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Black teeth by Zane Lovitt: 16 March, 2017

"Lovitt was the Ned Kelly Award-winning author of the collection The Midnight Promise, and this full-length novel is another testament to his skills as a storyteller. The voice of Jason, an ungainly tech-head who would righteously mock me in online forums for using the phrase ‘tech-head’, is clear and true: a man shrouded in anxiety and embedded in the world of his laptop, infrequently surfacing under a new identity to face the world and stitch someone up." – Fiona Hardy

Zane Lovitt was a documentary filmmaker before turning his hand to crime fiction. His debut novel, The midnight promise, won the Ned Kelly Award for Best First Fiction, and led to Zane being named one of the Best Young Novelists of 2013 by the Sydney Morning Herald.

Zane will join us for a Q&A on Thursday, 9 March between 8 and 9pm. Please leave any questions you have below. (And discuss his writing at your leisure!)

Want to buy Black teeth? Receive 10% off when purchasing it from Readings at State Library Victoria. To receive the discount online, enter the promo code BOOKCLUB in the promo code box during online checkout. To receive the discount at our State Library bookshop, simply mention the Thursday night book club at the counter.

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Hi Zane,

I have a bunch of questions that I'm sure Tablo users would be v interested in knowing the answers to!

- What was the most difficult aspect of bringing your book to life?
- How do you find your story? Do you ever try writing different versions to find the right style and narrative voice?
- How was your editorial process? Any dos and do-nots others might find useful?
- Can you tell us a bit about how you got published and whether it was it difficult?
- Do you have general advice for new writers?
- Any ideas on how to cope with rejection initially?
- What were some of the best ways of promoting your work? What can authors do themselves?
- Have readers in other countries reacted differently to your work?
- Who are some of the writers you’ve learnt the most from?

Thanks so much in advance :) Hope I'm not overwhelming you too much!

Hi Laura

Thank you for the questions.

- What was the most difficult aspect of bringing your book to life?
The research side of things is always hardest for me, or feels hardest. Trawling through, in this case, loads of online conversations and oddities to find that little gem of info...
- How do you find your story? Do you ever try writing different versions to find the right style and narrative voice?
The drafting process is long - I write a lot of drafts and it always changes over that time. I probably wouldn't say that I write a bunch of different versions until I've found the right style or narrative voice, because it's usually the style of voice that's attracted me in the first place.
- How was your editorial process? Any dos and do-nots others might find useful?
Hmmmm. The best advice I think I can give right now is to give your draft to a lot of people and hear their feedback. You don't have to take their opinions into account, but every now and then someone will articulate exactly what the problem is with chapter 14, and set u up to go and fix that problem.
- Can you tell us a bit about how you got published and whether it was it difficult?
I sent the manuscript to publishers and crossed my fingers!
- Do you have general advice for new writers?
Finish the first draft, even if you hate it.
- Any ideas on how to cope with rejection initially?
If you can enjoy the process of writing, then everything else (the rejection, the adulation) will be merely secondary.
- What were some of the best ways of promoting your work? What can authors do themselves?
I am totally not the right person to answer that question! I wouldn't know how to begin to promote a book...
- Have readers in other countries reacted differently to your work?
Only superficially. Americans needed a few hints about what a barrister is and why we use British idioms, but the idea is that the stories are universal...
- Who are some of the writers you’ve learnt the most from?
Cormac McCarthy, Amy Hempel, Chuck Palahniuk, Bret Easton Ellis, Toni Morrison, Mary Robeson, Raymond Carver, Raymond Chandler, Dash Hammett, Richard Yates, Patricia Highsmith. Not a lot of Aussies, I'm afraid.

cheers!

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