"I think it's valuable to dwell on the difficult stuff sometimes, and that this can actually be very productive and germinating in terms of writing." – Claire Thomas

Rebecca Starford and Claire Thomas discuss their acclaimed 2021 novels with Declan Fry. Hailed as a gripping thriller and deft character study, Rebecca’s The Imitator is the story of a female spy recruited into an elite MI5 counterintelligence unit during World War II. Named one of The Sydney Morning Herald’s most anticipated books of the year, Claire’s The Performance is a tightly woven portrayal of three women forever changed during a night at the theatre as bushfires burned nearby.

Listen as these two talented authors touch on the joys of inhabiting their characters' heads, their shared need to make sense of the world through art and the growing societal pressure to adopt a false sense of positivity.

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