Catriona McKeown shares her love of writing and the personal struggles and experiences that inspired her latest novel, Good Luck and Other Lies, a YA novel following a group of teens after winning 50 million dollars.

What do you love most about writing YA stories?

There are so many things I love about writing young adult fiction. There's the psychological trip back to when I was a teen, the awesome 80s music I listen to when I write to "get me thinking like a teenager", and the structure of a YA novel that is particular to its genre. But mostly, it's the hope I have while writing, that a teenager somewhere will pick up my book and love it, and that it will have a positive impact on them.

What inspired you to write Good Luck and Other Lies?

It's a bit of a depressing story, actually! My middle daughter was quite unwell at the time, so I was spending a lot of my time caring for her. Amid this, we were told we had to move out of our rental because the owner had family that needed to move in. This was during the height of a rental crisis, which had families on the Sunshine Coast living in cars and tents, and so finding a new rental was incredibly stressful, let alone while caring for an unwell teenager. One of my coping strategies was to not only dream of buying a home, but to enter competitions to try and win one! I remember seeing an advertisement for a 50 million dollar lotto draw, and while I never entered that competition, it did get me wondering how many people in a similar situation to mine would be hoping to win that money for an easy way out of what felt like an impossible situation. I was chatting about it with my daughter about what it would be like to win that sort of money and Good Luck and Other Lies was born.

As a teacher, do your students influence your writing in any way?

Oh yes, very much so. I listen to their stories, about what they did on the weekend, how they spend their time, and what sorts of problems they are going through. I often have particular students in mind when writing my characters, too. In Good Luck and Other Lies, Luke is impacted by dyslexia and dyscalculia; I had a particular student who has dyslexia in mind when creating Luke. But fortunately, unlike Luke's dad, this student's parents were very supportive and went over and above to get their son help when he was diagnosed. So the Luke you read about is very different to the student I based him on. I feel that this practice gives the characters more depth, and many of the situations you read about are based on things that have really happened. Or, at least, my twisted version. Though I'm yet to meet a teenager who managed to enter and win a lotto competition in Australia!

How did you build the six main characters of this novel?

I usually have a base of someone I know, or someone I knew when I was a teenager. There is often a bit of me in the characters, especially if they're female. The character of Meg is a bit like me as a teenager, or at least the side of me where I was pretty judgy of the people around me. I enjoyed watching her change through the novel, realising what she had been like, and becoming more forgiving, generous and kind to others. There's a fair bit of me in main character Cassie too; there usually is in my main characters!  In the novel, Cassie starts off playing the victim; she had few friends, no social life, and thought money was the answer to all her problems. By the end of the novel, she realises that her family is what is most precious to her, and learning to forgive others has made her into the type of person that others like being around. Then there's the character of Brian, aka Beat-Boy. He was based on my nephew regarding his age and looks, and at the time my nephew was working for a landscape business. Having someone special to me, like my nephew is, meant I favoured him as a character. He's a good guy. He knows how to treat a girl right. But my nephew doesn't play drums, and he certainly doesn't DJ on the side!

Your stories can tackle heavy subjects, including sexual assault, PTSD, and disabilities. What steps do you take to ensure you handle these topics appropriately for teen readers?

A lot of research! A lot of talking to teenagers and parents about the topics. And I had a couple of students, one who has a disability, read a very early version of Good Luck and Other Lies to make sure I was getting the tone right. One of my teenage beta readers gave me feedback about Cassie moving out of home after winning the money, as she felt there was no way a parent would allow a child to move out that young! But it's not that uncommon (unfortunately). It's important that my stories reflect life in a way that is sensitive, but also real, and doesn't shy away from the reality that are some people's experiences.

Did you find anything particularly challenging or rewarding about writing this novel?

It was very challenging researching about what you can and can't do with a large sum of money under 18 years old in Australia, and making sure the story aligned with those laws. In Chapter 18, Cassie comments, "And I’m starting to see why you can’t enter a lotto competition in Australia until you’re eighteen. I mean, you basically can’t do anything much with the money anyway. You can’t buy shares, you can’t buy property. It’s very restrictive.’ Her comment is very much what I was feeling as the writer! I was relieved to discover you can buy your own car when you're 16, so the teenagers could at least do that!

What do you hope readers take away from Good Luck and Other Lies?

I hope they enjoy it, I hope they love the characters, and I hope teenagers come away with a great sense of control over their destiny. The money changes all the characters, and their relationships, and not always in a positive way. I hope those who read the novel will see the mistakes the characters made and choose differently for their own lives.

What would you do if you won 50 million dollars?

Well, since my husband and I still rent on the Sunshine Coast, I would definitely buy a house! I'd pay off my best friends' mortgages. And I'd set my three children up so that, if they want to buy their own houses in the future, they could do so. I'd like to think that after that, I'd be like Meg and give most of the rest away.

Do you have any other projects in the works?

Yes! I've been writing young adult novellas for a new list, called Rhiza Shorts. They are books for teenagers, but they're shorter and have less complex plots than a full YA novel. We're hoping these stories will inspire teenagers who struggle with reading to pick up a book. I have written two books so far: Ways To Die Right and E-Revolution. I'm really excited about this new list and the potential the novellas have; I think they're going to be awesome to use in schools, especially for things like literacy circles in Years 7 and 8, to use as a text in Essential English in Years 11 and 12, and to have on hand for students who need to read for 'silent reading' in class. And of course, they'll be a wonderful alternative option for parents who desperately want to get their reluctant-reader teenager reading.