Writing Podcast Episode 718: Mary-Lou Stephens welcomes you to ‘The Hobart Hotel’

Do you love historical fiction? I have to admit to being a sucker for a different time and place – and both are on offer in Mary-Lou Stephens’ latest novel, The Hobart Hotel. In this episode, Mary-Lou discusses her unique approach to research and the challenges of writing about Uruguay in the 1940s, as well as why she loves writing historical fiction so much.

You can listen to the episode below, on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or add the podcast RSS feed manually to your favourite podcast app.  

00:00 Welcome
06:03 Writers in the Wild
10:08 Writing tip: Find balance in your creative life
13:15 WIN!: The Secret Lives of Murderers’ Wives by Elizabeth Arnott
15:07 Word of the week: ’Patalous’
15:45 Writer in residence: Mary-Lou Stephens
17:19 Describing The Hobart Hotel
19:16 Inspiration and research
20:57 The dual timeline process
22:36 Capturing the Uruguay wartime vibe
27:24 Why Historical Fiction?
30:32 Mary-Lou’s ‘slow travel’ writing life
34:40 Writing while traveling
37:17 Memoir and meditation
43:10 What’s next?
44:58 Promoting her books
46:07 Final thoughts

Links mentioned in this episode

Writer in residence: Mary-Lou Stephens

Mary-Lou Stephens was born in Tasmania, studied acting at The Victorian College of the Arts and played in bands in Melbourne, Hobart and Sydney.

Eventually she got a proper job – in radio, where she was a presenter and music director, first with commercial radio and then with the ABC.

She received great reviews for her memoir Sex, Drugs and Meditation (Pan Macmillan, 2013), the true story of how meditation changed her life, saved her job and helped her find a husband. 

Her debut novel, The Last of the Apple Blossom (2021) made the Better Reading Top 100 and her second novel The Chocolate Factory (2024) was a best seller. The Jam Maker was also a bestseller by every industry marker. Her latest release is The Hobart Hotel.

Mary-Lou has worked and played all over Australia. Now she’s travelling the world with her husband, slowly, and writing, mostly.

Follow Mary-Lou on Instagram.

Follow HQ Books on Instagram.

This podcast is brought to you by the Australian Writers' Centre and our course Historical Fiction.

 

Find out more about your host, Valerie Khoo (@valeriekhoo on Twitter and @valeriekhoo on Instagram).

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