The future of dystopia and exploring the mother-daughter bond with Sara Foster

Sara Foster was born and raised in England but now lives in Perth with her husband and young daughters. She has previously worked as an editor in-house at HarperCollins UK and then freelance and has worked on many popular titles. She loves dystopian fiction so much that she’s studying the genre for a PhD at Curtin University. So it will come as no surprise that today we are discussing her somewhat dystopian book, and her latest novel, The Hush.Our interview begins at 21 minutes. Mini book club: Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry by Joya GoffneyA smart and addictive romantic YA novel that explores race, relationships and what it means to own your truth. In this interview, we chat about:How Sara developed the idea for The Hush and why the mother-daughter relationship was central to the narrativeWhy Sara chose to write something so close to our current reality, with a story set less than 10 years in the future, and why she set it in EnglandThe freaky ways the books has mirrored real eventsExploring the nuances of the mother-daughter relationship within The HushSara’s writing career and working on other books alongside The HushBlending genres and why Sara is so fascinated with dystopia - how does the genre evolve from here?Why Sara wanted to pursue a PhD and how the novel developed out of thatBooks and other things mentioned:100 Remarkable Feats of Xander Maze by Clayton Zane ComberThe Hate U Give (film)The Hunger GamesDivergentOnly Ever YoursHelp (film)The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret AtwoodThe Book of the Unnamed Midwife by Meg ElisonFollow Sara @sarafosterauthor. The Hush is available now.Follow us on Instagram @betterwordspodPlease note that Caitlin's job at HarperCollins Publishers did not affect our decision to invite Sara to be a guest, we're delighted to have her and hope you enjoy this episode. Michelle also read a PR copy.