Australian & New Zealand Author Showcase No 23 – Sarah K. Balstrup

An idea squeezed into my head in 2023, after seeing so many of the book community gathering at conventions across the US and UK. And once my FOMO subsided, I got to thinking about who might be gathered together if we had similar conventions closer to home. Pending the master planning required to arrange a massive convention, I thought the next best thing might be to run an Australian & New Zealand author showcase. So, I sent out the call, with the only prerequisite for participating being the author had to have been born in either country or currently live there.

As we merrily march on into 2024 the Aussie / New Zealand Author Showcase is gathering steam again. Just when I thought it was over even more talent has emerged, at this rate its threatening to become year long event! I will continue to post their individual showcases at regular intervals. So hopefully you will enjoy these interactions with some very talented people. Please be sure to check out their work, sign up to their newsletters and follow them on their social media of choice. I make no apologies for any damage inflicted to your TBR’s!

Showcase No 23 finds me chatting to Aussie author Sarah K. Balstrup, whose debut novel The Way of Unity (SPFBO9 semi-finalist) was published in Feb 2023.

Do you feel that being an Aussie / Kiwi (or residing there) influences your writing?

I feel a connection to the Australian gothic tradition, but there is little of that in my dark fantasy debut, The Way of Unity. Though I would say that Velspar is inspired by the Australian east coast, Tasmania, and New Zealand.

What are some of the challenges being located so far away from the rest of the world, do have any tips for overcoming these?

When I started writing my novel (during lockdown) everyone was in the same boat when it came to physical isolation. I queried the same US/UK agents and small publishers that everyone else did and no-one was going to book signings or Cons. I think it levelled the playing field and the apocalyptic atmosphere of the time made unpublished authors more willing to take risks. Anything that could go online went online and, in that sense, the world got smaller.

I have never actually met my editor, cover artist, or reviewers, but that doesn’t seem to matter. Still, it is nice to mingle with real people once in a while, and I have found some excellent folks in the Aussie SFF community.

How do you go about establishing connections in the book community? (any tips / suggestions)

Finding your online community is essential for self-published authors. Self-publishing relies far more on personal relationships than agented publishing, so you’ve got to put yourself out there in a genuine way. You’ve got to be generous and let people know who you are and what you are into. It is a slow process but so much more rewarding than seeing your readers as numbers on a spreadsheet. Though, of course, we all like to sell our books.

Do you have a favourite character to write? And conversely are there any of your characters that are the more of a struggle?

I like to write flawed characters that struggle with the darker aspects of their personality but that have some redeeming features.

I don’t so much struggle with particular types of characters but after writing such an interior book (about a psychic society) I am finding it a challenge shifting into a modern Australian setting in my second WIP.

So aliens finally reveal themselves to us and your work is presented to them as example of what humanity has to offer, what do you hope they will take away from this intergalactic exchange?

The human organism is a unity of individuals, a precarious thing indeed.

Tell us something about yourself that not many people know?

I have a Nick Cave tattoo on my arm signed by the man himself.

What would you say is the best thing about being an author and the worst?

The best: reaching a flow-state of inspiration where the world disappears and all the pieces fall into place.

The worst: how long it takes to write a novel vs. the time I have to sit down and write.

Any other Aussie / Kiwi creatives you’d like to give a shout out for? (lets spread the love)

T. R. Napper, J. Ashley-Smith, C. H. Pearce, S. J. Norman, Jessica A. McMinn… can we claim Richard Swan?

What’s your favourite quote or passage from one of your books?

My Skalen stares into the fire. Amand turns the stone in his mind. Maeryn turns the rabbits on their spikes.

I hear death’s roaring tide in my Skalen’s ears, the stone’s moaning call.

Emryl’s tongue is poised at the back of her teeth. Her lips part. To tell my secret, perhaps. To tell him of the plans she set in motion.

I soothe the desire of his listening. I draw the redness out.

Listlessly, his shoulders slump.

My Skalen’s eyes are heavy now.

Intercessor Waldemar Rasmus of Brivia, 714.

What can you say about your current project or what you are planning next?

I am hard at work on the sequel to The Way of Unity but have also started on a book based in Canberra about a grieving woman who accidently starts a cult based on the esoteric maps of Walter Burley Griffin.

Bonus Question: Lastly Vegemite* yes or no?

Sometimes, haha. It’s a hangover thing. How about Bonox? At my Nana’s it was always, “Tea? Coffee? Bonox?” It is basically beef stock in a cup.

* An iconic dark salty spread that (most) Australians slap on toast for breakfast (NB explanation for the rest of the world)

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