one of the mostcommon questions an author is asked: "Where do your ideas come from?" The shortanswer is "Everywhere and anywhere". But that wouldn't make much of a Blogentry, now would it?
I tend to write about what I know. So farmy books have been set around a framework of two main themes:
Theme 1: rural setting
I was raised on a cereal and wool farm nearthe small town of Cleve on South Australia's Eyre Peninsula. I loved farm lifeso much that when I was in my final years of school my dream was to work thefarm with Dad. But as I had a brother, it wasn't even worth mentioning.
I stayed in the area and did what I thoughtwas the next best thing; marry a farmer. I had grand notions of working as atrue partnership. But the man I married turned out to be very threatened by astrong woman with ideas and get-up-and-go. I was to shut up and drive mytractor and stop and get meals when appropriate. We split after three and ahalf years.
They say "You can take the girl out of thecountry but not the country out of the girl". It's certainly true for me. Iwrite about rural and farm life because that's what I know and that's what Ihave a passion for. Also, by writing about it, in some way I'm probably still processingmy thwarted ambition at a psychological level. Beats paying for years and yearsof therapy! 
Theme 2: journey of self-discoverystoryline
It's a bit of a long story, but afterleaving the farm I ended up in Melbourne with an ambitious fellow who was inexecutive sales and marketing. Inner-city life in Melbourne and then Sydney andbeing embroiled in the corporate world was a huge eye-opener for this down-to-earthcountry girl with humble values and relatively simple needs.
I was stunned at the huge amounts of moneyfloating around, the excesses being displayed, the worshipping of materialpossessions, generally, and the adoration of companies by staff despite watchingfriends being retrenched. It seemed to me that people were offering moreloyalty to the company than their own family by working ridiculous hours anddoing lots of travelling away from home.
I felt like an outsider looking in. And thewhole time I was thinking, "Can't you see what you're doing?" Fascinatingstuff! I watched my new partner climb the corporate ladder. The higher hissalary went, the less I saw him and the more arrogant he became.
Gradually it became clear that all thatmattered to this person was money and looking wealthy to his peers - not justkeeping up with the Joneses, but passing them. When I complained that he wasn'tspending enough time at home, I was told to "Take the credit card for a spin".After seven years together, clearly this person didn't know me at all.
It was whilst standing in the cemetery atthe funeral of a very dear friend, having travelled alone halfway across thecountry, that I realised I may as well be single. What was the point of havinga life-partner if I didn't have his emotional support? We had all this money tobuy heaps of stuff, but all the stuff in the world can't give you a shoulder tocry on or a hug when you need it.
I had worked towards being a novelist for afew years and written a couple of well-rejected manuscripts. It was then Idecided that I would rather be financially poor and chasing my dream thanselling my soul, which is what I realised I was doing staying with this man inthis environment. So I left and came to Adelaide and started all over again.There's a whole other long story in here, but you'll have to wait for mybiography in about thirty years for that one!
Apologies, but I'm no good at telling ashort story! The point is, I've been on the journey of self-discovery that Itend to send my characters on. Sure, I use different settings and characterswith different jobs and different dreams, but the emotion behind it is thesame. It's learning to have the courage to have a dream and then chase it, nomatter how hard it might get. Because ultimately being rich isn't actuallyabout financial gains; I believe it's about how comfortable you are at a soullevel. If in your heart of hearts you believe you're living a truly fulfillinglife. If not, do something about it. I think modern society with all its adsand marketing has too many shackled to lives they don't like in order toconform. Oops, sorry, now I'm on my soapbox! I'm meant to be telling you whereI get my ideas from.
Filling in the gaps around the themes
So, with the basic platform of my stories sorted(the rural and journey of self-discovery themes), the gaps then need to be filledin. This I do with ideas that come from all sorts of places. Gems of ideas seemto pop up in the strangest places, at the strangest times; whilst readingbooks, standing in the shower, sitting on the loo, when out walking, staring atthe TV - really whenever my mind is relaxed enough. They often start as thetiniest seed and then just grow, gathering more detail as they go.
For instance, the idea of using horseracingfor Paycheque came from watching theCaulfield Cup in 2005. The runner-up, Mummify, had won the year before. He wasa great horse that had made the connections millions. Anyway, he pulled up lameafter the race and was put down that night. It really upset me because, whileI'm not involved with horseracing and I wasn't there, I felt that they had justtreated him like a money-making machine and not a wonderful creature thatdeserved every chance. So I decided to write Paycheque as a bit of a tribute, and give Mummify, and every otherhorse that hadn't had it, their second chance.
I'm a huge animal lover, so there willusually be a creature of some sort feature in my stories. I had horses for mostof my life until leaving the land; so again, with Paycheque, I was able todraw on the knowledge I had even though it was in a slightly differentrealm. 
The origins for Nowhere Else were a little different. I lost two friends in a planecrash in South Australia in May 2000. I was living in Melbourne at the time andhadn't seen them for a few years when they died. I knew that one day I wantedto somehow incorporate a bit of a tribute to them in one of my books. Somehow,somewhere I realised that having a character who was a journalist tell thestory and have a personal connection would do the trick. And of course she hadto go on her own journey of self-discovery, and it had to include the bush.
These are just two examples. I could go onforever, but I'd better stop here and let Rachael have her blog back!
So, you see, I tend to write about whatI've lived, what I've experienced, and what I've observed. Ideas just pop intomy head - and often at the most ridiculous, inopportune times. Many arebanished as not worth pursuing at that point. But those that hang around longenough get used. I don't write a journal so the ideas just float around upthere or disappear to come back better formed at a later date.
Thanks so much Rachael for having me onyour Thursday Theory segment. I hope I haven't bored everyone with my long,convoluted explanation of where I get my ideas from. But, as I'm sure you canall appreciate, it's not a question with a simple, quick answer.
Cheers,Fiona
Fiona's latest novel WATTLE CREEK is available in-stores now and online at www.harlequinbooks.com You can find Fiona online at her website and also on Facebook.




Blurb for Wattle Creek:

Damien McAllister is a man on the brink. Spending long, hard days on a farm he has no affection for, and nights ignoring the criticisms of his mother, Damien can no longer remember what he's living for. But in a small town like Wattle Creek, there are few people to turn to - and Damien learned long ago to keep his problems to himself.

Until Jacqueline Havelock, a young psychologist escaping her own issues, arrives fresh from the city and makes Damien question everything he has known about himself…also igniting a spark in his lonely heart.

Soon Damien is daring to ask for more than an ordinary life, and can glimpse the possibility of happiness. Will this accidental farmer dare to fulfil the long-forgotten legacy of his father and find peace in the arms of the doctor?

Or will the ghosts of their pasts threaten the fragile new lives they've just begun to build?