Thrilled to have fellow Australian, David Rawlings chatting today about his debut novel, The Baggage Handler. Australians are well know for punching above their weight in the sporting arena, and it would seem David is making inroads in the publishing industry despite living on the other side of the world from a country of only 23 million people. He’s following in the footsteps of Mary Hawkins, Ian Acheson, Dorothy Adamek, Narelle Atkins, and other talented Australian writers (soon to include Jessica Kate) reaching readers across the globe!

There’s a lot packed in to this little story, as you will learn as read this interview. Be sure to enter the giveaway below (Australian only) for a chance to win a copy of the book and some great luggage tags, thanks to David!

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When three people take the wrong suitcase from baggage claim, their lives change forever.

A hothead businessman coming to the city for a showdown meeting to save his job.

A mother of three hoping to survive the days at her sister’s house before her niece’s wedding.

And a young artist pursuing his father’s dream so he can keep his own alive.

When David, Gillian, and Michael each take the wrong suitcase from baggage claim, the airline directs them to retrieve their bags at a mysterious facility in a deserted part of the city. There they meet the enigmatic Baggage Handler, who shows them there is more in their baggage than what they have packed, and carrying it with them is slowing them down in ways they can’t imagine. And they must deal with it before they can leave.

In this modern-day parable about the burdens that weigh us down, David Rawlings issues an inspiring invitation to lighten the load.

What sparked the first idea for The Baggage Handler?

The Baggage Handler itself was borne out of rejection. My first manuscript called Pastor Swap – about reality TV and churches – finalled in a range of fiction awards but I couldn’t get industry interested in it. Someone suggested for my next novel maybe I should focus on “life lesson” stories. I widened my reading and then one night at 9p.m. The Baggage Handler arrived. It pretty much downloaded into my head – one moment I was reading in bed, the next I was furiously tapping away at my laptop. When I next checked the clock it was 1am, and I had the story, the characters, plot, twists, structure – almost everything.

That hasn’t happened before or since with books two and three, but I’m glad it did with The Baggage Handler.

I’m the type of person who wants to talk about the deeper things in life rather than just wade around in the shallows with small talk, so issues like the concept of dealing with baggage have always been a part of conversations I have. I guess it was just there not too far under the surface.

Please describe the Baggage Handler, David, Gillian, and Michael with 3 adjectives each

The Baggage Handler: Insightful, enigmatic, mysterious

David: angry, bitter, rather be right than happy

Gillian: self-loathing, timid, blind to her own beauty

Michael: uncertain, trapped, “under-Dad’s-thumb”

When did your dream to become a novelist start?

When I was a kid at the age of four, writing my “stories” at the kitchen table. I apparently told everyone when I grew up I was going to be a writer and a journalist. I was a journalist early in my career before that morphed into corporate communication and copywriting.

That novelist dream was shelved somewhat during my corporate career when I was working in PR and the media, but reawoke in 2015 when I wrote Pastor Swap, a story that finaled in a number of US competitions but never made its way to the marketplace.

Which character did you enjoy writing most?

Probably the Baggage Handler. This character was a way for me to help the three characters and to give them advice on how they should handle the baggage they were carrying. The Baggage Handler is quite mysterious – I’m not sure I fully understand him at this stage either.

Which character gave you the most grief?

The other three. They kept refusing to hand over their baggage until the stakes were too high or the consequences too great. They could have saved themselves so much pain by dealing with things far earlier.

This mirrors the experience of many people, including some I see around me.

What emotions do you think your story will generate in readers?

Reflection mainly. The Baggage Handler was written to start conversations, or open doors that had been tightly jammed shut.

I’m less interested in the emotions generated, and more interested by what readers will do with the story once they’ve put it down. One of my review readers wrote that she finished the book two weeks ago and yet was still thinking about the baggage in her life. To me, that’s a win.

What emotions did you experience while writing this story?

I rode the roller coaster with all three characters, so I genuinely went through broiling anger and betrayal, crushing disappointment, stunting self-esteem and everything else that was thrown their way.

I wished David would realise he sacrifice his need to be right so he could be happy, that Gillian would see her true beauty and that Michael would tell his father to back off and pursue his dream. It was disappointing when they just wouldn’t listen.

Does being Australian (yay!) impact your writing style or content in any way? (Please say yes)

Yes.

Oh, you want more?

I think Aussies have an in-built humor and irreverence that comes through in my writing. That doesn’t mean what I’m writing is funny or disrespectful, but it does stand out from an American style.

I also think I am bringing a different voice to the US market simply because I am an outsider, with an external view based on a different cultural life experience. In some ways Australia and the US are similar. In others we are very different.

But learning to write as if I was an American author was more than just typing with an American accent. It was a learning journey all of its own.

Share some authors and/or books that you would describe as must reads.

Jim Rubart, Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker in Christian fiction. Ben Elton or Douglas Adams to learn about how to infuse humour into writing. Robert Ludlum to understand how to plot a book and research locations.

What’s next in your writing pipeline?

My second book – The Camera Never Lies – is coming out in December. Again through Thomas Nelson.

It answers a central question: “”What would you do if your secrets were revealed to those around you … and you couldn’t stop it?” It’s the story of a marriage counsellor, whose own marriage is falling apart. His grandfather dies, leaving him an old SLR camera, and every time he uses it, it reveals secrets he’d much rather hide.

And I’m also writing book 3 at the moment, which is due in 2020. It’s based in central Australia, which I’m excited about as it means I can talk about my country!

Thanks David!

Relz Reviewz Extras
Visit David’s website and blog
Buy at Amazon: The Baggage Handler or Koorong

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