Sarah Street (2018), Author of A Curse of Salt.
Paul Galea:
Sarah Street. It’s Paul Galea from International Grammar calling you quite out of the blue and catching you unawares, I hope, for the candid Interview. How are you?
Sarah:
I’m very well, thank you. How are you?
Paul Galea:
I’m good. Now, I try to give a little bit of an introduction to all of our interviewees. You’re Sarah Street, you left in 2018. You were pretty good at basketball, an excellent student and a very, very nice girl. What I want to know from you now, Sarah, is what have you been doing since you left school? Just give us a bit of a journey of where you are and how you got there.
Sarah:
Yeah. I finished back in 2018. I have been at uni as well. I just finished at the end of last year, my Bachelor of Arts. So I majored in English with a minor in criminology at USyd, which I did really enjoy but on the side, as well, I was also writing and working on my book that’s coming out this May. So that’s kind of the main thing that I’ve been focusing on and also doing just some odd jobs here and there.
Paul Galea:
Okay, stop a second. You said you did Criminology?
Sarah:
Yes, I did. Yeah. That was actually really enjoyable. I switched to that in my second year. I was actually doing psychology. But yeah, criminology. I ended up finding it really interesting.
Paul Galea:
So psychology was a little bit too straight and narrow? You wanted to see the evil side of humanity?
Sarah:
Yeah, definitely. Psych, I found a bit more of a science space. And I’m definitely not a scientist, so I really enjoyed the sociology side of things and learning about the criminal justice system and everything like that. A lot of contemporary issues. Yeah. It was really interesting.
Paul Galea:
Well, that’s good. And so you finished that? And obviously, when you did your course and picked your course, did you have aspirations to be a writer or were you just going along and just seeing what happened along the way.
Sarah:
Well, I always wanted to be a writer. That was kind of just always the end goal, but I had no idea what to do in the meantime, really. So I did feel like I could kind of do anything; like, go into anything. I felt like I could be interested in anything but I didn’t really have any strong interest in anything other than that. Like, it’s a career. So I sort of just picked electives. I found it really good doing an Arts Degree because I could just do a bunch of different subjects that interested me and that I enjoyed . So I did really like uni, but yeah, I definitely wasn’t going into it thinking, you know, I need to get set on a career path or anything. I was always just writing on the side.
Paul Galea:
Yeah. Okay, so the writing obviously is the thing. Obviously, you did Advanced English and Extension 1. Did you do Extension 2? At school?
Sarah:
I did. Yeah. Actually, Miss Colnan was my mentor for that. I did a creative writing project, but completely different to anything that I write now. I don’t even know how to describe that. I barely remember it, but, yeah, that was really interesting. I really enjoyed that.
Paul Galea:
Okay, good. So during your schooling and your uni, you always had a vague notion that you were going to become a writer. Now, tell me about the writing. I know that your book is called A Curse of Salt, and it’s for young adults. As the super professional interviewer, I went and had a look at your website, which I have got to admit was fantastic, and very professional. I really like the sound of the book and the premise of it. There’s only one problem: there’s no way I can get into the ‘young adult’ category because I’m not a young adult anymore!
Sarah:
It’s okay. Yeah. It’s for 14 plus. As long as you’re in the plus range, I think, hopefully, it’s accessible.
Paul Galea:
I think I just make the plus range! So tell us what it’s about and give us a bit of a rundown on how you got there. Because I think for a lot of people, the idea of writing a book is very attractive, but a lot easier to think about than actually done. And you’re one of not many people in the world if you’re looking at percentages who have had a book published and you’ve had it published at a very young age, which is just fantastic. Tell us a bit about that process.
Sarah:
Well, I did start writing it in the middle of Year 12, just before the Trial exams. So I don’t know how good that time was to start writing this book, but I I had always written and I’d written a few other, just way shorter books in the past, but those will never see the light of day. I just always knew that I wanted to write something that could eventually get published and so, yeah, I started it in Year 12. And it’s just like a young adult fantasy. Bit of romance, set on a pirate ship. Bit of a ‘beauty and the beast’ retelling as well. And yeah, I finished. That took me, like, a year, I think. And I added to it and then had to go and get myself an agent, which was a whole learning process in itself. It’s been a very exciting journey.
Paul Galea:
I guess so. Your agent? Did you have any trouble getting an agent?
Sarah:
Yeah. It was interesting learning about how that whole process works and everything. I didn’t have too much trouble. For some people, it does take a lot longer. I think I was just very lucky with timing and how things lined up. My agent actually found me on Twitter and liked this tweet and that’s how I found out about her. So I’m so grateful that that happened, because she’s absolutely amazing. She’s over in the UK, she read my book, and she really connected with it. So we edited it together, and then it went out to publishers and eventually found its home.
Paul Galea:
Do you mind me asking how many publishers you approached? Because I know again, there’s a fair bit of hit and miss in that process.
Sarah:
Yeah, I think on our original submission list there was probably about 12 editors that we sent it out to, which, you know, if we hadn’t got a hit on that one, we would have just kept running it out to more. But, the response was pretty positive, but most people, they don’t take on that many YA books. It’s a very crowded market at the moment. So, yeah, we only really just had the one response from my publisher and the rest either passed or, you know, just didn’t have the time to read it at that moment. So it wasn’t the most gruelling process, I will say. I feel very lucky, I think.
Paul Galea:
Can I ask, is it the first in a series or is it a stand-alone?
Sarah:
It is technically a stand-alone, although my deal is for two books. So I will have another book coming out next year, which is slightly related, but it’s definitely not a sequel.
Paul Galea:
Okay, because that’s often what happens. Well, I read a lot of books and I read a lot of series, and often you can find a great character or set of characters, and it’s very tempting just to keep telling stories of their lives because you’ve already set up your characters. But maybe a great writer like you only wants to do, you only want to have a stand-alone novel for the time being.
Sarah:
No, I actually I did want it to be a trilogy. That was the original plan. But when I first spoke to my editor, she was the one who thought it would actually work better as a stand-alone. And I actually do agree. I think it’s a lot better now, but yes, my original plan was it was going to be a trilogy. So there you go. Yeah.
Paul Galea:
Okay. And you want to give us a quick 20-second rundown of what actually happens?
Sarah:
Yeah, I can try. I’m just so bad at talking about it. But I really need to get used to it. It’s about 18 year old Ria. She’s a young woman who just really loved the ocean. But, you know, everyone’s kind of scared of it because there are pirates and everything, and she ends up trying to save her family and goes off and ends up with this dangerous crew of pirates and they all have secrets and everything like that. So yeah, well….
Paul Galea:
I can tell you that you’re going to have one reader for sure, and that’s because I really like the sound of it. Just reading on your website and listening to you there, I think it sounds very appealing. Okay, so well done! Obviously, you know that I know your brother, Big Ben Street. How’s he going?
Sarah:
He’s doing very well. Yeah, he’s just started working full-time for the first time, so I think that’s a bit of a transition for him, but he seems to be enjoying it.
Paul Galea:
Which field is he in?
Sarah:
He did a Science, Maths degree, I think. Maths mainly. He’s working in IT consulting or something. It’s a grad programme. I should probably know, but I don’t think even he really knows what he’s going to be doing at this stage.
Paul Galea:
You know, though, I’ll tell you a funny thing that I’ve learned over the years. I’ve asked one million siblings about their brothers or sisters; what they’re doing, and 98% of them don’t even know which uni they are going to! So don’t feel bad about that!
Sarah:
Well, I have asked him! He wasn’t able to give me a very descriptive answer. So that’s all I can pass on.
Paul Galea:
Well, that’s fair enough. And also to your mum, who I knew from those days, as well, when you guys were at school. Say hi to her for me. Now, IGS. You spent a lot of time at IGS. Anything, any memories that you remember that stand out or, you know, really twang your heartstrings?
Sarah:
That’s tough. Yeah, I did spend a lot of years, probably most of the years of my life, but I would say, my fondest memory looking back is towards the later years because I have a very bad memory, but I do remember the Year 12 Study Space very fondly. I think that sense of camaraderie and community that you get just going through Year 12 together. I don’t really think there’s anything that’s quite like that after school, if you don’t have a streamlined uni course with the same people every year. Like Arts students don’t really have that and then me not having a really traditional career path. I don’t know. I I look back on that very fondly, and I’m very glad for all the friends that came out of that year of our lives and everything.
Paul Galea:
Yeah. Now, listen, that just reminds me. Are you still friendly with, and still in contact with people from school?
Sarah:
Yeah. Yeah. It’s not quite the same friend group that I actually had at school, but my closest friends, we are all from IGS. Yeah, it’s really, really nice.
Paul Galea:
Good. Do you want to drop a few names there?
Sarah:
Yeah. Shout out to Isobel K, Hannah K, Kyle, Flinders…all of them. We’re very close. So it’s actually really nice.
Paul Galea:
Good quality friends. That shows you’re a good quality person. Okay, so, lastly, have you got any advice for our students who are still at school? I’m assuming that you basically achieved one of your dreams? You’ve had a novel published or you’re having a novel published. That must be an awesome feeling. Have you got any advice for people who might be in Years 10 or 11 or 12? And they’ve got dreams that maybe seem unattainable. But you’re someone who’s actually got there. Any ideas or…..?
Sarah:
Yeah, I do remember being a lot less stressed than most of my friends. I think knowing what your dream is is such a big first step as well. I know a lot of people at that age, it’s very early to actually know exactly what you want to do. And I think that puts a lot of stress on young people. So I don’t know. I think my biggest advice would be trying to find those things that actually bring you joy and fulfilment and actually just doing what you enjoy rather than, you know, getting so stressed out about all the expectations on you and what people, what they expect of you and what you think you have to do. I think that can kind of get in the way of people who maybe kind of know what they want, but they’re scared to go after it if it’s not a traditional, academic thing, or a career path or something. But I think there’s a lot to be said for just actually doing what you love, even if it is a bit more uncertain.
Paul Galea:
One of the things that keeps coming up in these interviews is Alums like yourself saying that. They say, “Do what you love!” and, you know, things tend to work out. You might be like you did. You did a course that, was vaguely about what you’re going to do, but you went through it. You’ve done a few interesting things. I mean, I will be very surprised at some stage if you’re not using your criminology in a novel down the track. So, yeah, your advice is excellent, because I think sometimes our youngsters get too caught up in ATARs and what the courses are, and I think I’ve learned from doing these interviews that it is a long life, and it is also a winding, winding road. So best just to get in there and enjoy it while you can just keep moving forward to try and reach where you want to get to. Good. All right, so we’ve already worked out that you’re going to send me a little bit of material. We’re going to put in a little bit of a link so that people can look at the book when it comes out. And all I can say is and I can only speak for myself, but I’m sure the whole school is very proud of you. And I think that it couldn’t have happened to a nicer girl.
Sarah:
Oh, thank you. That’s very nice.
Paul Galea:
So, I’ll speak to you soon. Maybe at a reunion in a few years, we might be able to look at your true crime book or your criminology novel?
Sarah:
Yeah. Who knows!?
Order A Curse of Salt now.