This week M+K sits across the table with Neridah McMullin, Australian Children’s Author. She talks with us about creativity, the routines that ground her as a writer and the power of cooking.
1. My cooking inspiration…
Is my mother. She is an exceptional cook. She would never admit this, but she is. Growing up, everything we ate was homegrown, homemade, cooked from scratch and cooked with love. She used seasonal produce and cooked simple, clean, hearty food. We had an orchard on the farm, so there was always a lot of preserving and stewing and freezing of fruit. Stewed apples and ice cream was the dessert of my childhood. As Mum became older, she experimented with recipes, cooking Italian and Greek and Asian stir fry dishes. She’d have a go at anything. She adores recipes books and over the years she’s collected thousands of recipes. Mum is a master at roast lamb. It’s magnificent and her potatoes are always crispy and golden brown.
There are recipes we always cook at Christmas time. Our Christmas pudding is from my Great Granny Rogers and I treasure this recipe. It has her handwriting in the corner. I always think of Mum and my Grandmother and my Great Granny, when I make it. The smells are so familiar to me, from my childhood. While I’m cooking I can actually see their faces in my mind. I can feel them with me, while I’m cooking. I know it sounds surreal. There’s a reverence to it as if what I’m doing at that moment is the most important thing in the world. I was relieved to hear one Christmas day, my Grandmother turned out her pudding and it fell apart, oozing into a flat mess.
2. A meal that reminds me of home…
Roast Lamb…Pavlova and strawberries…and stewed apples.
3. A life lesson cooking has taught me…
Read the fine print. If you don’t follow the instructions for ingredients or method, your dish will turn out to be something else. Instructions are there for a reason. Be patient. If your focaccia needs 10 minutes of resting time, then do it. Keep trying. If a dish fails, why? Keep at it. Good advice for writers too.
4. When I want to be creative I…
I would like to think I live a creative life. Everything I do revolves around something interesting or inspiring. The beautiful books I read, the birds I see on my walks, shells and sea sponges I find on the beach. There’s beauty in it all. Learning something new every day brings such joy. I love listening to podcasts, picking flowers from my garden and baking. I just want to live in this creative space all the time, where I feel connected to the world, and to myself.
I began practising yoga twenty years ago where I learnt ‘present moment awareness’ and how to breathe properly. I try to live this way. I’d rather savour things, and go deeper into an experience. Negativity is a killer of creativity, so I try to surround myself with good people; people without agenda. And I try not to watch too much news. And reading, reading is magic.
5. The most transformational book I’ve read is…
I love reading fiction, but I also love reading about how writers write. I’m going to mention two: Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert and Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. ‘Big Magic’ made me brave. It taught me to let go of perfectionism, that mistakes are good and that the genius dwells within us all. Elizabeth has wonderful stories about creative people, how a story waits to be born and can only be written when it’s ready. There’s a story about a poet who can feel a poem coming on, it races towards her like a galloping horse. This book is a must-read for any creative person. ‘Bird by Bird’ is a writers bible. Humorous, self-effacing, it’s full of excellent advice. The first time I read it, I felt absolute joy and relief that my feelings as a writer were ‘normal’ (well, vaguely normal, whatever that is).
6. The routines that keep me grounded are…
I have a morning walk to clear my head, to allow me to focus on my current W.I.P. All writers walk, not run – walk. Puffing inhibits this process. Walking is thinking time, it opens up new neural pathways in the brain, enabling one to think with clarity. Writing is problem-solving, so I recommend walking. I also have a writing practice called ‘morning pages’ it’s the most beneficial thing I’ve ever done. The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron is brilliant if you want to know more about ‘morning pages.’
7. I recently learnt…
Isolation isn’t so bad. It feels like a simpler life. Taking a deep breath and slowing down, spending more time with family. And talking. Talking to each other. Time spent gardening and cooking, and creating things is rewarding and comforting. I just made this wreath from my almond tree for my front door.
8. Favourite random act of kindness…
Helping elderly people, in the supermarket, having a chat with them, asking them how they are, helping them cross the road, down steps, opening a door. I love old people. I adored my grandparents and grew up with several great aunts. I prefer the company of this sensible, stoic generation. I love their stories, their frugalness and outlook on life.
9. To make a difference in my community I…
Try to give back, do free author visits and provide children with books and reading recommendations to match their interests. I try to support local businesses and I definitely shop ‘local’. I attend most things going on, my youngest plays sport locally and we rally around anyone in need. The moment anyone is sick, a casserole appears on a doorstep.
10. Right now, I’m grateful for…
Everything, thanks to COVID-19. We’ve had a reality check. Everything that was normal, now isn’t. I’m grateful for my health, for the health of my family, and friends. I’m grateful for Australia – our great country, I have immense gratitude for our government, our community, our school, and food on the supermarket shelves. I’m grateful for books to read to take me away from all this COVID-19 anxiety. And I’m grateful for amazing women like you, Ada! For sharing the light and love of Marmalade + Kindness.
Neridah McMullin is an author of seven books for children and she loves true stories and Australian history. Her latest picture book Fabish: The Horse that Braved a Bushfire was published by Allen & Unwin in 2016. It was shortlisted for the 2017 CBCA Eve Pownall Information Book of the Year. She has a new picture book coming out in 2021 with Walker Books Australia. Neridah loves cooking old family recipes, walking her dog and meeting other people’s dogs.
To connect visit:
Website: www.neridahmcmullin.com
Instagram: @Neridah_mcwriter
Twitter: @Nerimac
