Meet my fabulous friend Lorena, aka LollyLegs who I first got to know through the Hawkeye Publishing Manuscript Development Prize. We’re in a mutual fan club, and not only did I cry when I read Lorena’s endorsement of Summer, in Between I was thrilled to make her cry when I endorsed her beautiful, funny, unforgettable memoir, Solo Mum by Choice. Here’s Lorena’s take on the Proust Questionnaire.
What’s your idea of perfect happiness?
This changes frequently. Fifteen years ago, it was jumping on my motorbike with friends and taking on the Old Pacific Highway twisties. Now it’s spending time with my six-year-old daughter reading books about dinosaurs, bacteria, or a weird half dog, half policeman dude called Dogman.
What is your most treasured possession and why?
My daughter’s birth certificate. At one point, I never thought I’d see it. It represents us.
What is your most marked characteristic?
To answer this one, I need to hop into the heads of my friends and think about what they would say. I think my sense of humour is the main one. I’m inspired by comedians and comedy, especially from the 90s. I also love Kitty Flanagan. Anyone who can stand up in front of an audience and make people laugh has my full respect!
Who is your hero of fiction?
Well, there’s Wonderwoman, but I guess she’s more a hero of comic books. I love Anna Madrigal from the Tales of the City series. But for me at the moment, the real heroes are in memoir: Cheryl Strayed, Fran Drescher (who has written two memoirs, as well as being a fantastic comedian) and Aussie author Meg Mason.
Who are your heroes in real life?
My parents and my daughter. Fonzi, our cat is also my hero. He performs a full forward roll for me whenever I come home.
A bonus non-Proust question: What is your story? aka your name, bio and book details including the best place to find you:
Born and bred on Sydney’s Northern beaches, Lorena Otes is a mother, author and dance teacher. Her deeply personal memoir, Solo Mum by Choice (Hawkeye Publishing), tells of her journey to and through an exponentially growing version of solo motherhood through the lens of her own experience. It placed runner-up in the Hawkeye Publishing Manuscript Development Prize 2024.
Lorena has written for Feels Blind Literary, The Brussels Review, Mamamia Online, and Bounty Parents. Her humour articles have appeared in Witcraft Magazine, Defenestration Literary Humour Magazine, Scalar Comet, and Little Old Lady Comedy. Lorena is a flash-fiction-writing tragic. Her short stories have longlisted in countless competitions, including the Australian Writers’ Centre’s Furious Fiction, the Not Quite Write Prize, and The Letter Review.
Lorena is a classical and contemporary dance teacher by profession, Bonnie Tyler fan, avid reader, motorbike enthusiast, and proud solo mum by choice to her fabulous, dinosaur-loving six-year-old daughter.