Just Published… Fiona Robertson
Just Published aims to highlight authors and books that have been recently published. We’ll get to know a little bit about the book, some insights into the author, and give you loads of books to add to your reading list.
The short story format is one that is often overlooked, but Fiona Robertson is about to change that with her unique collection of short stories in her book ‘If You’re Happy.’ It’s a pleasure to have Fiona on the blog to discuss how the collection came about.
The stories in this impressive, thoughtful collection explore the human heart and its desire and capacity for joy.
A divorced woman discovers a growing sinkhole in her yard, a lonely man finds an abandoned toddler, a second wife in a fundamentalist community questions her religion, a young Australian veteran of the Afghanistan conflict is haunted by a memory from his last mission.
Fiona Robertson's stories traverse the globe to reveal people at moments of change or crisis, as they struggle to repair fractures in their lives and search for something close to happiness.
Can you tell us a little about If You’re Happy?
Sure! If You’re Happy is a collection of 24 stories about people who are often lonely, and frequently at crisis point, struggling to find happiness in a turbulent world.
If You’re Happy is a collection of short stories. Where did the idea for the story collection come from?
I started writing stories over ten years ago, and they began to accumulate, so I wondered about a collection. Most of the stories in If You’re Happy were written since 2016, as these recent ones are stronger.
Many of the pieces feature wild weather and natural disasters, and at one point I thought I’d collate a whole collection about weather. In the end, though, I wanted the freedom to write about whatever made me curious, so while every story has an element of upheaval, not all of this is physical!
Where did the title for the collection come from?
The title comes from one of the stories with the same title. In that piece, a solitary middle-aged man finds an abandoned toddler. He tries to entertain the baby by singing ‘If You’re Happy And You Know It’ while clapping hands and bobbing knees.
You have received numerous accolades and awards for these stories including the collection winning The Glendower Award at the 2020 Queensland Literary Awards. Did you know you had such a special collection of stories under your belt when you pulled them together?
Haha thank you Jodi, I think the answer to that is a definite no! I was unsure whether or not I should even submit the story collection, and was coaxed to do so by a few writer friends. After I sent the submission, I felt sick to think of the judges reading the stories. I have to say I was truly stunned to win the Glendower Award.
How much of yourself do you bring to your short stories, or are they more a melting pot of observation and social commentary?
I think like any writer I bring personal emotions to the work. But none of the stories involve anything I’ve experienced myself; they’re not fictionalised versions of real events. Something that thrills me most about writing is making up characters and situations and once I really get into the swing of things, I can almost sit back (so to speak) and find out what happens next.
Why short stories? It’s such a specialised and difficult area to focus on both in terms of writing and publication. What is it about the short story form that you love?
That’s an excellent question and I’m not entirely sure of the answer. I think I started with short stories because they felt achievable, they didn’t require a commitment of years to complete, as a novel does. But the more I write short fiction, the more I love the subtlety and power, how every word counts, and the expansiveness of imagination a short story can create in just a few thousand words.
What’s the biggest learning curve you’ve experienced (to date) as an author?
Hmm, that’s tricky to answer. I feel like I’ve been on a huge learning curve since I started writing and it hasn’t let up!
One thing that I’m still working on, but that has really elevated my work in the past couple of years, is learning to trust the reader. To give important information, but not spell everything out or over-explain. To allow space for the reader’s own understanding and interpretation.
What advice would you have for aspiring writers seeking publication?
I’d say firstly – don’t rush pieces off for submission. Take your time, write and re-write. Show the work to a trusted fellow writer if possible, and consider their feedback with an open mind (some comments won’t resonate, some might really help).
Secondly, when you do feel ready to send work out, research your market. Don’t send a satirical experimental piece to an old-fashioned literary journal that only likes traditional stories, for example. And it’s probably worth trying smaller magazines and competitions first, unless you’re a literary genius!
Who are some of your all-time favourite authors and what do you love about their writing?
It’s so hard to choose!
I’ve been a long-term fan of Helen Garner, both for the emotional impact of her work, and for the clean, spare prose she writes.
Cate Kennedy’s sharply-observed short stories always wrench at my heart.
Jhumpa Lahiri is a writer I admire enormously, with her rich and immersive fiction.
Tony Birch writes stories that are deceptively straightforward yet cut deep.
And Raymond Carver’s work fills me with awe – both at a sentence level, and in its ability to make every detail and character seem true.
And finally, why should readers buy a copy of If You’re Happy?
I hope they buy and enjoy If You’re Happy because the stories show everyday people going through tough times, often with great courage. In our busy lives, short stories are perfect to read, just one or two each night. And I hope readers will see themselves in almost every story, even if just a flash of recognition, a sense of I’ve felt that, too.
Thanks, Fiona. It’s been so great to learn more about If You’re Happy and short stories.
Meet Fiona…
Fiona Robertson is a writer and doctor from Brisbane. She was a finalist in the 2018 Richell Prize, and won the Glendower Award for an Emerging Queensland Writer at the 2020 Queensland Literary Awards.
Her short story collection If You’re Happy was published in February 2022 (UQP).