Kim Kelly has confessed that when it comes to her writing, she is "always the bridesmaid, and never the bride", but all this has changed after now being named an award winner.
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Millthorpe based author, Ms Kelly has received the top spot for fiction novellas in the inaugural Finlay Lloyd 20/40 prize, for her work Ladies' Rest and Writing Room.
The prize was developed by independent, non-profit publishing company Finlay Lloyd, as a way to shine a light on shorter stories, between 20,000 and 40,000 words.
And the winners receive the ultimate reward - publishing.
And, for Ms Kelly, who has been writing for approximately two decades, being number one is a feeling that is "a bit surreal."
"It's amazing, absolutely amazing. I've been writing novels now for almost 20 years, and my work has been shortlisted and long-listed," she said.
"I've always been the bridesmaid, and never the bride."
And even more exciting for Ms Kelly, is the fact that her prize-winning novella is focused on strong females.
Ladies' Rest and Writing Room follows the story of two young women who have both experienced terrible tragedies during the course of World War One.
The two women, who had previously known each other during their school years, just happen to cross paths in a Sydney department store in 1922.
It's very much a story about female friendship and female recognition.
- Kim Kelly
"It's a chance meeting that changes both their lives," Ms Kelly said.
And it's a welcome change of pace from typical post-war novels, that seem to firmly focus on the male perspective of war, and going off to fight.
"But women were very damaged too, in terms of the sheer weight of grief that they had," Ms Kelly said.
"Both these young women are very battered by their grief, and the way that they come together, they have to put aside old animosities, and they have to kind to attach to each other and rescue each other from this terrible grief.
"It's very much a story about female friendship and female recognition."
And the name of the novella came from an old newspaper, in which Ms Kelly found an advertisement for a beautiful haven in the middle of a busy city centre - Farmer's Department Store.
This department store is where the book is set, and it's also set during one of the busiest times of the year for any city centre - Christmas.
"It had this beautiful ladies' rest and writing room upstairs, and it was decked out with beautiful blush pinks and roses," Ms Kelly said.
And though the inspiration for the book came from the big city, Ms Kelly said she has never felt more creatively productive than she has while living in the town of Millthorpe.
Ms Kelly has been living in the quaint historical town, located approximately 30 minutes west of Bathurst for 14 years.
"It's not just the peace and quiet ... I tend more towards Blayney than I do towards Millthorpe, but every time I go towards Blayney, it's a comforting place," she said.
This comes from the fact that in small towns, she is able to find a sense of humility, knowing that she is just like everyone else, there's no need for competition or comparison.
"I didn't come at writing with the idea that my name would every be on the cover of a book or that I wanted to be famous or anything like that ... it's always been about trying to tell stories," Ms Kelly said.
And she finds that novellas are a great way to tell stories.
The books usually vary between 20,000 to 40,000 words, and leave just enough room for an idea to be developed, without getting too convoluted.
And the best part is that they can be downed in less than a day.
"Picture yourself ... you've got a Sunday afternoon to yourself, having a cup if tea in a sunny corner and you know that you can knock over an entire story that's going to take you somewhere, in two or three hours," Ms Kelly said.
"I mean that sounds like bliss to me."
So, Ms Kelly said she would encourage everyone to go out there, buy a novella, particularly Ladies' Rest and Writing Room, and treat themselves to that Sunday afternoon cup of tea.
For those interested in learning more about the novella, Ms Kelly will be presenting an 'in conversation' at the Bathurst Library on December 8, which will be run in conjunction with Books Plus.
