Ulladulla inspired the fictional town in Di Morrissey's latest book The Winter Sea, in which Cassie Holloway escapes an unhappy marriage by running to the fishing village of Whitby Point.
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She sets up a restaurant and falls in love with Michael, a member of the Aquino family, the town's fishing dynasty.
As part of the research for the novel Morrissey spent several weeks in the Ulladulla and Mollymook areas soaking up the atmosphere and talking to the locals. Though trying to remain incognito was pretty difficult.
"I can't hide very much these days," Morrissey said.
"People generally recognise me and ask 'are you going to write a book down here?' and get all excited. I go 'well, maybe'.
"It is about talking to people though, because they're very generous, they start telling you stories about the place, which is great.
"So I had a lot of cups of tea and talks with locals, which was really helpful."
While she said eagle-eyed locals may recognise descriptions of some areas in Ulladulla and Mollymook, Morrissey created the fictional town of Whitby Point to give her artistic freedom.
"Because I'm writing about fictional people in fictional situations if I named the actual place as, say, Ulladulla and then I write something disparaging about the local solicitor, the local funeral home or the local postmistress, because you've located the place, they can then sue you because it could be interpreted that they are that person.
"Because it's a fictional place with fictional people the actual legalities are simplified."
The idea for The Winter Sea came from a friend of Morrissey's, documentary film-maker GianCarlo Manara - to whom the book is dedicated.
He made a series of documentaries on the Puglisi fishing family in Ulladulla, the last in the 1990s. Morrissey ran into him and suggested he should do another documentary on the family as an update.
"He said 'I'm retired, you do it. You write a book about it'," she said.
"So I went 'oh, yes what a good idea'. So that was how it came to be.
"Then GianCarlo introduced me to the Puglisi family and they sat down and started telling me all their family anecdotes.
"That was a wonderful background but I took it from there with my imagination."
The Winter Sea is Morrissey's 21st novel and she said she still hasn't tired of the process of writing.
"Every time you start a book it's like starting book number one," she said.
"You don't feel at all jaded, you're excited, you're scared - can you do this and will anyone like it?
"It's a great challenge and it's stimulating and exciting.
"If you lose that you might as well stop because then I don't think you'd have the passion or the heart to write and engage readers."
On November 11, Morrissey will be at Ulladulla for a book signing from 10am in the Harbour Bookshop at Rowen's Arcade, before heading over to Rick Stein's Bannisters at Mollymook for a Long Table Literary Lunch at 1pm.
To book for lunch call 4455 3044.