While The Flywheel is undeniably fiction, Gough created parallels between herself and her main character, Delilah. 

“When I was Delilah’s age I suspected I was gay but I wasn’t out to anyone yet. I didn’t come out until I was in my early twenties,” Gough said.

“In a lot of ways, Del is a braver version of me.

“I wanted to write about a character like her – someone who is brave and who is comfortable with her sexuality – to show it was a possible way to be.”

Gough wanted her book to be something teens could turn to when exploring their identity. 

“Books with gay characters were not readily available when I was a teen, and it would have made me feel a lot better about myself if I had access to gay stories. I wanted that for young adult readers today,” The Sydney-born author said.

Exploring these personal themes seemed only natural to Gough. She wanted to put her personal experiences on the page. 

“It’s always easier to write what you know about. It means you can access certain memories and emotions that you couldn’t access if you were writing about something more foreign to your own experience.”

Gough is now in the process of writing her second novel, Amelia Westlake, which is due to be released in 2018. 

“Amelia Westlake is about two very different girls who come up with a grand feminist hoax to bring down their elite school, and somehow end up falling for each other,” she explained.

“In some ways it is a romantic comedy, like The Flywheel but it is more political in that it explores how privilege operates and the power structures in our society. 

“Having already written The Flywheel I felt a lot more confident with the plotting of the novel, but I wanted to challenge myself in other ways. 

“For example, Amelia Westlake is told from the perspective of not just one, but two protagonists, in alternating chapters.”

Fans of The Flywheel can certainly look forward to Gough’s upcoming release and can surely expect many more amazing pieces of literature from this inspirational author in the future.