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| Stephany Evans Steggall |
Thursday
night proved to be another successful author night for Caffeine and Chapters
Social Book Club. We were joined by Biographer Stephany Evans Steggall
who talked to us about the writing of her new authorised biography Interestingly Enough......The Life of Tom Keneally, which was launched at the end of September at the Tom Keneally Centre.
Stephany initially joined us in 2013 to talk about her 'new project' and it's hard to believe that two years have passed and that project is now
complete!
Researching Tom's life took Stephany and her sister Helen (an ardent C & C club member) to Ireland and the U.S.A. so, via Helen, we have heard some interesting stories about their travels during the writing period.
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| Some photos with Tom at the book launch and a selection of Stephany's biographies |
Stephany also gave us an insight into the pitfalls and legalities involved in writing about someone's life. There are times where the author needs to tread carefully whilst trying to give a true and accurate account.
Tom Keneally sounds like an approachable, jolly and charismatic character but he is also a man who has had some dark times to deal with.
We took the opportunity of making this month our Tom Keneally month and read as many books of his as we could. The highlights being Shindler's Ark, Searching for Schindler, The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, The People's Train and The Daughter's of Mars. I personally also read The Tyrant's Novel which I felt wasn't of the same quality as these other novels. Keneally is a prolific writer and we commented on how he is quite happy to tackle any subject and, at age 80, there seems to be no stopping him as apparently a biography on Napoleon is next!
We took the opportunity of making this month our Tom Keneally month and read as many books of his as we could. The highlights being Shindler's Ark, Searching for Schindler, The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, The People's Train and The Daughter's of Mars. I personally also read The Tyrant's Novel which I felt wasn't of the same quality as these other novels. Keneally is a prolific writer and we commented on how he is quite happy to tackle any subject and, at age 80, there seems to be no stopping him as apparently a biography on Napoleon is next!
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It was a night of some pretty good storms around the Coast but we managed to stay dry on Helen's deck and, as usual with Caffeine and Chapters, the food was done in style. The pièce de résistance being a cake decorated with the book cover image of Interestingly Enough..... it looked and tasted fantastic!
We always enjoy and appreciate having Stephany come to talk to us and look forward to being privy to the next planned project.
Maxine
