Rebecca Lim on genre-hopping, rejection and the joy of 'having no brand'

Content warning: Please note this episode contains brief references to crimes against children, including mentions of historical cases and industry terminology. These topics are not discussed in detail, but listener discretion is advised. Not suitable for younger audiences. Madeleine interviews beloved Australian author, Rebecca Lim. Rebecca is an Australian writer, editor and lawyer, and the author of over twenty books, including Tiger Daughter (a Kirkus, Amazon and Booklist Best Book, CBCA Book of the Year, and Victorian Premier’s Literary Award-winner), Two Sparrowhawks in a Lonely Sky (NSW History Award-winner) and the bestselling Mercy. Her work has been twice shortlisted for the NSW Literary Awards and Margaret and Colin Roderick Literary Award, shortlisted for the Queensland Literary Awards and ARA Historical Novel Prize, shortlisted multiple times for the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards, Aurealis Awards and Davitt Awards, longlisted for the David Gemmell Legend Award and the Tasmanian Literary Awards, and has been optioned for film. Rebecca talks to us about: • why being a publishing flake might be a good thing • rejections and the financial realities of being an author • having no brand (but loving what you do) • how she balances life as a corporate lawyer, mother, dog owner and writer (and a little spoiler, her advice includes the use of toilet paper rolls). The Graduate (Affirm Press, 2026) (https://www.simonandschuster.com.au/b...) A razor-sharp revenge thriller that blows the whistle on the cutthroat world of corporate law.  New graduate Fei Fei Chou is an outlier at her prestigious law firm. She's too quiet. She wears too much makeup. She’s only here because the boss has a thing for Asians. But Fei isn’t here to climb the corporate ladder – she’s here for revenge.  Thirty years ago, three schoolgirls were kidnapped and abused by a man who’s never been identified. The information Fei needs to find him is buried somewhere in the firm’s records. Deliberately placing herself in harm’s way, Fei will uncover a secret history of power and privilege that haunts not only her firm, but the nation itself. Taut, riveting and blackly humorous, The Graduate is a mesmerising legal thriller and a masterfully dark crime debut from a beloved Australian writer. Our Debut in the Spotlight this week is Lit by Anna Woods (Allen & Unwin, 2026). (https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/...) 00:51 Meet Rebecca Lim 02:33 Early Writing  08:46 Quitting Law For Writing 10:23 Genre Hopping  13:56 The Graduate  32:24 Debut in the Spotlight 33:45 Editing 40:20 Writing Adults Vs Kids 42:37 Balancing life 43:52 Burnout And Career Breaks 50:58 Feedback And Resilience 54:31 Top Tip  Join our Patreon community (  / thebookdealpodcast  ) for less than the cost of a coffee per month and support the pod! Your contribution will go to directly paying our sound producer, Brogan, and to help us bring you the conversations with industry professionals you love. Follow The Book Deal podcast on Instagram The Book Deal podcast (@the_book_deal_podcast) • Instagram photos and videos (  / the_book_deal_podcast  ) You can find out more about Tina, Madeleine and Natasha and follow their journeys here: Tina Strachan (@td_strachan) • Instagram photos and videos (  / td_strachan  ) Tina Strachan children's book author (https://www.tinastrachan.com/about-ti...) Madeleine Cleary (@madeleineclearywrites) • Instagram photos and videos (  / madeleineclearywrites  ) Madeleine Cleary | Author (https://www.madeleinecleary.com.au/) Natasha Rai (@raiwriting) • Instagram photos and videos (  / raiwriting  ) Natasha Rai | Author | Mentor (https://www.raiwriting.com.au/) If you want to stay in the know, sign up to Madeleine, Tina and Natasha's newsletters for the latest news first. Madeleine: Subscribe here (https://madeleinecleary.substack.com/...) ...