A.C. Flanagan
A. C. (Alice) Flanagan is a Sydney based author and mother of two. Her desire to write came when she was in her mid twenties when she discovered a love of reading. It took many years but her dream was realised in her early forties with the publication of her two novels Raindance and Ecstasy.
Raindance, her first book, was inspired by the changes drought had brought to Australia in the early 2000s. In a ‘what if’ story Raindance explores the decisions poverty imposes on a mother as she is manipulated into becoming a terrorist in a time when drought and war has brought the western world to her knees.
Alice’s second book, Ecstasy is written for a teenage audience. The story relates the emotional journey of a young girl’s friends and family after a night of partying and social drug taking goes terribly wrong.
Despite being a reluctant reader during her school years Alice’s love of books began in her early twenties as she explains,
“I was more of a science student at school and whilst I could get immersed in text books I didn’t feel I had time to sit down and read books just for fun. It was only after I finished my studies that I suddenly realised why so many people loved reading!”
Born in Newcastle, NSW Alice is the middle child of seven. She grew up in the 1960s when imagination was the basis of after school fun playing makeshift games in the streets with the neighbourhood kids.
“Growing up in the sixties and seventies was a great training ground for my writing. We didn’t have computer games and the like to entertain us so it was up to us to make our own fun. Kids would spill into the streets after school to play. We would create new games which lasted the afternoon (like a short story) or continue games which were played over many weeks (like chapters in a book). Plots and format (err, I mean the rules of the games) were argued over until decisions were changed (editing, editing, final cut) and the story flowed.
We took things to heart, talked our way out of trouble, laughed and cried, (the foundation for creating great characters). And regardless of how friendships were left when it was time to go home time we all turned up the next day to play again (that’s got to be a kin to putting your finished book out there and regardless of what people think of it you carry on with your next writing project all the same).”
Alice believes creativity is within us all and even those who don’t think they can write can find a way to ignite the spark of imagination inside.
“We spend so much of our day thinking practical thoughts that often we forget we have another side to ourselves, a creative side. Being creative isn’t about thinking; it’s actually about not thinking and not doing which in effect gives our imagination space to play.
If you don’t think you are creative try giving your thinking mind a break, pick up a pen or a paint brush or a needle and thread or a hammer and some wood (whatever feels like fun for you) and feel the non thinking part of your brain inspiring you as you work on your creation.
It’s like listening to the spaces between the notes in a piece of music – it’s the same music you just experience it differently.”
When Alice is not writing she is busy doing “mum” jobs and holding down a full time job as a Business Writer for a large company.
“I’d love to be a full time writer but until that happens I have the next best thing, a job which allows me to write. My kids are a great joy to me and being a mum keeps me busy, they also remind me of the importance of laughter and fun because these things come so naturally to children. It is after the rush of the day, in the quiet hours of the night or the early morning that I find my space to write. This is my time when there are no other demands on me, just me, my computer, a cup of tea and my imagination and in this space I can go anywhere we want.”