Author happy to remain unrecognised

Press, 6 October 1989, Page 46

Author happy to remain unrecognised

By

TOM METCALFE

Jennifer Bacia is happy that her fame as a top-selling author differs from the fame of the powerful people who feature in her book, “Shadows of Power.”

“It isn’t thq, sort of fame where you get recognised wherever you go, such as doing the shopping. You get your stab at fame in a radio show, or a book signing — after that you can be beautifully anonymous again,” she said in Christchurch. In comparison, the heroine of “Shadows of Power,” an Australian media sensation, Anthea James, is recognised wherever she goes in a world of money, sex, politics and organised crime — where almost everyone has a skeleton in their closet and all the good guys have broad shoulders.

But since “Shadows of Power” hit the shelves, Bacia has become something of a media sensation herself. The hardcover edition sold out within weeks, in spite of a print run 10 times the normal size for a first novel.

The paperback edition was released in New Zealand last week, and has already made the “Auckland Star” Top 10 book list.

Now "Shadows of Power” is being made into a six-hour* mini-series in Australia, in which Bacm is to make a

cameo appearance. While on a promotional tour for the hardback in Australia she did about 70 interviews and appearances in seven days. In New Zealand, she is taking things a little easier with a three-day tour. Bacia believes the reason for the popularity of “Shadows of Power” is the depth of the main character, Anthea James.

Anthea James was not the typical cold, ruthless career woman who featured in much recent popular fiction, she said.

“She’s not anti-man at all, and her reason for getting to the top is not personal power by any means. She wants to do some good. She has a cause.” Another reason was the strong Australian setting, which distinguished the book from other popular thrillers set in New York, London, or Paris. She intended to keep the Australian setting for her next book, due out for Christmas, 1990. That book would deal with the world of big business, and while it would probably again feature a female as the main character it would not be a sequel to “Shadows of Power.” “If I do do a secgiel, it will be two or three books down the line,” she said.