ALICE Campion will guest speak at writers talks at Bellingen and Dorrigo libraries next week.

‘Alice’ is a bit of a crowd in herself, being five authors who write collaboratively under the one name in a manner they believe is an Australian first.

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It’s a uniquely close collaboration between the five writers – Jane Richards, Jenny Croker, Madeline Oliver, Denise Tart and Jane St Vincent Welch – which sees the group discussing intimate details about their characters, and fine nuances about how the protagonist would react; specifics about the whys and particulars of the plot that only they would know the answer to.

Jane St Vincent Welch, the Alice Campion who lives in Bellingen, shared more with News Of The Area.

“It all started with ‘wouldn’t it be fun to…’.

“All keen, we originally thought we’d write a Mills and Boon novel, but we found we had a really good story,” she said.

Pressing on with the penning plan they developed a creative style that found them meeting regularly and discussing collaboratively to find the most fitting solution to any blocks or different ideas, always agreeing at that session and moving on to the next.

“Differences were seen to be instructive, not negative.”

As avid book club members, the group was very well read but burgeoning as authors so the learning curve was steep and alluring as they made headway, gaining confidence as they moved forwards.

Their first novel is called ‘The Painted Sky’, a captivating rural novel brimming with romance, mystery and suspense.

The second book with four of the authors is called ‘The Shifting Light’, a riveting book of family intrigue, love and suspense.

Both books are published by Penguin Random House.

“The collective writing idea has fascinated everyone in the many interviews and festivals, workshops and events at which we have spoken,” she said.

‘Alice’ has given talks about this roller-coaster ride and run sessions on collaborative writing at Sydney Writers Festival, Writers Victoria, NSW Writers Centre and the Japan Writers Conference.

“We are passionate about spreading the news about the benefits of writing together and how it can be done,” said Jane.

“As evangelists for group fiction writing, we would like to share our process and experiences; the ups and downs, successes and failures and hilarious moments.”

Authors of ‘The Shifting Light’, Denise Tart, Jane St Vincent Welch, Jane Richards and Jenny Croker, will all be at the local library talks.

Shire Librarian, Rowena Sierant said, “This event will fascinate readers, our book clubs and all the writers out there in our community.”

Alice Campion will present at Bellingen Library on Monday 1 May at 5pm and Dorrigo Library on Wednesday 3 May at 1pm.

These events are free, and bookings are encouraged.

You can book your place online at www.crl.nsw.gov.au or by calling your local library.

Bellingen: 66551744 or Dorrigo: 66572234.

By Andrea FERRARI