Vet and author Karen Viggers spoke last week with radio presenter Elaine McCartney about her new book.By Kath Gannaway
FORMER radio presenter turned author Karen Viggers returned to Yarra Valley FM last week to talk about her first book, The Stranding.
Dr Viggers, a vet, now lives in Canberra where she combines veterinary work and raising a family with writing.
She worked at Healesville Sanctuary for a time, and presented a radio segment “Valley Vet” on what was then VYV Voice of the Yarra Valley.
Talking with presenter Elaine McCartney at the station’s Woori Yallock studios, Dr Viggers recalled her time behind the microphone in the early days when the station transmitted out of the Healesville Railway Station.
The Stranding draws on Dr Viggers’ experiences as a vet and animal lover, as well as the time she spent in Healesville and the Yarra Valley.
One of the main characters in the book is a radio presenter.
The Stranding was published by Allen and Unwin in May last year and with the first run of 11,000 copies almost sold out, it will go into reprint in April.
Dr Viggers is now working on a second novel about Antarctica and the effects of isolation on people and their relationships.
Dr Viggers did field work in Antartica, working with seals.
She said, as with The Stranding, the new book draws on her own experiences in that environment.
For a synopsis of The Stranding visit www.vividfiction.com.au
