We received am email from listener Elizabeth Passmore asking us how to find time to write while in the trenches of early motherhood. Some things we mention you might like to check out:
- The Motherhood ed Jamila Rivzi
- Motherhood and Creativity ed Rachel Power
- Rufi Thorpe’s essay Mother, Writer, Monster, Maid
Then we speak to debut author, Anna Downes.
Anna Downes grew up in Sheffield, UK. She studied drama at Manchester University before winning a place at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and moving to London to pursue an acting career. Her acting credits include tv shows such as EastEnders & Casualty as well as a long-running stage production of The Dresser in London’s West End.
In 2009 she left to go travelling with her Australian partner, a trip that included a stint working as a live-in housekeeper on a remote French estate, where the seeds for The Safe Place were sown.
Anna now lives on the Central Coast of New South Wales with her husband and two children. In July 2020 The Safe Place is being published simultaneously in Australia, New Zealand, UK, and North America, with several other countries to follow.
We talk about:
- Anna’s recent articles A Debut In the Age of Corona & Finding My Voice
- going to the 2019 ABIA awards
- lessons transferred from drama school to writing
- suffering through post natal anxiety and how she came out the other side
- doing writing workshops and classes including at Sydney Writers Festival and with Curtis Brown Creative
- finding agents in multiple territories
- making connections with other writers
- releasing a book into a global pandemic
Anna’s advice to other writers:
Don’t forgot how much you love it.
And her debut recommendation is:
The Beach by Alex Garland
Kokomo by Victoria Hannan
Find out more about Anna Downes on her website, buy her book from your local independent bookseller or follow her on Instagram or Twitter.
The First Time podcast 
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