Belinda Castles

Belinda Castles (born 1971) is an English-born Australian novelist. "The River Baptists", for which she won the 2006 Australian/Vogel Award, is her second novel; her first was "Falling Woman".

Life

Castles moved to Australia in 1996. She works as an editor when not writing. With her husband and daughter she lives near Sydney.cite web |title= The River Baptists, Belinda Castles |publisher= Allen and Unwin Book Publishers |url= http://www.allenandunwin.com/default.aspx?page=94&book=9781741751932 |accessdate= 2008-03-04]

Writing

In describing her novel "River Baptists", Castles said: "It's quite a soapie. My favourite writing is literary soap, with lots of dramas and interlocking lives."cite news |title=River puts author on winning current |author=Tim Elliott |date=2006-12-20 |publisher= The Sydney Morning Herald |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/books/river-puts-author-on-winning-current/2006/09/19/1158431710673.html] Her idea for the novel came from the time she spent living on Dangar Island in the Hawkesbury River.

Castles incorporates the physical location not only as descriptive content in her novels, but to set the emotional tone of scenes, create tension and move the plot along. The river separates the characters in the "River Baptists" by flowing between them, and it forces them to meet when they use the ferry or need to travel across the river to the township. It gives the illusion of independence to the characters by separating them the community, but it also isolates when there are threats or danger.

The story is set in a small town and it is clear that there are few secrets kept from the locals: the interest of the locals is not only curiosity, but because they are looking out for each other. For the newcomers to the town this help is often unexpected. While the river is a strong and constant force that moves purposefully though the novel, in contract the main characters seem to be aimlessly drifting through life or escaping from their pasts and surviving day to day. It is only when they are forced to act, or when in a crisis they need make a decision, that they seem to wake up and take charge of their lives.

Awards

* 2006 - winner of the Australian The Australian/Vogel Literary Award for "River Baptist"

Works

* "Falling Woman" (Sceptre, 2000)
* "River Baptists" (Allen & Unwin, 2007) ISBN 9781741751932

Notes

References

*cite news |title=River puts author on winning current |author=Tim Elliott |date=2006-12-20 |publisher="The Sydney Morning Herald" |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/books/river-puts-author-on-winning-current/2006/09/19/1158431710673.html

External links

* [http://www.belindacastles.com Home page]
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