By Benjamin Millar
A body has been found. Tippy’s moment has arrived.
Tippy Chan, 11, is growing up in a quiet town in New Zealand’s south, obsessed with her uncle’s old Nancy Drew books.
The young mystery-solver is the creation of Footscray author Rob McDonald, coming to life in his debut novel The Nancys.
McDonald said the idea first came to him more than a decade ago but he has finally set the story to the page.
He submitted his first draft to the 2017 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards, where it was highly commended in the Unpublished Manuscript category.
From there it came to the attention of Allen & Unwin, which this month published the novel.
“I had done an online script-writing course and had done the first draft of a film script, but when it came to The Nancys I decided I wanted to try to do this as a novel,” he said.
The Nancys traces the story of Tippy, who wants to be just like Nancy Drew and solve a real mystery.
When her teacher’s body is found beside the only traffic light in the fictitious town of Riverstone, she joins with her uncle and his partner to form a secret amateur detective club and solve the crime.
McDonald, who originally hails from New Zealand, drew upon his memories of growing up to help create Riverstone.
Raising two daughters has also provided some useful insight into what challenges and experiences Tippy would be facing in her life.
“I was very conscious not to plagiarise their childhood, but it has been helpful in thinking whether kids would say this or do that.”
Despite The Nancys barely having rolled off the presses, McDonald has already turned his mind to potential follow-ups.
“I see it as a trilogy at least; there is a wider story arc and I would love to be able to tell Tippy’s story completely.”
The Nancys by R.W.R. McDonald is out now via Allen & Unwin.
