I wrote two Chook Lit books before I even knew it existed. In fact, when I wrote my first two books, it probably didn’t exist as such.
Now everyone from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation to Time Magazine is heralding Chook Lit as the newest literary craze down under.
So just what is it.
It’s uniquely Australian… the name gives that away.
Not that the word ‘Chook’ isn’t heard elsewhere – in parts of England it’s a term of endearment or possibly an insult, depending on the tone. I’ve also seen it defined by an American as a knitted cap worn by men (not by my heroes though).
In Australian, chook simply means chicken.
Growing up, we had chooks in the yard. They gave us eggs and most eventually ended up on the dinner table.
Chick lit (as portrayed by Bridget Jones and the girls of Sex and the City) is defined as “genre fiction that addresses issues of modern womanhood, often humorously and lightheartedly”.
Chook Lit is Chick Lit gone country. Replace the Manolo Blahniks with riding boots. Swap a cocktail for a can of beer, and those be-suited corporate hunks with slightly sweaty, suntanned stockmen.
Actually – like most genre fiction – there’s more to Chook Lit than meets the eye.
It has history – Colleen McCulloch’s epic The Thorn Birds, written in 1977, could be described as a fore-runner to Chook Lit. Lucy Walker wrote dozens of outback romances in the late forties and onwards. But no-one called it Chook Lit back then. Nor did they apply the label to Crocodile Dundee – but that’s what it was.
Chook Lit is romantic and it is set in rural Australia. But life is tough in rural Australia and the Outback, and the issues faced by the characters in these books can be serious and thought provoking. They can also be fun.
For the most part, Chook Lit books are about strong women… and even stronger heroes. What’s not to like about that?
Regular readers will know that it’s not unusual for this blog to somehow drift across to Hugh Jackman – with even the slightest encouragement. But in this case, not only is he the quintessential Chook Lit man, but in his first film, Paperback Hero, he played a Chook Lit writer.
When the term Chick Lit was first coined, some writers hated it while others embraced it. Some thought it disparaging. Some found it funny. The same could be said of Chook Lit…
With my first book called “The Farmer Needs A Wife” and my second set around “The Bachelor and Spinster Ball”; I certainly can be accused of committing Chook Lit.
In every one of my books to date, the hero is at some point seen around or on a horse – and the forthcoming Flight To Coorah Creek is no exception.
So I will don my Akubra hat and happily accept the label…
Except – the new book I’ve just started writing is set on a cruise ship… I’m not sure how I’m going to work the horse into this one…