The Blue Mile, by Kim Kelly #MyWritingInspirations
Blog post
As I get closer to releasing Janet’s Yellow Butterflies, I have been reflecting on some of the literature and media that inspired ideas for it.
Today’s writing inspiration is Sydney based author Kim Kelly. In particular, I like the way Kim intertwines the characters’ stories through alternating chapters, gradually inching them closer and closer together before they ultimately connect. I have adapted this style in Janet’s Yellow Butterflies, as a way of weaving together two plot lines from different eras.
As a big fan of Sydney Harbour, I especially enjoyed Kim’s novel The Blue Mile. She paints a vivid picture of 1930s Sydney during the bridge’s construction, a profoundly defining time for Sydney as a city, and for Australia as a nation. This was one of my inspirations for basing Tahlia, a character in Janet’s Yellow Butterflies, in inner city Sydney.
