Tim Fischer - Author Q & A
- Visit us
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- Library app
- Using the library
-
Explore our collection
- Online library
- Local history
-
Readers advice
-
Author Q & A
- Phillip Adams - Author Q & A
- Margaret Rice - Author Q & A
- Greig Beck - Author Q & A
- Vanessa Berry - Author Q & A
- Tim Bowden - Author Q & A
- Helen Brown - Author Q & A
- Melissa Bruce - Author Q & A
- Darleen Bungey - Author Q & A
- Luke Carman - Author Q & A
- Claudia Chan Shaw - Author Q & A
- Jessie Cole - Author Q & A
- Peter Corris - Author Q & A
- Sibella Court - Author Q & A
- Sam Crosby - Author Q & A
- James Curran - Author Q & A
- Mark Dapin - Author Q & A
- Michelle de Kretser - Author Q & A
- Robert Dessaix - Author Q & A
- Michael Duffy - Author Q & A
- David Dyer - Author Q & A
- Elizabeth Farrelly - Author Q&A
- Tim Ferguson - Author Q & A
- Jesse Fink - Author Q & A
- Tim Fischer - Author Q & A
- Kate Forsyth - Author Q & A
- Candice Fox - Author Q & A
- Peter Garrett - Author Q & A
- Nikki Gemmell - Author Q & A
- Richard Glover - Author Q & A
- Libby Hathorn - Author Q & A
- David Hunt - Author Q & A
- Maggie Joel - Author Q & A
- Mark Johnston - Author Q & A
- Meg Keneally - Author Q & A
- L.A. Larkin - Author Q & A
- Kate McClymont - Author Q & A
- Fleur McDonald - Author Q & A
- Hugh Mackay - Author Q & A
- Gretchen Miller - Author Q & A
- Patti Miller - Author Q & A
- Margaret Morgan - Author Q & A
- Chris Muir - Author Q & A
- Judy Nunn - Author Q & A
- Helen O'Neill - Author Q & A
- Gill Paul - Author Q & A
- Roland Perry - Author Q & A
- Ailsa Piper - Author Q & A
- Michael Robotham - Author Q & A
- Mandy Sayer - Author Q & A
- Sam Twyford-Moore - Author Q & A
- Terry Smyth - Author Q & A
- Graeme Simsion and Anne Buist - Author Q & A
- Sarah Turnbull - Author Q & A
- Nancy Underhill - Author Q & A
- Josh Wakely - Author Q & A
- Dr. Tanveer Ahmed - Author Q & A
- Adam Spencer - Author Q & A
- Louis Nowra - Author Q & A
- Jane Caro - Author Q & A
- Jessica Rowe - Author Q & A
- Grace Tobin - Author Q & A
- Elizabeth Coleman - Author Q & A
- Dr Peter Sheridan - Author Q & A
- Michael Speechley - Author Q & A
- Jacqueline Harvey - Author Q & A
- Staff and reader picks
- Themed picks
- Picks of the month
-
Author Q & A
- Community languages
- Magazines and newspapers
- What's On
- Learning
- Children's services
- Youth services
- Local history
- Home Library Service
- Volunteer
- Newsletters
- News
5 minutes with Tim Fischer, AC
Tim Fischer has succeeded in more careers than most have attempted; from farmer to army officer, from State politician to Australian Deputy Prime Minister. He retired from Federal Parliament in 2001; since then he has hosted three seasons of ABC Radio's The Great Train Show, and from 2009—2012 he became the first Australian Ambassador to the Holy See in Rome.
Who is your favourite author?
Mark Twain, but in the one-off category, John Monash of Jerilderie!
Where was your most memorable holiday?
Family holidays at the beach at Narrabeen in Sydney years ago, otherwise the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan.
Do you have any hot writing tips for beginners?
Apply scheduled discipline, eg. four hours from 7:30 every Saturday morning to get it done. Morning writing is always a better outcome than late in the day.
If you could replay a moment of your life over and over again, what would it be?
Proposing to Judy (and accepted marriage proposal) at Kuranda Railway Station gardens.
What was the best thing about writing Holy See, Unholy Me ?
The chance to research and revisit exciting aspects of recent world history, in and around the Balkans; and of course, in the eternal city of Rome.
Want to know more about Holy See, Unholy Me?
As the first Australian Ambassador to the Holy See, Tim Fischer is the unique position of being able to tell what it's really like in the seat of power in Rome. Here he reflects on his time in the Vatican, the details which made up his life, the protocols, the people and also on the role that religion still has to play in the lives of future generations.
Appointed by Kevin Rudd in 2009, Tim found himself in the singular world of Vatican diplomacy, where, even more than most diplomatic circles, the right word in the right ear is an essential art form, and where the person sitting next to you at dinner could be Colonel Gaddafi or the Pope. Armed with the skills he learned as an activist politician - and with his trusty black Akubra - Tim learned to navigate this strange new world and has lived to tell the tale!
Holy See, Unholy Me is published by HarperCollins Australia and is available now. Information provided by HarperCollins Australia.