Caroline Barron Author

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Alec Patric

Lovewordsmusic interviewee Alec Patric wins Miles Franklin Award

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Hooray for Alec Patric! His book ‘Black Rock White City’ just won the Miles Franklin Award for best book. And that is a big ole deal, as it’s Australia’s premier literary prize, and is worth a whopping $60,000 AUD. Not bad for a man who works in a St Kilda book store and struggled to get published.

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Caroline Barron and Alec Patric at Readings Book Store, Melbourne, 2015. Image copyright Caroline Barron

I gave the book five stars on Goodreads back in June 2015—click on the link to read my review.

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Alec Patric. Image copyright Alec Patric

And, after meeting Alec in Melbourne, we had a lovely, long conversation over email. Click on the link to read some wonderful insights into a writer’s mind.

Congratulations, Alec!

The Heart of the Matter: In Conversation with Alec Patric

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In a month long two-way email interview with award winning Melbourne author Alec Patric, I uncover writing craft inspiration and a mutual love of beautifully crafted guitars. Patric is the author of Black Rock White City (2015),  acclaimed novella Bruno Kramzer (2013),  Las Vegas for Vegans (2012) and The Rattler & Other Stories (2011).

Alec Patric. Image copyright Alec Patric
Alec Patric. Image copyright Alec Patric

Caroline Barron: Tomorrow is Saturday, the beginning of the school holidays. We’re heading off as a family to Lake Rotoiti, which is in the middle of the North Island. Maori legend has it that a young warrior was hunting for delicacies for his pregnant wife when his dog ran off chasing a Kiwi through the forest. When the dog returned a few hours later, wet and sicking up half-digested fish, the warrior realised there must be a lake nearby and searched the forest until he found Lake Rotoiti (and Lake Rotorua). So, tomorrow, I have no work commitments and it’s looking like the perfect day.
Saturday, no work commitments; how does the perfect day look?
[Read more…] about The Heart of the Matter: In Conversation with Alec Patric

Ten Magnificent Melbourne Moments

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Me and My-Friend-Jarrod. Also known as Jarrod Haberfield. Image copyright Caroline Barron 2015
Me and My-Friend-Jarrod (also known as Jarrod Haberfield) at Luxembourg Bistro, St Kilda. Image copyright Caroline Barron 2015

I’m writing this on the plane home to Auckland. Three days in Melbourne have disappeared faster than the glass of NV Larmandier-Bernier Longitude Brut we downed at Luxembourg on Saturday night. I feel rejuvenated and ready to return to life. I missed my husband and children but know I will return to them a more rested and culturally satisfied woman. My-Friend-Jarrod kept asking if we were doing enough. Darling, if you are reading this, I had a ball. To slow down, to lounge and to talk—about the finer points of grammar, the career success of Barbra Streisand, how to roll perfect seashells of cream with a hot spoon, and the echoes of parallel lives—was the salve this girl needed. [Read more…] about Ten Magnificent Melbourne Moments