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- author Jackie French

Tuesday 6 February 2024

12 Curly Questions with author Susanne Gervay

1. Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you.
I love sulphur-crested cockatoos!

2. What is your nickname?
Susie

3. What is your greatest fear?
Chocolate – I am addicted.

4. Describe your writing style in 10 words.
I’m a fighter. Tackle tough issues with heart and humour.

5. Tell us five positive words that describe you as a writer.
Heartfelt. Strong. Right wrongs. Love. 

6. What book character would you be, and why?
Sam in The Edge of Limits because he learns the value of life through his grandfather. Because he understands courage and eventually stands for right. He gets why we matter.

7. If you could time travel, what year would you go to and why?
Washington USA on August 28, 1963. I’ll be in the march lead by Martin Luther King Jr. My heart would soar as I listened to his iconic I Have a Dream speech. Even though he was assassinated on 4
April 1968, Martin Luther King will never die, as his words live beyond his life.

‘I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.’ Martin Luther King Jr.

8. What would your 10-year-old self say to you now?
Being a writer and revealing my deepest emotions, fears and loves is very hard. Would I go on that journey now? Not sure.

9. Who is your greatest influence?
My father. I write about him. He inspires my work. I want to emulate his courage if I can.

10. What/who made you start writing?
My father died of a brain tumour. It was horrendous and I thought I could not recover. But then he left me a gift. He opened my heart to writing and I wrote the stories of growing up. The stories of him. He settled into my heart and I was left as a writer.

11. What is your favourite word and why?
Wisdom. I search for wisdom. When I find it, I feel its warmth. It helps me understand the journey of life.

12. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?
To Kill a Mockingbird. It never fails to inspire me about racism, heroism, wisdom and how children absorb the courage of the father, Atticus Finch.

Sulphur-crested cockatoos bring joy into our lives, but we have to work out how to live together. That is the mission of Susanne Gervay OAM. Awarded the Social Justice Literature Award by International Literacy Association, author of 17 books, she challenges us to dance, squark and embrace cockatoos. For more information, see https://sgervay.com/whos-the-gang-on-our-street/