Authors Interviewing Characters: Sara Foster

WHEN SHE WAS GONE

Was she taken … or did she run?

The pulse-pounding new psychological thriller from the bestselling author of You Don’t Know Me

Rose once walked away from her daughter. Now she may be the only one who can save her.

Former London police officer Rose Campbell has been estranged from her daughter, Lou, for almost a decade. But when Lou disappears from a remote beach in Western Australia–and the police suspect her of kidnapping the two young children in her care–Rose is asked to help bring Lou home.

This is the final case in DSS Mal Blackwood’s illustrious career–and there’s a lot riding on it. The missing children are heirs to the Fisher property empire, and while their multimillionaire grandfather is breathing down Blackwood’s neck, the media storm is intensifying. Faced with a deluge of evidence and accusations, Blackwood doesn’t know who he can trust.

Rose arrives in Australia intent on proving her daughter’s innocence, but how can she be sure of that when she’s no longer part of Lou’s life? Meanwhile, as Blackwood begins to expose the Fishers’ secrets, the investigation takes a dark turn. Shadows of the past gather around the Fishers, and Rose, and soon it’s clear that every hour is critical. What has happened to Lou and the children? And can Rose and Blackwood find them in time?

This interview with Rose Campbell took place eight years before her daughter Louisa went missing with two young children from the wealthy and powerful Fisher family, an event in Australia that garnered worldwide attention. We have pulled this from the archives to share it with you now, as the fallout from that event continues to make headlines.

Thanks for talking to us, Rose. What is your book about and why did you write it?

I wrote Behind Closed Doors to highlight the stories of those living in the terrifying circumstances of domestic violence or coercive control. Unless you’ve lived with that kind of stress and fear for years it’s very hard to understand it, and I believe there needs to be deeper empathy across society for victims who keep returning to these situations. I also believe that rather than simply stigmatise the perpetrators we have to work harder to try to understand their behaviour, not as a sympathy exercise but as a way of deconstructing their behaviour, so we can keep working to change this: because the statistics are already alarming, and with the pressures in society right now these are likely to get worse. 

We’ve noticed that the pushback has been intense… and you’ve received some vicious trolling online. How are you coping with that?

Many people feel threatened and triggered by the idea of their partner leaving – and by someone like me who advocates for this to ensure the victim’s safety. Ironically, I’ve been on the other side of this situation. too. After my own separation my husband took my daughter and moved away and I have found it very difficult to stay connected with her over the years. But I’ve never considered violent intervention as the answer to my problems.

Can we ask you about Joseph Burns, the man who murdered your partner?

I … I … Out of respect for Tristan’s family, I’d rather not talk about that.

What do you want to say to all the people who have personally targeted you?

My work is all about getting violence in personal relationships to stop. Surely you want that too? I’m happy to listen to critique, but threats, while unpleasant, won’t stop my work. They just remind me of the scale of the problem and how the victims feel, and make me more determined than ever to keep talking about this.

Will you be writing another book?

Not for a while! I have my own work to do and I volunteer at Safehaven and have a seat on the board. I’ve said everything I want to say for the time being. It’s important for me now to stay focused on practical action.

How would you like to think your book might make a difference?

I just want people to understand the different layers of complexity involved in these situations, so we can all try to intervene and help before things get too bad. And I mean having difficult conversations with offenders too, and encouraging them to seek help – we can’t just demonise them and expect this problem to change. It’s all about kindness really – and tackling violence in all forms from that perspective, not turning a blind eye to it. This is vital because we seem to be moving further away from a culture where we try to understand the complexity of such situations. So while I realise there’s an irony in having to fight for a kinder, safer world, I’ve decided that whenever I’m called to, I’m willing and ready to do just that.

BUY HERE

More about Sara Foster…

Sara Foster was born and raised in England and moved to Australia in 2004. She has published six other novels: Come Back to Me, Beneath the Shadows, Shallow Breath, All That Is Lost Between Us, You Don’t Know Me, and The Hidden Hours. She lives near Perth, Western Australia, with her husband and two daughters, and is a doctoral candidate at Curtin University.

Tags: featured, women writers

Category: On Writing