Claire Mabey talks to Rachel Paris, whose debut novel See How They Fall is a crime story about rot at the core of a dynastically wealthy family in Sydney.
Rachel Paris’s debut novel is a sleek, fast-paced, arsenic-infused whodunnit that centres on devastated mum, Skye, and brilliant but flawed detective, Mei. See How They Fall is the kind of book you can read in a weekend or even in one go, because the tension is so well strung. I spoke to Paris about learning to write, her dream publishing run, and the anxieties that come with releasing a book.
Claire Mabey: How did this book come about?
Rachel Paris: When I was a kid I was an obsessive writer and reader. But I ended up becoming a lawyer (I am from that generation where, if you were vaguely academic, you were funnelled into law or accounting or medicine) and lost confidence in writing.
Then, long story short, Covid happened. I was working from home, trying to deal with kids going bananas. And I remember sitting there trying to write a difficult piece of advice for a client, and my children were swinging out of the pantry like monkeys, and I thought, ‘What am I doing?’
Soon after that my younger sister was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer (she has come out of it thank god), and it was a massive wake up call. If something is precious you’ve got to do it.
I started Googling writing courses and I found the master of creative writing at the University of Auckland, and applied, got in and it was a game changer.
How did you juggle work, parenting and the course?
I wound down my workload to focus on writing, which was not the piece of cake that I thought was going to be. It was a rude shock. I had to realise what a crap writer I was and had to eat humble pie and start from scratch. In the end I discovered my voice and what it was I was trying to say.
What made you feel like you were a crap writer?
I was so naive and ignorant going into the course. But basically you have a day of craft and a day of workshopping (essentially, feedback). So I stupidly volunteered to go first for all the workshop sessions. When we filled out the schedule, I couldn’t work out why no one wanted to go first.
I soon discovered that the system is that all the nice feedback is saved for a letter that your classmates write to you, and all the hard stuff is in person, at the workshop. People get into the weaknesses of your work and it’s like you’re ripping off your clothes and sitting naked in front of the class.
What was your process from finishing the course to finding a publisher?
Traditionally you’re supposed to complete a full novel manuscript, but I think because of cutbacks at the uni it’s hard for them to afford examiners to examine a full length manuscript. So I ended up writing about 45,000 words – more or less the first half of the book – and then Paula Morris [who runs the course] sends out a sampler to the local publishers with a snippet of everyone’s work.
People absolutely hate me because, as a result of her doing that, I got calls from a few of the local publishers asking me to send the manuscript. I got myself into this ridiculous situation where I had multiple offers and ended up going with Hachette on Paula’s advice because they had the connection with Hachette Australia, and because the book is set in Sydney, it felt like a natural home for it.
That’s a dream run!
I’m almost embarrassed to tell my classmates: they’re all much better writers than I am, but it just happened that I’ve written a book in a particular genre. What I’ve learned is that with publishing there’s so much about luck and being in the right place at the right time.
Your novel reminded me of The Perfect Couple on Netflix – I wondered what it is about that wealthy family setup that interested you?
At the beginning for me it was simply the story of a mum trying to protect her child from some force of darkness within the family. During Covid I was writing around the family for a while – trying to write my way into the story. I came across Chasing the Truth by New York Times journalists Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey who exposed the Harvey Weinstein story, and there was all this stuff coming out about Jeffrey Epstein. I’d come from a career where I had worked for 20 years here and overseas with a lot of very wealthy, powerful people. I didn’t sit down with any kind of agenda, but I realised there’s an interesting thing to explore where you have this very glossy, perfect exterior with a dark underbelly. I think that’s really rich, juicy territory for a novel.
Why did you set the book in Sydney?
Initially I did set the story in Auckland but it didn’t feel credible. Because while we’ve got wealthy families in New Zealand, they do seem to be quite understated. People often don’t necessarily know them by name, whereas in Australia you’ve got that tradition of dynastic wealth that is conspicuous. Everyone is aware of at least two or three stupendously wealthy Australian families.
It definitely wasn’t the story I would ever have imagined I would have written. To be honest, I don’t read masses of crime fiction. So is it still a surprise to me that I wrote a crime book.
That’s fascinating given it’s such a deft crime novel: you’ve laid out the Easter eggs, the plot moves, the tension builds, and you’ve got the wonderfully flawed detective character. Where did Mei come from?
I needed another character because Skye’s story is isolating and claustrophobic. Originally the other character was going to be a journalist covering the story, but it didn’t work. But then Mei just popped into my head fully formed. It was the most bizarre and awesome experience. I love her. She’s sort of a mix of people I know: friends who are detectives, who’ve dealt with sexist colleagues, who’re caring for elderly parents, friends with financial worries, relationship disasters.
I was interested in the decision to make Mei of Chinese descent. Could you talk me through that process?
Mei’s mum is Chinese and her dad is Irish, and they came to Sydney as immigrants just before Mei was born. I am not of Chinese heritage. I know that there is a lot of discussion about whether it’s appropriate to write someone who is of a different culture or ethnicity. But I wanted Mei to be someone I could go for a drink with, who I could relate to, so I really needed to get to know her. Then I thought, if you’re in Sydney it’s unlikely that everybody’s going to be white; this is a multicultural city. Mei hopped into my mind with that heritage, which I know is weird, but it is how she came to me.
I talked to Chinese friends, one who has come from China and lives in Auckland, and another who is living in Sydney and went to high school in Sydney, but had come from China as a teenager. I also found journals and articles online from mixed race or Chinese heritage kids who grew up in Australia. One story that stood out was about the TV show Neighbours. There was an episode on that show about a Chinese family that moved into Ramsey street and the jokes made on that episode are atrociously racist. A lot of the kids who were at school at the time were bullied horribly because of it. Some of that casual racism lingers to this day.
When you found out you had a publishing deal and the book was going to make its way to readers, did you start to worry about any aspects of the book?
This whole thing has been the most insane emotional roller coaster. I’m a pretty calm person. I tend not to get stressed or emotional or whatever. But this has been next level. I mean, it’s terrifying, right? What if everyone hates it? What if no one buys it? What if all these people at the publishing company have put all this resource into this book, and it’s a complete flop.
The main theme of the story is violence against women and children. You said that you didn’t necessarily set out to write a crime novel, but what drew you to this subject?
I feel like people moved on from the #MeToo movement. There has been a massive reaction against it, and people are almost bored of it. But I think as much as I am lucky to have the most amazing men in my life, I know there’s still misogyny out there, there’s violence against women, and that violence is sometimes physical, a lot of the time psychological, and just because you can’t see it, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. I came through corporate law in a different era from today. I saw some pretty bad behaviour. And I’ve got friends who’ve been in really challenging relationships.
I guess it’d a preoccupation on my end and that was the story that came out of me.
Have you watched Adolescence on Netflix?
We watched it with our 14-year-old son and our daughter, which is probably terrible parenting, but it was exactly the point we were talking about. It’s billed as a crime series but it’s about the collateral damage of that kind of offending; it’s also about the pressures on young men. What does it mean to be a man in the world today? What is acceptable masculinity? What is toxic masculinity? I thought Adolescence was just brilliant. I wouldn’t even put my book in the same sentence, other than to say I think I was interested in the collateral victims, too.
As I was reading I could see the book as a TV show, and I wondered if there had been any rights discussions.
It was optioned by an American production company. They’ve got a screenwriter attached, and they’re actively trying to develop it with a view to it being filmed in Australia. But I’m very realistic about the fact that these things rarely come to fruition.
I didn’t mention earlier that I have had one other writing experience. When my son was a baby I wrote a screenplay based on the Middlemarch singles ball. My sister and I wrote a stupid screenplay and South Pacific Pictures actually optioned it. It was in development for about four years and then fizzled out and didn’t go anywhere. So when I decided to go back to giving writing a go, I went for a novel instead of a screenplay.
I would watch a show about the Middlemarch singles ball.
It was a fun project!
You mentioned before that you’re writing another book. Are you writing another crime novel or are you doing something different?
My contract is a two book deal. I’m massively behind. It’s similar in some ways, in that it’s still about wealthy families but this time it’s about three middle aged sisters, one of whom dies in the first sort of part of the book. A whodunnit, but I really want to burrow deep into those relationships between the three sisters, and talk a lot more about the pressures on women in middle age and the richness of that sister bond and female friendships
Are you now a full-time writer?
I am, in the sense I’m not doing any law stuff, but not in the sense that I have three kids, two dogs, a cat, and I have a few other things on the go. But, yeah, I have no excuse not to be pumping out a book a year, although it just seems very hard in reality. I don’t know where I’m going wrong. I’m extremely lucky that I’m able to make this a career. If people buy the book!
See how they fall by Rachel Paris ($38, Moa Press) is available to purchase from Unity Books.
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