Shannon Kelly-White had a secret dream – she wanted to write fiction. That dream is now a reality and you’ll see it in bookstores: Billie King, her debut novel has now been published by HarperCollins Australia.
It all started with a course at the Australian Writers’ Centre. Creative Writing Stage 1, taken at what Shannon calls “a ridiculously busy stage of life”, was the first step towards a book deal, a second novel already underway, and the writing life she now leads from her home town of Yarrawonga on the Murray River.
A secret dream, a busy life
When Shannon enrolled in Creative Writing Stage 1, her plate was already overflowing. “I had two young kids and was deep in the world of non-fiction and running a thriving online shop,” she says, with her husband working away in Melbourne several days a week.
Even the household menagerie was a job in itself. “I was also pretty much running an aged-care facility for my then 16-year-old cat and two senior dogs,” she says. Underneath all of it sat a dream of writing fiction.
“I was finding it hard to justify writing fiction when I had no time and too much ‘proper work’ to do,” she says. “I needed an excuse. A reason.
“The course meant that I committed to the practice of writing, and I soon discovered that it’s the best thing in the damn world.”
What she gained went well beyond a reason to show up. The course handed her a foundation in storytelling – and self-belief. “It helped me understand the craft behind the books I love and gave me the confidence to keep going,” she says. She loved swapping work with other writers and getting feedback on how to improve.
More than anything, though, it came down to permission. “The course gave me permission to take that dream seriously,” she says. “If I hadn’t taken that first step – that first course – I might never have made time for fiction.” Looking back, she finds it remarkable how much grew from one small decision.
Three women on the margins
Billie King is set in post-World War I Australia and follows three women living on the margins, each fighting to break free of what everyone around them assumes about who they are and what they deserve. As Shannon puts it: “Given those women are a notorious bushranger wanted for murder, a former lady of the night and now struggling mother, and a twelve-year-old girl with an entire town breathing down her neck, my three leading ladies are up against it.”
There’s mischief in the book as well as menace. “There’s plenty of revenge and grit and fun in this story,” Shannon says, “but beneath all of that is a tale of loyalty, courage and the need to belong.”
The long, bent road to publication
Shannon had already published non-fiction, but fiction felt like another country. “The leap to fiction felt very, very far,” she says. “I was convinced that no one would take me seriously as a novelist, but I knew that I had to try.” Before Billie King came a manuscript that didn’t work – years of effort now shut in a drawer. “It was crap!” she says, cheerfully.
Her persistence is the point. “You just can’t give up,” she says. “You aren’t born with the tools. You need to develop them. You will get better if you keep showing up, keep reading, and keep pushing to tell the truest story you can tell.”
When Billie King was ready, Shannon submitted to an agent. “I was lucky to hear back very quickly and get a big fat yes,” she says. After a round of edits, her agent took the manuscript out widely across Australia, and it found its home with Catherine Milne at HarperCollins.
The moment she found out is not one she’ll forget. “When I got the call, I was dropping off a faecal specimen at the pathology office. I really hope that isn’t an omen,” she says. Canister in hand, she was thrilled. “It felt so wonderful. Like I’d finished a race I didn’t know I was running,” she says. “Of course, it turned out the finish line was actually another starting line, but I’m so lucky to be here. I don’t take it for granted.”
Shannon’s advice to anyone sitting on a secret writing dream is simple. “I would say do it. Give yourself this gift and back your writing. So many aspiring writers spend years waiting for permission, waiting for the right time, waiting until they’re good enough. A course won’t write the book for you, but it might just be the thing that gets you started.”
Follow Shannon Kelly-White on Instagram (@shannon.kelly.white) and on Facebook (@shannonskitchenaustralia).
Course taken at AWC:
