Jeremy Lachlan Returns To Griffith To Talk About His Latest Book

Author and former Griffith local, Jeremy Lachlan will visit Griffith City Library on Thursday, May 4 to talk about his latest book - Jane Doe and the Quill of All Tales, the third in the Jane Doe Chronicles.

“It’s always an incredible feeling, returning to Griffith, even more so when it’s to chat about my books,” Jeremy said.

“Slightly surreal, too.

“I wrote a huge portion of the first book in the series, Jane Doe and the Cradle of All Worlds right here, tapping away at my keyboard in the bedroom I grew up in, going for plot walks around Scenic Hill, sitting in cafes along Banna Avenue for hours at a time, scribbling away in notebooks.

“The support I’ve received from Collins Booksellers and the entire library crew over the past five years has been nothing short of extraordinary, not to mention the wider reading community as a whole.

“It’s so greatly appreciated and makes my heart burst.

“Nothing beats that hometown love.”

Jeremy has penned three books and he said that his main character, Jane, was a joy to write.

“She’s so passionate, funny, brave and bold, but what I love most about her - and why I think so many readers around the world are so drawn to her - is that she feels real,” Jeremy said.

“Jane’s far from perfect; no stereotypical kick-ass action-adventure hero who’s naturally great at fighting.

“She’s actually quite hopeless at fighting and shooting and a whole bunch of other things.

“She hasn’t had a proper education - and she isn’t exactly polite all the time - but she never gives up.

“She’s led a very hard life, and one day that very hard life is turned upside down and made a thousand times harder - her dad disappears - and she’ll stop at nothing to get him back.

“Everyone loves an underdog, and with each book in the series, we’re seeing Jane grow into the hero she was always destined to be.

“There’s hope in that, something we can all use a hefty dose of in our daily lives.”

Jeremy isn’t quite sure if there is a secret ingredient for a great tale, but he does know he likes to make his stories as fun, and heartfelt as he can.

“I want to take my readers on an extraordinary ride with a believable cast of characters they genuinely love - people they’d follow to the ends of the earth and back again (or, in the case of my books, to a different world altogether.)

“On a technical level, I think story, plotting and pacing play a huge role in keeping readers engaged: get an intriguing idea, flesh it out as much as you can, keep people guessing and add plenty of little cliff-hangers along the way to keep people turning those pages.

“Don’t bog the story down with unnecessary details, either.

“There’s something special about the adventure genre, too.

“I love that I can have people sitting on the edge of their seat on one page, laughing out loud the next, and crying by the next.

“Ultimately, I write books I’d love to read myself and hope others feel the same way.”

Jeremy had some advice for up-and-coming authors as well. “The most common piece of advice people give to aspiring authors is to read, read, read,” he said.

“You can’t be an author without being a reader.

“It really helps hone your own craft.

“It’s important to remember that - as with many things in life - the learning never stops: there are always new methods to try, alternate ways to tell a story, different perspectives to try.

“I also think it’s important not to judge your own productivity by what other people are doing.

“Keep your eyes on your own work, because each and every story takes as long as it takes to write.

“It took me six years to get a solid first draft of my first book down, and another few years after that to edit it and get it picked up by a publisher. “You have to believe in yourself - your own craft, your ability to tell the story you want to tell - because it can be a very long and isolating road. “You can do it, though, if you keep at it and put in the hard yards.”

Jeremy’s debut novel, Jane Doe and the Cradle of All World has been published in over 15 countries around the world, translated into nine languages and was the 2019 Australian Book Industry Award winner for Book of the Year for Older Children.

His second book, Jane Doe and the Key of All Souls was shortlisted for the same award in 2021.

Copies of Jeremy’s books will be available for purchase through Collins Booksellers Griffith following his talk on Thursday, so grab a copy and get Jeremy to sign it for you.

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• Literature