About the Author
Jenny Kroonstuiver
Born in the 1950s, Jenny Kroonstuiver spent her childhood living on pastoral stations firstly in western Queensland and then on the Nullarbor Plain in Western Australia. She trained as a teacher and spent several years teaching in country areas of the Northern Territory and Queensland, before returning to Kalgoorlie in the 1980s. After a short-lived marriage, she raised her four children alone, continuing to work in the broader education sector. From 2004, she took up a role managing the national training system for the Australian meat industry, a role she held until her retirement in 2020. After publishing several family histories and biographies, she turned to writing historical fiction, and has written several novels set in the ghost towns of Australia.
Q&A
Most frequent questions and answers
Having lived and travelled through so many remote areas of Australia, I have always been fascinated by the ruins of towns which were obviously once thriving. The first novel I wrote, The Memory Chest, was inspired by a true story, and I enjoyed the research so much that I decided ghost towns, such as Gwalia, would be the inspiration for future novels.
Outback people have a strong sense of belonging, of family and of the politics affecting their survival. These values are reflected in all of my books. I am also mindful of the fact that, although once important, these towns did not survive, and therefore I ensure that my stories reflect the inevitability of changing times and circumstances.
I am an avid reader of fiction! After writing several non-fiction books, I decided to try my hand at fiction and found that I loved every minute. Writing fiction enables me to convey a sense of real people and the everyday life of the towns. I also have a deep love of history, a subject I never actually had the opportunity to teach. Writing historical fiction allows me to combine several passions simultaneously.
Increasingly, I find myself incorporating real people from the past as characters in my books. Having learned the basic tenets of genealogical research while writing family histories, I put these skills to good use and thoroughly researched each of the characters to ensure I accurately retell the circumstances of their lives. Sometimes I spend days and days getting caught up in the family histories of my characters, even though the research may ultimately result in only a single line in the novel.
Also, that wonderful national database of newspapers and other publications, Trove. The events and articles published in the newspapers of the time serve as the basis for my stories. They provide an invaluable window into the attitudes, politics and issues of the time.
Do it! Officially, I am retired, but this is really my fifth (or is it sixth?) career. I am self-published, which means I am not bound by publishers’ timelines or requirements, and I certainly value the freedom this affords. If you have ever felt that you had a story to tell, whether it’s your own or one you’ve imagined, then I suggest you make a start and see where it takes you. I can honestly say that I never know how a story is going to end until I am nearly there; nor do I plan – I just go where the story takes me. What I mean to say is there are really no rules. I believe there is a story inside everyone.
