spaces in between time

We all love a complex female protagonist, don’t we? Throwback here to my interactive narrative work from 1997 – I Am A Singer – where fictional Australian singer Isobel Jones suffers amnesia on the eve of a big US tour. In I Am a Singer the user navigates through Isobel’s public media presence, diary entries and passport to help her regain her memory and her lost sense of self. I Am A Singer was exhibited extensively internationally, gaining praise for its innovative approach to interactive digital storytelling. It won several new media awards and I travelled to numerous exhibitions in Australia, France, USA, Japan etc to showcase the potential of digital storytelling. Way back before Instagram or FB existed, and the internet was slow slow slow.

Here’s Isobel below, outside the Sebel Townhouse hotel in Sydney’s Kings Cross, fending off fans and pesky reporters. The video content was shot on Super 8, then digitised. Tiny video, as required in 1996.

But after working with interactive and digital media for many years, I’ve returned to the essence of my creative work – storytelling. In my novel Mood Violet, university lecturer Tish Newman loves teaching film until a student targets her with violent hidden messages, threatening the world she’s built for herself and her young daughter Lily. When a small mistake unravels everything, Tish must play a dangerous game, confronting the truth of her student’s obsession under the shadow of an institution that fails to protect her.

Another complex female protagonist, with lots of twists, red herrings and buried trauma. Hopefully coming to a wonderful publisher and then a bookstore near you – soon soon soon I hope!!