Katherine Firkin Sticks And Stones Interview

A terrifying, twisting debut from TV news journalist Katherine Firkin. It's time for a killer to leave his mark...

It's winter in Melbourne and Detective Emmett Corban is starting to regret his promotion to head of the Missing Persons Unit, as the routine reports pile up on his desk.

So when Natale Gibson goes missing, he's convinced this is the big case he's been waiting for – the woman's husband and parents insist the devoted mother would never abandon her children, and her personal accounts remain untouched.

But things aren't all they seem. The close-knit Italian family is keeping secrets - none bigger than the one Natale has been hiding.

Just as the net seems to be tightening, the investigation is turned on its head. The body of a woman is found...  then another.

What had seemed like a standard missing person's case has turned into a frightening hunt for a serial killer, and time is running out.

But to really understand these shocking crimes, Emmett and his team will need to delve back through decades of neglect – back to a squalid inner-city flat, where a young boy is left huddling over his mother's body...

About the author 

Katherine Firkin is a Melbourne journalist, currently with CBS New York.
She has over a decade of experience and has worked across every medium – print, online, television and radio.
Katherine began her career at the Herald Sun newspaper (News Corp), where she specialised in sports reporting (winning an AFL Media award in 2008), before moving to breaking news, including crime and court reporting. During this time, she covered some of Victoria's most notorious criminal affairs, including the death and funeral of underworld figure Carl Williams.
She has also worked for Seven West Media (7 News, 7 Sport), 3AW Radio, the Nine Network's Today show, and Network Ten, and has been a regular international correspondent for multiple global outlets.
Katherine has been writing fiction from a young age, and she studied literature and journalism at university. Her debut novel is inspired by the many criminal trials she has covered.

Sticks and Stones
Penguin Books Australia
Author: Katherine Firkin
ISBN: 9781760893026
RRP: $32.99

 

Interview with Katherine Firkin

Question: What originally inspired the idea of Sticks and Stones?

Katherine Firkin : Sticks and Stones is largely based on my experience as a reporter, covering crimes and court trials over the past 13 or so years. One of the key themes in the book is the idea of how damage in the past creates damage in the future, and the way the cycle of neglect perpetuates through the decades. This is something that strikes me so often when I sit in court – that violence and trauma tends to have a domino effect on people's lives.


Question: What did you learn, about yourself, whilst writing Sticks and Stones?

Katherine Firkin : The first thing I learned was that I am the world's worst procrastinator! It was seriously tough to force myself to sit down and do the work day after day. When you have a project as big as writing a novel, it can feel insurmountable and the temptation is always to walk away. I learned that it's possible to push through these sorts of feelings, and that small daily efforts can lead to big overall results.


Question: How much of your inspiration comes from real life and real people?

Katherine Firkin : Although Sticks and Stones is fiction, I certainly did rely on my experience as a reporter to form much of how the storyline would pan out, and also to create my characters. One of the best things about my job is that I really do feel like I get a front row seat to life; every day is different and I get to visit places and meet people that perhaps I wouldn't otherwise come across.
One thing I've certainly learnt over the years is that crime doesn't discriminate – you can be at the peak of your field and come from a wonderful, supportive family and still be affected by crime, and you can be at the other end of the spectrum, where perhaps a life in and out of the justice system is all you've ever known. I wanted to show that in my book, and it was important to me to have a range of diverse characters.


Question: Was it difficult reliving certain aspects of these trials you covered?

Katherine Firkin : As a reporter I do my best to be objective and to remain distant from the stories that I cover, but there are some cases that will never leave you. The 2014 murder of Renea Lau is one case that I will never forget: this was a brutal, random crime with seemingly no real motive. It was incredibly distressing to sit through the trial and to see the senseless violence and damage caused by one man.

Question: Where does your love of the crime genre come from?

Katherine Firkin : I've always enjoyed reading crime fiction because it's such a thrilling genre. What I love most about writing in this style is that you can really play with the extremes of human behaviour and motivation. I find it fascinating to consider the whole nature versus nurture debate: are some people inherently evil, or are they shaped that way by circumstance?


Question: What advice do you have for aspiring writers or artists?

Katherine Firkin : Treat your writing or your art like a job – make it a priority, not a hobby. You need to show yourself that you're serious about achieving a particular goal or project, before worrying about what the rest of the world thinks. It's amazing what you can achieve from small, consistent effort, repeated day after day.


Question: What or who inspired your love of reading/writing?

Katherine Firkin : I have my parents to thank for my love of reading and writing. Although they separated when I was very young, they both believed in the value of the written word, and some of my happiest childhood memories revolve around books: the many trips to the library with mum, and the countless bedtime stories with dad.


Question: What's next, for you?

Katherine Firkin : I'm almost finished my next manuscript which I'm hoping will be the second book in the Detective Emmett Corban series. Once I get that to my publisher, I'm expecting the next 3-6 months will involve me doing countless revisions and edits, but I actually quite enjoy that process, so I'm looking forward to it. And outside of my creative writing I plan on continuing my work as a journalist.