Reading and writing questions for Rebecca K Reilly

Greta & Valdin has been phenomenally successful – how does it feel and what kinds of feedback have you had?

I think Winter Olympian Ben Barclay said it best when he made the Freeski Slopestyle final: It feels weird but also normal. I’ve mainly been in my house since the book came out last winter, it’s extremely unglamorous. People don’t usually give me feedback directly, but I’ll get messages saying, ‘There’s a man talking about you in this Vietnamese restaurant??’ or ‘Your book is on my tattooist’s Instagram, you’ve made it.’

You’ve said the first blush of these characters and the story came to you many years ago. When did you feel ready to start writing and what prompted it?

Ah, I got dumped and my work started interviewing other people for my job while I was on holiday. You don’t have to worry so much about giving up the security of your current lifestyle for an ambitious creative pursuit if you haven’t got a lot on anyway.

What are you working on right now?

I find it hard to write, given the current circumstances. I haven’t really written for a year and a half. I think I will eventually, but in the meantime I really like the Worldle game where you guess the country by its outline.

What are you reading right now?

Entanglement by Bryan Walpert, an article about how YA novels don’t have plots any more, it’s all just vibes, and a Reddit thread about how to stop your hair going flat.

Best writing tips?

Write with an audience in mind who already likes you and use words that they already know.

Rebecca K Reilly’s novel Greta & Valdin (Te Herenga Waka University Press) is a finalist in the 2022 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction.