Friday, October 19, 2018

My Interview with Lannah Sawers-Diggins


1 What is your name and/or pen name?

Name: Lannah Sawers-Diggins. Pen-name the same;

2 What genre do you write?

Genres: Just about anything in non-fiction;

3 What made you want to be a writer?

I have wanted to be a writer all my life – I think, partly because of the isolation of my childhood on our family sheep station. I have always wanted to write and publish a book – just never known how to. I did realize very early on that I would never write fiction – do not have the creativity nor imagination for that. But because I had no idea how to write what I wanted and publish a book, instead I started writing letters to penfriends. And that sort of satisfied me until my late 20s. I still didn’t have any idea how to have a book published but that yearning was coming to the fore again – so on I went with my letter writing. Until my mid-50s when I suddenly found myself having to have my late father’s writing published. THAT was the catalyst for living my dream.

4 What do you use to keep yourself inspired while writing?

Nothing really, except passion for whatever I am writing about. But, yes, there are times when I just don’t feel like writing. I have a break from it then. Go for a walk or just do something else completely. That’s always worked for me.

5 How do you feel about the writing community as a whole?

I never thought anything about it until I did start writing books, even though as mentioned, I have always wanted to write. But I love it now and, through groups and social media, I am emeeting a lot of authors/writers. I find that a lot of people are now asking me things, which I answer if I can. Otherwise I refer them onto someone else.

6 Have you or will you be willing to collaborate with other authors in the future?

Absolutely. I’m all for good collaborations and not just with other authors. That’s something I find social media is excellent for – contacts.

7 Tell us about your book and if it is upcoming or already published.

I have actually had three books published with another one being prepared for publication. I am writing yet another one and have a couple more in the pipeline. The first, mentioned earlier, is my late father’s writing: ‘The Sawers from Pitcairn’. It is the story of the first of our family members to leave our ancestral seat in Scotland and move out to Australia. It follows some of their employment on various stations, finishing quite a pretty detailed look at life on our own family station. ‘Bullseye’ was next – largely forgettable. It is a compilation of some 35 case histories written and submitted by victims of bullying from around Australia and one from the UK. For legal reasons, I was not able to include my own story and also not able to have the book edited. ‘Red Dust Dreams’ comes next. It is a big book which involved a huge amount of research. It is about our cattle properties in outback Australia, focusing on the little-known-about domestic side of life on some of the largest and most remote stations here. There is a lot more about this book, including a documentary, two online fashion sites, a special YouTube channel and much more. My next book is my auto-biography, called ‘No Looking Back’. I have finished writing it and it is being edited at the moment, in preparation for publication. I am currently writing a book on writing books. I have several more books in mind but they are very much for the future.

8 Is your book or upcoming book in ebook, paperback or both?

All my books are available in ebook form and I plan to have all, except Red Dust Dreams, in paperback. Unfortunately – and this is as much my fault as anything, because this did not occur to me – Red Dust Dreams is too big to be anything but hard cover (as well as ebook). However, once my current contract expires, I am seriously looking at having it reprinted, splitting it up into two or three separate books, so it can be released in paperback.

9 Is this your first book?

No. I have three published titles, although the first two are not my writing. But everything since Red Dust Dreams is my book and my writing.

10 Are you planning to write more?

Since I am unashamedly and completely addicted to writing, yes, I do plan more. At first, I was having the heeby jeebies because I couldn’t think of anything more to write about once I completed my current projects, but then all I had to do was look, listen and turn around – and I now have an endless list of titles.

11 Is there anything you would say to other writers that want to write and publish a book?

Yes! Go for it! It is actually very easy and there are an enormous number of publishing companies out there, but choose carefully. Do your homework and research. I’ve been caught twice and learned the hard way but now I know what to look for. It will all be included in my book.

12 Where can my books be found and how can your readers follow me?

‘The Sawers From Pitcairn’, ‘Bullseye’ and ‘Red Dust Dreams’ can all be found on Amazon. They are also available through the bookshop on my website: www.lannahsawersdiggins.com They are not available from traditional bookshops unfortunately, but if anyone wishes to look and purchase that way, just ask to have the requested title ordered in for you.

My links:





And there are several more but these are the main ones. Two promo videos too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvDDuJR4q7M


Thank you so much Lannah for sharing with us. You have a very interesting point of view which I am sure makes your books great.

If you would like to check out Lannah’s books or social media sites, please use the links above.

As Always, Happy Reading and Writing Everyone
G. D. Talbot

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