Her fourteenth novel Sanctuary tells the tale of a group of refugees who find themselves on a deserted island off the coast of Western Australia.

At Launceston LINC, Ms Nunn discussed the inspiration behind the novel.

“When people ask me about where I find my inspiration, I find it to be an impossible question to answer,” she said, “There are so many different ways inspiration can hit.”

Inspiration for this particular novel hit Ms Nunn when on a writers retreat.

It was there that she had the chance to stay the night on the Houtman Abrolhos chain of islands, 80 kilometres off the coast of Geraldton in Western Australia – a once in a lifetime experience.

“It was an extraordinary, mind-blowing experience. The island was very barren, desolate, and bleak,” Ms Nunn said, “We all thought, ‘What a wonderful setting!’”

Ultimately, Ms Nunn said, Sanctuary is a novel about humanity.

“It’s about humanity, and the fact that no matter what we look like or where we come from, we are all still human beings,” Ms Nunn said.

“It’s a story about love and trust and survival...this is the strongest love story I’ve ever written.”