PHOTO
A Queenstown author has turned the age-old question of ‘what if?’ into a novel about the different lives one person might have lived.
Our Common Thread is the first novel by Canada-born, Australia-raised writer Kahli Scott, who has been a resort resident since 2018.
Her novel follows Mattie Bridges, a young woman working as a wardrobe assistant in the film industry who is struggling to find direction in her life.
Mattie’s fortunes take an unexpected turn when she discovers a hidden portal in her wardrobe leading to alternate versions of her life.
In each timeline, she has a different career, state of mind and, sometimes, relationship.
Back in her own reality, she is also trying to make sense of her feelings for an actor and co-worker.
“The story is her exploring those timelines and the decisions she made in her life, and how things might have been different,” Scott says.
“There’s also a love story unfolding on the sidelines that ends up being more crucial than she originally realises.”
The novel is set in a fictional town called Casey River, with a “vaguely North American setting” influenced by Scott’s time in British Columbia, Canada.
In her day job, Scott manages Queenstown council’s film-industry facilitation office, Film Queenstown Lakes, and co-manages the regional Film Otago Southland office.
She gave her central character a job in the film industry partly to highlight the people who work behind the scenes.
“I work with them a lot, and I’m fascinated by and really admire the work they do.”
She hasn’t stopped writing since graduating with a creative writing degree from Brisbane’s Queensland University of Technology in 2010.
After securing a United States-based literary agent in 2019, two earlier manuscripts were unsuccessfully pitched to publishers before Our Common Thread found a home.
She has already completed another manuscript — “we’re waiting to see if we can find a home for that” — and is working on a third.
Published by US-based Little A, Our Common Thread is available as a paperback, e-book and audiobook through Amazon.
Scott is also hoping to get copies into local bookstores soon.
