I started my primary school years in the little town of Cummins, near Port Lincoln on Eyre Peninsula.

Still, as an adult I do draw sustenance from space, light, ocean, creeks, gum trees, koalas, etcetera. I think more about my inner world, about what I thought, dreamed, hoped for, fretted about, than about physical locations. I find this an interesting question because although I think about my childhood often, I don’t usually do so in the context of your question. How did growing up in a regional area of the state influence you as a writer? Mostly, I drift along, doing my thing at my pace in my bubble. I only go to the CBD occasionally, to have a drink or a meal with a friend, go to the library or Imprints booksellers, attend a book launch. My family lives in the Adelaide foothills, on Kaurna land, and I work remotely (my workplace is in Sydney). It suits me to live my life in a place that is slightly slower, quieter, less jammed with people rushing here and there. But the truth is, it suits me to live somewhere that is outside the centre of things. I get a lot of pleasure-too much, probably-from poking fun at my home state: we’re half an hour and 30 years behind the eastern states, etcetera etcetera. Can you tell us about your experience in South Australia and how you think this has influenced your writing practice? Do you think your experience would be different in the Eastern states, or elsewhere in Australia? We’re both Asian Australian writers who now live and work in South Australia. I thought I’d start by asking about something we have in common.

Figurehead by Patrick Allington