TV writer, producer and author Roger Simpson will appear at the South Coast Readers and Writers Festival this month. Photo: Supplied.
Some of Australia’s greatest crime television shows were written at Stanwell Park, thanks to TV writer, producer and author Roger Simpson, who will feature in this month’s South Coast Readers and Writers Festival.
Simpson, who wrote and produced TV shows such as Good Guys Bad Guys, Stingers, Something In The Air and Halifax f.p., is one of 40 award-winning authors, poets and broadcasters to feature at the festival at Thirroul from 13-14 July.
Originally from New Zealand, but now living in Sydney, Simpson is familiar with the Illawarra thanks to having a holiday house at Stanwell Park.
“I’ve had that for 25 years, which is a nice connection with the Illawarra. Most of my writing is either done at Stanwell Park or over here,” he said, speaking from New Zealand.
“Although I live in Sydney, my life’s a bit hectic there and I need to get away to get some peace and quiet.
“I love the Illawarra and love that part of the world.
“It reminds me a lot of the west coast of the South Island of New Zealand and I think the Illawarra and the west coast have a lot in common.
“The moods and the fact they follow the seasons of the sea, they have that in common.”
While Simpson has been focusing on writing books during the past couple of years, he has had a long career as a TV writer and producer.
“My first job was with Crawford Productions and that was all about cop shows,” he said.
“I started with Homicide, Division 4 and Matlock Police.
“I don’t know whether I’ve been pigeonholed, or I’ve just been attracted to it, but I’ve stuck with writing crime over the years.”
While he’s written comedy, historical drama and adaptations, among his most loved TV shows was Halifax f.p. from 1994 and, more recently, its revival in Halifax: Retribution in 2020.
He said he had now brought the character Jane Halifax back to life through books, after being played by fellow New Zealander Rebecca Gibney in both TV series.
Simpson released books Transgression in 2022, Resurrection last year and in September will release Unblessed, all based on the Jane Halifax character.
“The third book is set in America so that’s taking Jane away from Melbourne, where all of her stories have been set up until now,” he said.
“I’ve got an American agent and an American publisher and we decided let’s take Jane out of her comfort zone.”
Simpson said the character of Jane was “hard to let go of”.
“It’s a good crime character because it’s not a cop, and she’s a woman and she doesn’t carry a gun, so it makes you work hard,” he said.
“You’ve got to find that psychological plot in the story, and you’re constantly looking for the healing in the crime story.
“I’ve grown old with Jane – or Jane’s grown old with me.
“She’s turning 60 in book three, so it’s been a 25-year journey – she was 35 when we started this.
“Over the years, it’s been good to see her age and change, and of course, crime has changed because it’s much more technical now.”
He said the books were written so the reader didn’t need to be aware of the TV series beforehand.
“Most of the television was made 20 years ago, so not everybody is familiar with it,” he said.
“So I’m just doing it as if people are coming to the books, and Jane Halifax, for the first time.
“They don’t know her background, but I always sneak a bit in for nostalgic reasons and also to flesh out the character so people know where she’s come from.”
He said the books allowed him to explore the character more so than television ever did because of the ability to write her internal dialogue.
“I’m constantly exploring her all the time, and probably exploring myself in the process,” he said, admitting there was a little of himself in the character.
“I think there’s inevitably an element of an author in any character – villain or hero.”
Simpson said when he wrote about Jane, he didn’t see her face but rather a shadow.
He said he was unable to see his good friend Gibney when he wrote Jane because “he’d burst into laughter. She’s a very funny person and quite cheeky, so the character would end up someone else”.
His next book is Matrimonial Causes, which will be a departure from the Halifax story.
Simpson said he was looking forward to the festival and having Andy Muir as convener for his event, having worked in television together.
“We’re just going to talk generally about crime writing for television and books,” he said.
“He’ll ask a few curly questions, because he’ll want to put me on the spot.”
Learn more about the authors at the South Coast Readers and Writers Festival.
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