Brought To Book

The Story Behind The Novel

The MCG, in Melbourne, is where the novel begins and ends.

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

In December 2006, a beautiful woman walked into the Oxford Bookstore on Park Street, Calcutta. She was on a very brief visit to the Indian city and she wanted six copies of my novel Vegemite Vindaloo, which was No.2 on the store’s bestseller list at the time. One of the staff offered her a signed copy of the book, but she declined with a smile.

A few hours later, she rang me at home in Melbourne to explain why she had refused a signed book. I understood perfectly.

The novel is a tale of many journeys - journeys of distance, journeys of personal growth, journeys of the soul. On the surface, it is a story of how a well-to-do Anglo-Indian family, with a son of their own, gradually open their hearts to the infant son of the woman who, through an unusual series of events, has become their servant. But beyond that simplistic explanation, it is a tale of pride on the one hand and prejudice on the other.

I made a significant journey of my own in writing Vegemite Vindaloo. It began to take shape in 1993, but after writing four chapters I lost impetus and put it aside until my eldest daughter persuaded me to return to the manuscript in 1999. I did, briefly, and then the pressure of my journalism career pushed it into the background again.

Late in 2003, when Ravi Singh at Penguin looked at the half-written version and expressed interest in the unusual theme (and the fact that the synopsis I gave him was just three sentences) I picked it up once more.

This time I wrote with intent. Come what may, I knew I would finish it.

Ravi liked what he saw. In September 2004 I had a publishing contract.

This unique act of hand dexterity by bus conductors is described.

Do you have to be a Calcuttan to warm to the theme of Vegemite Vindaloo? No. Do you have to be Anglo-Indian to enjoy the tapestry of the story? No. Do you have to be a migrant to appreciate it? No. Of the many encouraging reviews in the media, even before the novel began to hit the bestseller lists, it was Portugal-based Terry Fletcher who published a glowing critique, with the telling headline "Wizard From Oz".

Will it bring an occasional tear to your eye? Perhaps. Will it make you laugh? Probably. Is it a true picture of life? Absobloodylutely.

Apart from the multicultural flavour of Vegemite Vindaloo as it traverses rural Bihar, bustling Calcutta, pastoral Melbourne and the stark Australian outback, there is a decidedly international element to the manner in which it was written.

While 90 per cent of it was written on one of the Hewlett-Packard computers in my study at home in Melbourne, one segment was written aboard a flight to Hong Kong; another in the Yukon in northern Canada; a portion materialized on a cruise ship in Alaska; and one key chapter, fittingly enough, during a holiday in Calcutta.

The women in the novel are the strongest characters. Zarina, the servant woman, finds a resolute voice when her husband Ismail, in maudlin mood, turns spitefully to drink instead of trying to solve the problem of their sudden displacement.

Hilary Cooper, initially resistant to her husband Steve’s unconditional affection for the servant’s infant, Azam, is the one who bridles at his suggestion that they turn their backs on the child as they prepare to migrate. Bertha Cooper, Steve’s mother, is forged of pure steel – she kills a cobra in one chapter and thwarts a curse in another.

The Howrah precinct, bridge and the Hooghly River are key elements.

Authors do not have favoured characters. But there is one character, the simple grandmother who lives in Betulnagar, a Calcutta slum, who commands the men of the area to listen to her. She announces her hopes and dreams for her newborn grandson and when the males question her logic, she explains how the child will slip the bonds of seemingly inescapable poverty.

And what of the men in the novel? Sailen Nath Banerji, the little slum boy who becomes a senior pilot, philanderer and a power player in a national airline, seems keen to interfere in the Coopers’ personal decisions. Yet he turns out to be a modern Solomon in a stalemate over how the prestigious Airlines Club will farewell the Coopers. His salutation to them, delivered on the shore of a lake at the Alipore Zoo, is endowed with the uncanny voice of prophecy.

Steve Cooper himself starts out as a man of uncommon depth and compassion, but when stripped of his comfort zone and forced into unfamiliar circumstances, his severely misplaced pride threatens to become his Achilles heel.

Ismail, too, seems to be a pillar of strength until he comes undone in the challenging surroundings of Calcutta. Later, as a last-minute battle of emotions ensues when the Coopers are about to leave India, it is Ismail, seemingly against all odds, who becomes the eloquent voice of reason.

There are, however, two interlopers. The laconic Wally Bennett and the rakishly handsome Frank Walker, the double act from Jindaroo Creek, were only supposed to be passers-by, but they took over my consciousness as they became the basis for two sizeable chapters of comic relief.

Jindaroo Creek might be a fictional bush outpost, but its surrounding geography is as real as it gets – the sand dunes, the sheer Bunda cliffs and the calving southern right whales are all intricately linked to the Eyre Peninsula in coastal South Australia. To see the pictorial and literary links between real life and Jindaroo Creek, visit Dirty Fokker and judge the beautiful surroundings for yourself.

Aussie Rules Football links the two countries in the tale.

The real challenge in writing this novel was in finding authentic voices for two very different countries that share very little, apart from the Indian Ocean that caresses the shores of both nations. Steve and Hilary Cooper speak as Anglo-Indians speak; Wally and Frank embody the dry humour of a sunburnt continent.

There was another challenge. Could I write a novel where readers would get to the last three pages and wonder how on earth this story could possibly reach a logical conclusion? Moreover, could I write a novel where readers would get to the last sentence and immediately turn back to the first chapter to rediscover the little clues they had missed?

Judging by the 2006 bestseller lists and the emails and phone calls I received from all round the world from readers who did just that, it seems I succeeded to a large extent.

Oh, but if you’re wondering about the beautiful woman who didn’t want an autographed copy of the book, you needn’t worry. She actually went back to the bookstore to explain why she didn’t take up their kind offer.

You don’t need an autographed copy when you’re married to the author.

Visit TNChick's Photo Hunt. Today's theme: "Books''.

Blank Stair

Never Be Intimidated By A Blank Piece Of Paper

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

When diXymiss, who writes the blog ineXplicable, challenged me to photograph a blank piece of paper, I immediately went through two or three visual options and thought I would experiment with each of them this weekend.

Then I thought I would take the challenge one step further, for the benefit of writers, artists and anyone with a creative instinct, irrespective of age or geographical location.

I was going to shoot a single sheet of standard white A4 paper when I spotted some of the coloured A4 paper that one of the Authorbloglets was using recently. There was red, there was yellow, there was blue. That's when I decided to take a sheet of the blue paper and stick it on the tray of my HP Photosmart 8230 printer, because I thought the hue would be a perfect match for the colour of the printer.

As I did so, I noticed that the bright winter sunlight was streaming through the windows of my study, throwing a beautiful gradation across the paper. Lucky choice, huh!

I write this in the hope that it might inspire some of you, who in turn will use your experience and your knowledge to guide and mould the aspirations of others, somewhere in the world.

After all, creativity is a two-stage process. First we need to recognise creativity. Next we need to nurture it. Having been blessed throughout my earliest years by people who did precisely that for me, I guess it is now my turn to pass on my thoughts.

How do you look at a blank sheet of paper?

I reckon there are two types of people. The first category are those who are nervous of the challenge presented by a blank piece of paper. And the second category are those who relish the prospect of imprinting their own creative instinct on the paper.


For the benefit of those readers who don’t know me too well, I paint, I sketch, I write and I take photographs. I rub my hands with glee when I see a blank piece of paper.

As a career journalist, I often get asked the question: "What is the most difficult thing to write?" For a tough question, it has a surprisingly easy answer. The most difficult thing to write is an opening sentence. Once you have that in place, everything else will follow.

The opening sentence of my first novel, Vegemite Vindaloo, is a modern twist on one of the most famous lines of Australian poetry. Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson wrote "There was movement at the station" as the opening of his wonderful bush ballad The Man From Snowy River. I humbly borrowed it from him and applied it to a contemporary railway station instead.

The opening sentence of my forthcoming novel, Muskoka Maharani, is a pun on a famous quote from Mark Twain. (Nope, I’m not going to tell you what it is, because the novel hasn’t been released yet - but I’m not stopping you from guessing!)

Whether you’re writing a blogpost, working on a novel, creating a sketch or forming a painting, you follow the same process as a builder. Each of those is an ancient art. Each of those is an ancient craft. Each of those is a separate challenge. But just remember this - if your foundation is strong enough, the rest of the structure takes care of itself.

This week I had a long conversation with a very gifted blogger, one of my many friends around the world who is writing a book. She had a major problem. It wasn’t writer’s block. It wasn’t that she had run out of inspiration. But her confidence had been rattled by a well-meaning assessment from someone else. So she went out and bought some how-to-write-novels books and told me she would finish reading them before she resumed writing.

I had some simple advice for her. I told her to mulch the books in one of her many immaculate garden beds.

Why would I tell her something like that? Not because I don’t trust how-to books. Don’t get me wrong. They’re always a valuable resource. But I knew that she didn’t need to be told how to write. You see, I’ve read enough of her writing over the past year to know that she is a wonderful writer.

I didn’t want her to try and write a novel from a contrived point of view, or from someone else’s point of view. Instead, I wanted her to follow her own instincts.

Spontaneity is a great gift for any creative person. And this friend of mine is so good that she doesn’t need to be told how to project her story.

In short, there is only one person who can tell your story/ paint your picture/ take your photograph. One person alone. And that’s you.

Trust your creative instinct. Put your first mark on a blank sheet of paper. You’ll be surprised at how wonderful an experience it is.

Write with freedom. Write with honesty. But most of all, write with joy.

Cotton Pickin'

The Fabric Of Society

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

This photograph is more than merely my depiction of red; it is also part of my life in many ways. Why? Because it was taken a year ago, at the New Market in Calcutta, India. I grew up in Calcutta and trips to the New Market (or Sir Stuart Hogg Market, to give it its real name) were a special treat. It was the sights. It was the sounds. It was the aromas. The New Market, under one huge roof, was an unforgettable experience then - and it still is, even now.

It is also part of my life because the New Market is lovingly described in my first novel, Vegemite Vindaloo, which was on several bestseller lists and was even ranked at No.3 on one list, behind the Booker Prize Winner at No.1.

I took a variety of shots for this week's "Red" theme, but discarded them all in favour of this image, with the generous daubs of red splashed through the frame. These cotton outfits, displayed in a shop's entrance, are known as "shalwar kameez".

As a child, I must have walked past this shop hundreds of times. On this occasion, during a sudden and unexpected trip to the land of my birth, it was my turn to point out familiar sights to my three Australian-born children. And today, it is such a great privilege to share a part of my life with you, my readers.

Please tick the camera poll on the right. Thanks!

Telling Right From Wrong (Part 17)

Don't Go Round And Round In Circles

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

While I was finishing my second novel I took a break from this series of posts where I answer questions from writers. But I handed over my manuscript a fortnight ago and today I've had a query from an Australian writer called Shane, who has almost completed his first novel. This is what he said:

I've written about 80,000 words and estimate that I am about 80 per cent finished. I had a look at your blog and noticed that you have had some real success with your published novels and was hoping you might be able to spare a couple of moments to give me some advice on getting my novel published.

Yes, I'm always happy to help. There are two ways you can jump here, depending on how thoroughly you've edited the 80,000 words. I'll come to your options in a minute, but I choose to edit AFTER I've finished writing. I'll explain why in a forthcoming post.

Option 1. If you've edited the 80,000 words, and you're reasonably confident that the edited version is good to go, you could consider getting in touch with publishers and agents. Generally, Australian publishers prefer that rookie (ie: unpublished) authors go first to agents.

If this is what you want to do, you now need to write a synopsis of your novel. Some people write synopses that are 10,000 words long, but my synopsis for my first novel, Vegemite Vindaloo, was just three sentences long.

The process of contacting agents and sending them your synopsis and the first three chapters of your novel is described in an earlier post in this series, A Monopoly On Query Letters.

Option 2. Finish the entire book, give it a complete edit and polish and then send the synopsis and first three chapters to agents. The choice is yours.

Bear in mind I'm only an email or blog comment away and it would be my very great pleasure to mentor an up-and-coming Australian novelist. I was extremely lucky to find a major publisher the wrong way, even before I'd finished my novel, but I would like to use that experience to guide other promising novelists.

Telling Write From Wrong (Part 9)

Why Did I Call My Novel `Vegemite Vindaloo'?

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

It's always great to know that your work is appreciated by others, so it was very heartening to see the review of my novel Vegemite Vindaloo by Canadian boook reviewer Lotus Reads. There was some interesting feedback too, with comments from readers who said they liked the title.

Radha said: "Love the name of the novel Vegemite Vindaloo". Asha wrote: "This book interests me very much, funny name too!" Tara said: ``You've made me want to read this book. I also love learning about different cultures through reading and this sounds great." Tanabata commented: "Great title! I always enjoy learning about different cultures so another one to add to the wishlist!" Booklogged said: "I definitely want to read Vegemite Vindaloo even though I don't have a clue what either word means" and Framed wrote: "I will certainly be adding this one to my TBR list. Love the title."

I guess that brings me to today's question.

What is the significance of the title Vegemite Vindaloo?

The choice of title has an interesting background. When I first started writing the novel, I had no specific title in mind. The plot was just a story playing out in my head. It was only when I was more than halfway through it that I began trying to think of a short title that would accurately encapsulate two cultures and two countries, for the book is set in India and Australia.

I honestly cannot tell you the exact moment the title Vegemite Vindaloo occurred to me, but I did run it past some of my journalism colleagues and they thought it was great. And I figured it would be very hard to find a two-word title that would immediately signify Indian and Australian cultures respectively.

Vindaloo is a curry-like Indian dish that comes from Goa and has strong Portuguese origins. In its original form, it is made from pork, but it can be made from chicken or beef. It is distinctive for its vinegar content and for the absence of potatoes.

Vegemite is a dark-brown paste made from yeast extract. A quintessentially Australian product, it was first produced by Fred Walker and Cyril Callister and arrived in shops around Australia in 1923 - in jars shaped like lighthouses!

I guess it was a bit of a gamble to call a debut novel Vegemite Vindaloo, but I can honestly say that at no stage was I asked to change it, or to even consider changing it. There was no pressure from Penguin, or from their managing editor, Ravi Singh, to go for something safer. In many ways, I thought it would be an intriguing title, even for readers who were not familiar with Vegemite or vindaloo – or both!

The novel was first named on the bestseller lists in The Telegraph in mid-2006, and was a regular inclusion in subsequent lists published by The Statesman. This list, from November last year (with the Booker Prize winner at #1 and a Calcutta-born author in the mix with some big hitters) is my favourite, for obvious reasons.....

FICTION
1. The Inheritance Of Loss: A Novel Kiran Desai, Rs. 395.00
2. The Innocent Man John Grisham, Rs. 268.00
3. Vegemite Vindaloo David McMahon, Rs. 295.00
4. The Afghan Frederick Forsyth, Rs. 268.00
5. Cat O'Nine Tales Jeffrey Archer, Rs. 276.00

Telling Write From Wrong (Part 2)

Gotta Go With The Flow

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

Thank you for all those wonderful comments on yesterday's post, the first in this daily series. Hats off to Eve, who wrote more than five thousand words yesterday for her forthcoming novel, Rebel's Ascent. That sort of output is really prodigious and anyone who finds the time to top the 5000-word mark in a day is doing a superb job. That, in turn, leads me to a question I often get asked by writers, who always want to know how to maintain their writing flow.

Today's tip: Don't put too much pressure on yourself.

No one can tell you that your output must be 1000 words or day or 1356 words a day. Why? Because creativity is not a finite science.

Two colleagues of mine, both very good journalists who began novels only to put them aside, asked me what sort of target I set myself each day. My reply was simple. My wife and children are my first priority - always have been, always will be. Writing novels is important to me, but it is not a crucial part of my life. I confessed that my sworn target is simply 300 words a day.

They were obviously surprised. Yes, I admitted, it's just a small target - but it's a realistic target. There are days when I simply don't have time, between working full-time and doing all the things that fathers do, to write 300 words a day for my next novel. But I can make up for it the next day. And when you think about it, 300 words a day adds up to a tad over 9000 words a month. Pretty impressive when you look at it that way.

That's the approach I took when I wrote my first novel, Vegemite Vindaloo. And that's what I'm doing as I write my second novel, Muskoka Maharani. Writing a novel (or any book for that matter) must never take over your life completely. You should leave yourself enough space to enjoy the other pleasures of life, and it helps if you return to the manuscript because you want to, not because you have to. That is what keeps creativity alive.

Finally, there is no "correct" wordage on a daily basis. A steady output works for some people, while bursts of frenetic writing interspersed with several days away from the plot works for others. You write what you want to write, when you want to write.

Telling Write From Wrong

Let Me Help You With That Book You're Writing

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

It's given me great pleasure this year to advise some very gifted bloggers on matters relating to writing, editing, layout and photography. I am also delighted to be helping some terrific writers in different parts of the world with their books and extended writing projects. In addition, I'd like to share my experience as a novelist, in order to help other writers in some small way. With this in mind, I thought I'd run a once-a-week post on tips for aspiring writers. This is the first of the series.

Tip #1. Always write a synopsis.

To those writing books or novels, my first piece of advice is to write a short synopsis. When I wrote my first novel, Vegemite Vindaloo, I started with great momentum. But I didn't write a synopsis, so I got derailed very quickly. I could not figure out where the plot was going.

It was a crucial stumbling block - but there was a simple solution. So I sat down and wrote a very short synopsis - a mere three sentences. It took me all of 10 minutes, but the entire theme crystallised instantly. From that point on, it was like looking at a GPS map. The novel was published by Penguin Books India last year and was on the bestseller lists from July until late December.

If you're driving in unfamiliar territory, you always consult a road map first. Same thing if you're writing. So work out your synopsis first, whether it is one paragraph or several pages. Once you know where the plot is going, you'll find it all falls into place. And don't be afraid of taking diversions. When I wrote Vegemite Vindaloo, I planned to introduce a couple of laconic Outback characters and to give them two or three pages. But they bulldozed their way through the plot and instead they became integral to two major chapters.

So, yes, having a plan is crucial. But being willing to deviate and come back to it is equally important. Trust your instincts, write from your heart - and you'll never go wrong.

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment here and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. I'm always here to help.

Page Buoy

Thanks For The Book Review, Dan

I guess every novelist writes in the hope of being recognised and (perhaps) dreams of being on a bestseller list. I was extremely fortunate that my debut novel `Vegemite Vindaloo', published by Penguin Books India, got some great media reviews and was on bestseller lists from July until late December last year. The best reward of all was being at No. 3 on one list, with the Booker Prize winner at No. 1 and two giants - Frederick Forsyth and Jeffrey Archer - below me.

But it's been equally rewarding to see a few bloggers ordering the book and reviewing it. Dan was kind enough to review it this week. Here is an extract from his post.

``Here is my review: GET IT. Honestly, I cannot recall a time that a book made me laugh out loud on a crowded train and I didn't care. The stares I received from others was interesting but again, I didn't care. I really enjoyed it and thought it was a good read. (might I add, its the second book that actually made my eyes well up ....just a little though, ha). ''

Aussiejourno's Weekly Blog Awards

Top Ten Blogs For Week Ending 24 February

1. http://aquarius2626.blogspot.com/
2. http://www.ramblingtraveler.com/
3. http://chewy-myblog.blogspot.com/
4. http://dancewithsun.blogspot.com/
5. http://steph-lealman.blogspot.com/
6. http://www.bartraeke.com/
7. http://colorado-bob.blogspot.com/
8. http://web.mac.com/allancook/
9. http://www.dearcinema.com/
10. http://travellinmama.blogspot.com/

And an honourable mention goes to http://circlesinthesandbysamadhiwhitehouse.blogspot.com/

Nominate a blog for next week's awards:
It's simple. If you would like your blog (or someone else's) to be considered for next week's awards, please leave the url on this post, in the form of a comment. You can nominate as many blogs as you want. Entries close at midday Greenwich Mean Time each Friday. If you don't have a blog of your own, you can nominate someone else's blog.

The concept:
Aussiejourno's Weekly Blog Awards are meant to encourage bloggers from all round the world. More importantly, the awards give new bloggers the chance to get their blogs noticed in an increasingly popular forum, alongside the world's most-visited blogs. There is no monetary reward, no live TV coverage, no red carpet interview, but the exposure comes with international bragging rights.

The focus:
I will judge the best blogs - irrespective of whether the blogs have been in existence for only a week or for five years. Newbies will be considered along with well-established blogs. Everyone - and this is of paramount importance - starts on the same footing.

The reason:
I've been mentoring some bloggers for a while and would like to give them another reason to keep blogging. Not every blogger gets ranked by the big services - and this concept will give them special incentive. It is important to know that the work of a blogger whose url has only 10 hits can be ranked alongisde a blogger whose url has 10,000 hits.

The judge:
It's important that you know my background if you're going to submit blog/ blogs to be judged by me. I am a career journalist with almost 30 years' experience in writing, editing, design, newspaper technology and production.
In my early twenties, I edited the national sports magazine `Sportsworld' for the ABP media group, and I also had a stint in 2001 editing the Melbourne daily newspaper `Melbourne Express', a Fairfax publication. I served as managing editor (production) of `The Age' in Melbourne, one of the world's best broadsheets.
In 2002 I was shortlisted for a Walkley Award, the Australian equivalent of a Pulitzer. In 2005 I was shortlisted for a national News Award.
My photographs are published in three countries and my first novel, `Vegemite Vindaloo', was published by Penguin Books India in April 2006 and made the bestseller lists, ranked ahead of Frederick Forsyth and Jeffrey Archer. The novel also made it to No.1 on a list compiled by the Oxford Bookstore.

You've Got M@il

``I bought the last copy of your novel, `Vegemite Vindaloo' at the Oxford bookshop in Calcutta and read it when I was back in Goa. What a book! I can understand how it was rated above Jeffrey Archer. I couldn't put it down. You deal with a highly contentious subject so well. How about a sequel? Keep up the good work!

Email received from Roger Smith, Goa, India