Last Best Chance - Interview with author Brooke Dunnell

Brooke Dunnell is a writer, mentor and workshop facilitator. Her short fiction has been widely published, including in the short story collection Female(s and) Dogs, which was a finalist for the 2020 Carmel Bird Digital Literary Award and shortlisted for the 2021 Woollahra Digital Literary Award. She also has a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Western Australia.

Brooke’s unpublished manuscript for The Glass House was the winner of the 2021 Fogarty Literary Award. The novel was published by Fremantle Press in 2022 to critical acclaim.

Now we have Brooke’s second novel, Last Best Chance to savour, having been published and launched by Fremantle Press just last week.

It’s a story both modern in its dilemma, and as old as the ages.

When Rachel, a forty-something single woman, finds herself running out of options on her path to motherhood, she seeks treatment at a fertility clinic in Central Europe. Telling half-truths to her family and the clinic’s medical team, Rachel questions how far she will go to become a mother, even though she struggles to articulate her desire to become one.

Meanwhile, expat Jess loves her new life with Viktor despite their struggle to make ends meet and her confusion about her life’s purpose. Viktor and his friends live their lives passionately while Jess just seems to be living.

With the city preparing for a green-energy Expo, Jess sees the opportunity to ignite a career dream, while Rachel fears that it might jeopardise her dream of having a child. Will a chance encounter between the two women give each what she desires?

Our Editor, Michael Barker, was pleased to catch up with Brooke Dunnell this week to make this podcast where we discuss Last Best Chance. You will love the discussion, as you will the book, whether you are an avid reader, a critic, or a fellow writer – or all three!

By Michael Barker, Editor, Fremantle Shipping News

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