JESS JUST READS

A BOOK REVIEW BLOG

REVIEW AND AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Life After Truth by Ceridwen Dovey

Fifteen years after graduating from Harvard, five close friends on the cusp of middle age are still pursuing an elusive happiness and wondering if they’ve wasted their youthful opportunities. Jules, already a famous actor when she arrived on campus, is changing in mysterious ways but won’t share what is haunting her. Mariam and Rowan, who married young, are struggling with the demands of family life and starting to regret prioritising meaning over wealth in their careers. Eloise, now a professor who studies the psychology of happiness, is troubled by her younger wife’s radical politics. And Jomo, founder of a luxury jewellery company, has been carrying an engagement ring around for months, unsure whether his girlfriend is the one.

The soul searching begins in earnest at their much-anticipated college reunion weekend on the Harvard campus, when the most infamous member of their class, Frederick – senior advisor and son of the recently elected and loathed US president – turns up dead.

Set in 2018, Ceridwen Dovey’s Life After Truth is contemporary fiction centred around a 15-year Harvard college reunion, and how the weekend of re-connection affects a diverse group of five friends.

Reunions evoke soul-searching in even the most secure of people — reflecting on your past life, what you’ve become, have you reached your full potential? Are you where you thought you’d be?

The premise of this novel is a catalyst for a lot of emotional growth in a character, and in this novel there are five of them. Ceridwen’s novel is a breeding ground for a group of people who are forced to decide what they want in their life, and cast away what they don’t. The book explores raw, emotional issues that many readers will be able to relate to — parenthood, marriage, relationships, desire, regret.

“Eloise had made up her mind, back then, that when Jules was with her she’d let her feel free to be nothing much at all — as her friend, she could be a refuge from all the demands other people made on her. They could talk or not talk, be silly or serious, silent or boisterous, share dirty jokes or painful childhood memories.”

Narrated in third person and moving between each of the characters, most of the book is reflecting on the past. Delicately constructed chapters weave a tale of past mistakes, reflections and altercations. The five friends share an intricate past, and tensions rise when they meet for the Harvard reunion.

Ceridwen has a real talent for carving out a characters’ nature using glimpses of their past. Events from their youth have shaped who these five have become today — their attitudes and personalities, but also their worries and concerns, their trigger points. There are moments of bitterness, jealousy, misunderstanding.

By learning about their past selves, we come to understand how these relationships and friendships have evolved over time. Some have dwindled, some have strengthened. Some are on the cusp of something great. There are a couple of connections that threaten to break — secrets left unsaid, tensions unresolved. It’s a fascinating exploration of human society and the middle class. A worthy choice for a book club.

“He hadn’t seen Jules in a while, not since Thanksgiving. He wondered if she had anybody in her life to come home to in the evenings. She was a person who did not naturally share this kind of information even with her closest friends; whether it was because of her nature or her fame, it was hard to tell.”

I think there was room for a little more humour — more lightness. The mood of the novel is a sombre one, very thoughtful. And surprisingly, this novel isn’t really the crime or thriller novel that the blurb suggests. Frederick’s death is discovered at the beginning of the novel, and then it’s resolved again in the very final pages. In between, the story is all about the past. At times, the reflection felt a little overwhelming. I would’ve loved a bit more plot in the present — a bit more interaction between the characters of now, not just the characters from years past.

Other than that, Ceridwen has crafted a novel that really forces a reader to ponder their own life — if you’re thrust back into another time from your life, mingling with people who you spent your youth with, how would you feel about the person you are now? The life you lead?

“Rowan had not really ever had much to elevate him above his similarly brilliant, overachieving peers except that he’d had the great good fortune to meet his ‘soul mate’ on the very first night of college, when he’d laid eyes on Mariam at the freshman ice-cream social held in the Yard.”

Recommended for fans of literary fiction.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Life After Truth
Ceridwen Dovey
November 2020
Penguin Random House Publishers

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AUTHOR INTERVIEW WITH CERIDWEN DOVEY

Life After Truth switches focus between numerous characters, all with their own distinct voice. How did you manage the task of crafting the story and capturing each character authentically? Were there difficulties illustrating the timeline for each of these storylines?
This was the first time I’ve ever written using alternating third-person focalized narration (in other words, while inside that character’s consciousness, even though it’s third-person narration, I wouldn’t let them know or be able to express what any of the other characters were thinking in those same scenes/sections). While I’m still quite partial to first-person narration, I really loved writing these different voices like this – something about the third-person helps to give you, as the author, a bit of distance and perspective on the character. It’s not that relentlessly personal “I.” You can play a little more with what the character knows and what only you know as their creator. I didn’t worry too much, while I was writing, about making each voice sound different or distinctive on the page in terms of word and sentence choice, but really just focused on creating equally rich and interesting back stories and emotional dilemmas for them. I did have to be careful with the timeline, especially with Jomo’s sections, which are so crucial to understanding the choices Jules (from whom we never hear directly) makes in the end.


Reflection is a major part of the novel – thinking back on where you once were, and questioning where you are now. Are any events in the novel based on life experiences? 

You’re right that reflection and reassessing one’s own past in relation to others is a key theme in the novel. All the characters are approaching middle age, and there’s nothing like a reunion to throw a spanner in the existential works and make you question all your life choices! I structured the novel over the reunion weekend so that there would be certain scenes in the immediate present (reunion events, etc.) but with plenty of space and time for each character to be casting his/her thoughts backwards, trying to remember who they had once been on that same campus. There are bits and pieces from life experience that I’ve used – I did once think I was actually going to be killed by feral bush pigs while camping above the Ngorongoro Crater, for instance! – but the wonderful thing about writing fiction, as any writer out there knows, is that it never takes the same form on the page as it does in real life. If anything, I would say it was the emotional cadences of my own Harvard reunions that I drew on the most and tried to render in language: the highs and lows, the constant internal monologue interspersed with the forced high sociality of these reunion events, the way they make you look both backwards and into the future in a way that can be very confronting, and also moving or inspiring.

What motivates you to write?

I started quite young on this journey as a writer – I wrote my first novel when I was 23. And I turn 40 this week! So I’ve had a lot of years now to try to answer that question, and I have to admit I still don’t really know. If I have to justify it in concrete terms, I’d say something about the cathartic effect of shaping the messiness of lived experience, or the way I don’t know what I feel or think until I’ve put it into words, or the sense of always standing slightly outside of the normal passage of time and life, peering in, and writing lets me translate that disconnection into connection at a remove. Yet I’ve come to see there’s also something mysterious about what draws a person to write fiction, and thinking about the ‘why’ of it too deeply is a bit like asking a centipede how many legs it has and then expecting it to continue walking on all those legs unselfconsciously. You have to guard the most intimate motivations for why you write fiction otherwise I suspect you’d lose all will to do it in the first place…

Would you be able to delve into your editing process. Once you’ve written the first draft, and you’re ready to tackle the second, third, fourth draft etc, what is your process? How do you mould your first draft into your final one?

Life After Truth is my fourth work of fiction, and with every single one I’ve had a completely different writing and editing process (I think this is why I find writing so addictive: every time, I am literally starting over from scratch with a new method or process, and feel like I don’t know what on earth I’m doing – and as a result, it also always feels like an unknown and exciting adventure). But one thing I have been surprised to learn over the years is how radically different the drafting process (the messy, pour-it-down-on-the-page creation phase) is to the crafting process (the more reasoned and critical let-it-cool-down-and-then-carve-it editing phase). It’s amazing that we expect one human to have both capacities, as they often strike me as drawing on very different skillsets and sensibilities. During drafting, you have to give yourself permission to speak – which is much harder than it sounds! – and switch off every critical faculty in your brain so that you’re not paralyzed by uncertainty or lack of confidence. But then, in the editing phase, you have to be your own harshest critic, be ruthless and severe, and look at what you’ve created with a sceptical eye in the cold light of day. With Life After Truth, this editing process was not quite as devastating as it has been for past projects (where I’ve been trying to excavate my own psyche) because all of the characters were invented, and the stakes weren’t quite as high in an ethical sense, so I found it quite satisfying to hone the narrative. But I think that’s also because the drafting process was so much fun for this novel, and came relatively easily, so in the editing phase I didn’t feel that I had to craft a sculpture out of a lump of clay (as I have felt sometimes in the past) – it was more like just using a tool to refine and polish.

If you could go back in time to when you were working on your first novel, what writing advice or guidance would you give your younger self?
I would tell the early-20-something me, just starting out, incredibly anxious about my ‘right’ to write, to enjoy that experience more. There’s nothing like writing your first novel, because you are writing it for yourself alone, in a fundamental sense – you are writing it with no idea or sense that anybody else will one day read it (even if that is your hope). You only get to experience that once, because after that first novel is published, you are always aware that – even though not all drafts of novels live to find an audience – there is a chance that it might become a public document at some stage. That does something weird to your mind, and I think that’s why the notorious second novel is such a challenge: you’ve lost the feeling of doing something very private and secretive and personal; you’ve lost the sense of writing to figure something out for yourself alone.

REVIEW AND AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Island on the Edge of the World by Deborah Rodriguez

Haiti. A poor country rich in courage, strength and love. As these four women are about to discover.

Charlie, the rootless daughter of American missionaries, now working as a hairdresser in Northern California. But the repercussions of a traumatic childhood far from home have left her struggling for her way in life.

Bea, Charlie’s eccentric grandmother, who is convinced a reunion with her estranged mother will help Charlie heal.

Lizbeth, a Texas widow who has never strayed too far from home. She is on a daunting journey into the unknown, searching for the grandchild she never knew existed.

And Senzey, a young Haitian mother dealing with a lifetime of love and loss, who shows them the true meaning of bravery.

Together they venture through the teeming, colorful streets of Port-au-Prince, into the worlds of do-gooders doing more harm than good, Vodou practitioners, artists, activists, and everyday Haitian men and women determined to survive against all odds.

For Charlie, Bea, Lizbeth and Senzey, life will never be the same again . . .

Deborah Rodriguez’s Island on the Edge of the World is a charming novel about family, destiny and home.

In the chaotic streets of Haiti, four women come together to recover what they’ve lost. They’re all searching for a person — someone missing from their family. For Charlie, it’s her mother April. Bea, Charlie’s grandmother, is along for the search. For Senzey and Lizbeth, they’re searching for a lost baby, kidnapped in Haiti in a cruel scheme to capture and sell as many unwanted babies as possible.

A common thread that runs through Deborah’s work is setting, and a strong sense of location — more often than not, the setting feels like a character in the book. I’ve never been to Haiti, but I could imagine every street mentioned, every smell described, email location visited. Capturing setting authentically in a far-away location is not always done effectively, but I think Deborah did a marvellous job of bringing her readers to a vibrant Haiti and making them feel at home.

“As she left behind the hillsides stacked with little houses climbing halfway to the sky, she found herself surrounded by green. But even this far from the city centre, life was led on the streets — vendors chatting as they crouched near their wares, children skipping and running and just plain goofing around, and always plenty of people walking to and fro.”

All four women in the book are resilient — strong and reassured, willing to do anything to find what they’re looking for. They won’t take no for an answer, and they fight for the people they love. There is much to like about Charlie, Bea, Lizbeth and Senzey and readers will find themselves drawn to these four women as they progress through the novel.

Structurally, the novel moves around so that we learn as much there is to know about these four women. We come to learn how they came to be in their situation, but we also really come to understand their emotions — their doubts, fears, moments of joy, and their hopes for their future and their family’s future.

“In retrospect, Charlie could recognise the signs. She and her mother had adapted quickly to life in the jungle, learning the language and making friends. They were easily embraced by the community.”

There is much to learn about Haiti and Haitian women — the clothes and the lifestyle but also the poverty and what that forces young women to do to survive. Island on the Edge of the World highlights the current state of affairs in Haiti. Whilst Haitian people are full of spirit and hope that they can rebuild after the earthquake, there is a lot of corruption and poverty in their society and it’s going to take a long time to fix that.

There are some gorgeous, inviting recipes at the end of the book for any readers who fashion themselves a good chef.

A marvellous adventure of a novel, suitable for lovers of fiction, historical fiction, literary fiction and romance. The streets of Haiti will invite you in, and the characters will keep you there.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Island on the Edge of the World
Deborah Rodriguez
November 2019
Penguin Random House Publishers

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AUTHOR INTERVIEW WITH DEBORAH RODRIGUEZ

Many of your works have been inspired by — or based on — your own personal experiences abroad. What is it like translating something real world, into something on a page?
It feels magical, almost like time traveling. I get to experience a place over and over again. But sometimes it can be hard reliving my own personal drama in a public way. It can be draining and emotionally exhausting and, very often, tears are shed. But I use that emotion while working. I think it really helps in taking the readers along on the journey. I often draw on my experiences of living in Afghanistan and Mexico, because both countries are difficult, complex, and remarkable in their own way. They’ve prepared me for the challenge of absorbing a culture and accurately sharing the experience with others.

Location and setting are such dominant elements of all your works. How do you research or prepare ahead of writing, to ensure you capture the true essence of that place?
First, I read anything and everything I can get my hands on, both fiction and non-fiction. I speak to as many people from that place as I can. When I feel that the basic storyline is ready, I travel to the location and try to trace the steps of my characters. While I am in a location I make as many contacts as possible so that while I am writing, I can ask questions. I record interviews, and I am continually taking photos and shooting video. By the time I’m done, I am completely exhausted, and need a vacation. I never go alone on these trips, because it is too difficult to remember everything yourself. I always need back-up. I work hard at forming relationships with drivers, guides, hotel managers, vendors, and often tell them parts of the story to see if it feels authentic to them. I listen to anyone and everyone willing to tell me their story.

You have written both memoir and fiction. Do you have a preference?
The upside with memoir is that you know the ending, but writing the truth can get complicated. I have been sitting on a personal story that I would love to turn into another memoir, but the timing isn’t right yet, and I do worry that it could get messy. That said, many of my ideas for fiction start with a true story. I love to start with the real story and use every bit of my imagination to birth a novel I’m not answering your question very well. I think the answer is that I enjoy both.

Are you able to give us some insight into your writing and editing processes?
I always start by verbalizing different versions of the the story. I am very visual, and when I tell a story out loud, I see it like I’m watching a movie. I figure if you can’t tell the story, it will be challenging to write the story. I always work with someone, going over and over the different storylines for weeks, sometimes months on end, just talking and working through plots and characters. Then comes the massive amount of research on the location and culture. Lots of interviews with people from the area. The story gets put into a synopsis, and then the travel to the site begins. After that it’s writing and rewriting. I rely on a great group of people who lend their sharp eyes to my drafts, and offer amazingly useful criticism and suggestions. It truly takes a village. Finally, a complete draft is sent to the editor, and the process continues. I think the best way to describe writing a book is that it’s like combing tangled hair. You start at the top, get partway there, start over again, smooth out the snarls, and do it over and over again until it is all neat and tidy.

If there was an aspect of the writing process that you could skip, what would it be?
The very beginning, when you are still searching for the correct storyline and getting to know your characters. You know that there is a story there somewhere, but you still only have fragments of it. You know that if you keep pushing forward, you’ll eventually have that breakthrough. But it can be frustrating if it takes a long time, especially when you are on a deadline.

What are you working on next?
I am so excited about the book I am working on now. This book is set in Morocco and my two favorite characters, Charlie and Bea, will be returning. They travel to Morocco together to help a friend. Basically, it’s a modern tale of forbidden love, set in a country where family honor and tribal culture still rule.

REVIEW AND AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Relic by Bronwyn Eley

In the city of Edriast, there is no deadlier duty than to serve as the Shadow.

As the personal servant of the powerful Lord Rennard, the Shadow’s life is all but forfeit. Rennard possesses one of five rare and dangerous Relics – a jewel that protects his bloodline, but slowly poisons everyone else in its proximity. When the current Shadow succumbs to its magic, nineteen-year-old blacksmith Kaylan is summoned to take his place.
It’s an appointment that will kill her.

As the time Kaylan has left ebbs away, hope begins to fade… That is, until she discovers a plot to destroy all five bloodlines in possession of the Relics.

A rebel force plans to put an end to Rennard’s rule and Kaylan suddenly finds herself embroiled in a cause that might just be worth fighting for.  But no cause is without its costs…

As her life hangs in the balance and rebellion bears down on Edriast, Kaylan must decide where her loyalties lie – and how she’ll leave her mark on the world.

Relic by Bronwyn Eley is the first novel in the dark YA fantasy series, The Relic Trilogy. Set in the fictional city of Edriast, teenager Kaylan is selected as the new Shadow — a cursed role serving Lord Rennard, that guarantees imminent death.

Bronwyn’s debut novel is an enjoyable read. I enjoyed the premise, and the characters, and the pacing. At times, I felt the stakes weren’t that high but I still think fantasy readers will be entertained by this debut story. The relationship between Lord + Shadow is an interesting one, and certainly something that readers will be intrigued to find out more about.

“I flinched when Lirr’s hand rested on my lower back, firmly pressed against me as I tried to back away from his approach. I didn’t look at her, though, keeping my focus on Rennard. When he stopped, he was so close I could smell the heavy wine on his breath, so strong it was as if the fumes were pouring out of his skin.”

Friendships and alliances are a strong element in this book. Kaylan forms connections with a few other people whilst living as the Shadow, including Lord Rennard’s wife Jesper, and the delightful Markus.

Family is also a strong element in this book. Kaylan is really close with her family, particularly her siblings. It pains her to leave them behind when she is chosen as the new Shadow and she does her best to try and reconnect with them and check in on them after she’s left. It’s a heartwarming element to the story.

A few of the characters didn’t feel like they were fully fleshed out — Lord Rennard is an interesting character, although I didn’t feel like he was as three-dimensional as he could’ve been. I imagine we’ll come to know more about him and his motivations as we progress through the series. Additionally, Bellamy is a character we only hear about from other people. We don’t fully understand his intentions — good or bad — but I imagine this is setting things up for the sequel.

“Pride flourished in my chest briefly, suddenly replaced by a dark knot. In doing my job, I was helping Lord Rennard get one step closer to Bellamy. And what did I know about him? Nothing. Lord Rennard had put me in the middle of a dance without me knowing any of the steps.”

Kaylan is a relatable character that readers will sympathise for and empathise with. She’s a likeable character — a young girl who has been thrust into an unfortunate situation that she can’t do anything about. And it has a huge ripple effect on the rest of her family and friends.

At times, we’re dealing with an unreliable narrator and that’s always a welcome and enjoyable element in the fantasy genre. Over time, Kaylan’s mind falls victim to being Shadow and Kaylan can’t tell what’s real and what’s not. As a result, sometimes the reader is in the dark about the events in the book. This helps build the tension in the story,

“Better to come clean now, tell him why I wouldn’t be attending the celebration as a guest. Remove that look from his eyes. Quell any hopes of dancing under the stars with me. It couldn’t happen. And yet, I couldn’t stand the idea of those eyes turning cold and sorry.”

The world-building feels a little underdeveloped, and the plot points a little similar to many other fantasy novels. And the pacing is a bit slow in parts. But, the story kept my attention and the characters are interesting and I think YA readers will be entertained by this debut.

Rebellion is mentioned a lot in this book, but we don’t ever get to see any acts of rebellion. I look forward to the next book in the series, where the tension between Bellamy and Lord Rennard will no doubt reach boiling point.

Recommended for teenage readers and fans of fantasy novels. 12+

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Relic
Bronwyn Eley
September 2019
Talem Press

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AUTHOR INTERVIEW WITH BRONWYN ELEY

How do you juggle full-time work and writing?

Quite easily, honestly! I actually have three jobs (including my authoring) – my full-time work at Booktopia and I’m also a barista on Sundays at a cafe. Basically, I leave work and go to sport and then sit my butt down in front of the computer with some yummy snacks and beautiful instrumental music and just write! I always write after work and on the weekends, never in the morning before work. I don’t know how people do that – I like sleeping!

What skills from the military helped you write fantasy?

I’m not sure if my skills from the military helped write fantasy specifically but it helped writing in general. This is because I am a much harder worker now than I used to be. Being in the military got me to used long working days and that’s what writing with a full-time job is! It also showed me that I can do and be a lot more than I think. It made me believe in myself, so if I’m ever having a long day and finding it hard to write after work, I just remind myself of all the crazy and incredible and hard things I got through in the military. Then I think that sitting in front of a computer with some tasty snacks doesn’t sound too bad after all!

What element of novel writing do you think is your biggest strength?

Finishing the novel? Haha. Seriously, though, I am good at getting the words down on the page. Sometimes too many words! I’m definitely a waffler. I also like to think that I’m good at dialogue, that it comes across as natural.

What element of novel writing do you most struggle with?

Condensing my word count! As previously stated, I am a waffler and having to cut unnecessary words and scenes – or condensing them – is really challenging for me. Luckily, my wonderful editor is a total badass when it comes to this!

Working at Booktopia must give you an insight into another side of publishing that most people don’t see. What benefits do you think there are to writers knowing more about the publishing and/or bookselling process?

Great question! Working at Booktopia has been both a blessing and a curse in this regard. It’s great knowing the backend of the book publishing process: the realities of selling books, of becoming a bestseller, of what interests the booksellers, of how enormous the demand is – all incredibly helpful knowledge. On the other hand, it sometimes makes me wonder if there is even a point in me trying to make this work. So many books don’t even make a tiny splash, while others explode.

I do think it would benefit writers to understand how their books are processed – from the suppliers to the bookstores – and if they can help the process along. It’s also just really interesting! Seeing the trends and the people behind the books… it’s an interesting little world!

The fantasy genre is often filled with a lot of familiar tropes, storylines and characteristics. How do you craft your writing to either avoid or embrace these common elements?

I start by reading a lot of books in the fantasy genre in order to know these tropes and elements. I then decide which elements I don’t like – which is easy for me – and avoid them like the plague. On the other hand, if some moment or character in a book sticks with me, I make sure to investigate why it did so. I don’t want to force anything into one of my stories that doesn’t feel natural or right but if I can include/avoid these tropes then I will.

What can we expect from the next book in the series?

I’m going to avoid spoiling things from book one but I’m so glad you asked this question. I love book two, despite it still needing a lot of TLC. It’s all about stepping forth into the world and experiencing everything for the first time. Kaylan has a lot of challenges ahead of her and she is going to come to understand things she never thought she would.

There are a few new characters – two who I love to write so much and I really think readers are going to adore both of these people.

RELIC, Bronwyn Eley’s debut fantasy novel, is slated for release September 12.

About the author
Bronwyn joined the military right out of high school, where she learnt (among other things) to disassemble and reassemble a rifle blindfolded. After that she spent a lot of her time travelling around the world. Her favourite places (so far) are Scotland, Mongolia, Iceland and Ireland.

Bronwyn finally found her natural habitat when she landed her first job in the publishing industry. While she has always been a writer, it was only when surrounding herself with books that she realised her life’s dream was to become an author. Relic is her first novel.
Bronwyn lives in Sydney and spends her time eating chocolate, reading and practising her martial arts.

You add Relic to Goodreaders HERE, and visit Bronwyn’s website HERE

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Natasha Lester, author of The French Photographer

How did you feel writing a character who was based on a real person? Do you prefer this over writing a character completely from scratch?
As I say in the back of the book, Jess was a real gift from the writing muse. She came to me more quickly and easily than any character ever has. I’m not sure if it is because she was based on a real person or whether it’s just because, in each book there’s something that comes easily and everything else comes hard!

Certainly basing her on a real person had its pros and cons. In some respects, it meant that I already had interesting plot points to include; I was initially fascinated by Lee Miler because her life was so very interesting. But real people don’t always do what you would want them to do to make a narrative work so that is why I chose to be inspired by Lee Miler rather than to write a story precisely about Lee Miller.

At present, you publish one book a year. How do you manage your schedule? What’s your writing routine?
I write while the kids are at school, so from 9am until about 2.45 each day. I’m pretty disciplined and I turn off the wifi and just sit down and get it done. I work another shift at night, which is for admin, social media, invoicing etc. I write better during the day, so I don’t want to waste that time on non writing work. I also work for a few hours every Saturday morning while the kids are at tennis, swimming etc.

It’s all about fitting work in to any available piece of time, and being focussed while doing it. It is possible to waste time, I find, if I don’t have goals and if I sit down for too long. I write in half hour blocks and I expect myself to get a minimum of 500 words written in that half hour block. Over the course of a regular day, this means I will write a minus of 3,000 words, but it’s usually around 4,000 words. Doing that each day adds up to a book pretty quickly!

But then comes the rewriting, which takes the most time. But again, I just set goals, establishing a certain number of pages that I have to rewrite each day to get it done.

Photography is such a huge part of this novel. How much research was involved in making sure the information was accurate and authentic?
Lots! I’m not a great photographer so I knew very little about the technical aspects. However, I didn’t do a lot of technical research but rather I read memoirs of war photographers because that told me more than the Rolleiflex manual would have, and was easier for me to understand.

More importantly, I specifically researched war photography because I think that is a very specific kind of thing. War photography can be about propaganda, about resistance, about showing the public what war really is, about so many different things. I wanted to understand all of those, as well as the effect that immersing oneself in those kinds of horrors might have on the photographer.

What is a genre you love to read, but would never write? 
I love a good memoir but I don’t think I would ever have the guts to write one! Nor do I think I have an interesting enough life.

What element of novel writing do you most struggle with?
Planning. I am not a planner when it comes to writing. I begin with a fragment of an idea – in the case of The French Photographer, it was to write a book focussing on a character similar to Lee Miller – and then I dive in and write and hope for the best: that a plot will emerge, that characters will develop, that a worthwhile story will fall out at the end. It’s a huge gamble, starting out not knowing if it will all work out but praying that it will.

What element of novel writing do you think is your biggest strength?
Writing interesting female characters. Because I love to research, I am always able to find anecdotes and incidents that bring the particular struggles my main characters face to life. I’m also fascinated by the things women did in the past, and how so much of that has been forgotten, and I’m passionate about bringing those stories to life. I think that passion comes through in my characters because I truly love what I do.

What are you working on next?
I’m working on the structural edit for a book called The Dior Legacy, which will be out in late March 2020. I can’t say too much more about that one at the moment unfortunately!

REVIEW AND AUTHOR INTERVIEW: What I Like About Me by Jenna Guillaume

You know those movies where teenagers have the summer of their lives?
This summer is probably not going to be that.

Here lies Maisie Martin, dead from embarrassment, aged sixteen.

The last thing Maisie Martin thought she’d be doing this summer is entering a beauty pageant. Not when she’s spent most of her life hiding her body from everyone.

Not when her Dad is AWOL for Christmas and her best friend starts going out with the boy she’s always loved. But Maisie’s got something to prove. And she’s not going to let anything or anyone – including herself – hold her back.

What I Like About Me is the debut YA novel from Jenna Guillaume, exploring topics such as body image, self-love, feminism, body positivity, relationships and family turmoil. This book is perfect for readers aged 12+

Maisie goes to a lot of effort to hide her body from others. When everyone else is swimming on the beach, she’s on the sand wearing jeans. Maisie avoids the summer beauty pageant because she doesn’t feel like she’d get in, despite being very keen to be involved. She’s a kind, compassionate girl who has to learn to love herself, and above all else, she needs to learn that she is worth loving. Just because someone is a certain body size doesn’t mean they don’t deserve their happy ending.

“When we were younger, Eva and I talked about entering together. We couldn’t wait until we were both old enough. We’d do a joint talent entry and dance together. We didn’t care if that was allowed or not. We’d do it anyway.”

The novel takes place over one summer holiday. Maisie Martin accompanies her mum and her glamorous childhood best friend Anna to the beach, where she’s forced to face her unrequited crush on Seb. Unfortunately, Maisie’s dad can’t come on holiday because he has to work, but over the course of the novel her dad grows more and more distant and her parents are fighting and Maisie wonders if there’s more to his absence than he’s saying.

What I Like About Me is written in diary form, so the book allows for Maisie’s voice to really shine through the pages. She’s sassy and intelligent, but also really considerate. She wants to love and be loved, and she has always wanted that with the gorgeous Seb. But when Seb and Anna start dating, Maisie forms a bond with an unlikely friend — Beamer.

“If this were a montage in a movie, it would have been all romantic and cute. It would have been with the dreamy leading guy and the beautiful leading girl, not the smart-arse best friend the chubby sidekick. But Anna and Sebastian were off making out somewhere in the dark — probably next to a dumpster, let’s be real. Because life is not a movie.”

Maisie has poor self-esteem, particularly when she’s around her sister Eva. Her sister has always been a high achiever and popular, and thin, and Maisie’s confidence slips whenever she’s around her. When Maisie applies to be in the local beauty pageant and is accepted, she must learn to love the body she has and to stop comparing herself to others. She’s beautiful — inside and out.

One of the strengths of this book is how well Jenna has captured the glorious Australian summer and the teenage experience. Reading it, you can remember how it feels to hang out with your friends by the beach, but readers will also relate to how nervous and worried you got as a teenager whenever you had a crush on someone else and you weren’t sure if they felt the same way.

“Here lies Maisie Martin,
dead from embarrassment,
aged sixteen.”

Young YA readers will love this book, and there’s plenty of teen romance in these pages to satisfy young fans of romance. The most important relationship, however, is the one that Maisie has with herself.

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

What I Like About Me
Jenna Guillaume
March 2019
Pan Macmillan Publishers

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AUTHOR INTERVIEW WITH JENNA GUILLAUME

How has your love of romance fiction evolved or changed since your teenage years?
I’ve been a sucker for romance ever since I was a kid. Even when I was 8 and reading The Baby-Sitter’s Club, my fave stories were ALWAYS the ones where one of the girls had a crush or went on a date. That never changed as a teen and has carried on through to adulthood – if anything, I’ve embraced my love of romance more and spend more time reading it! It’s my comfort reading and happy place.

Alongside writing your novel, you also have years of experience writing short-form pieces for outlets such as Girlfriend and Buzzfeed, and now many more through your freelancing career. What do you like about short-form writing, but also novel writing? How do the two compare?
I like writing about a variety of things, and sharing my thoughts and feelings on topics that are interesting me at any given moment. With short-form writing, it’s great to have an idea and quickly be able turn it around so you can see it published and immediately get feedback on it. Novel-writing is obviously a much bigger and much, much longer process. It’s a lot more work overall but it’s incredibly rewarding and satisfying. To have people contacting me about how much they love What I Like About Me, after years of hard work, means the world to me.

What I Like About Me explores many important messages and topics – self-esteem, body positivity, bullying, relationships etc. But it’s also about Maisie learning to love herself. How important do you think it is for a teenager to reflect on what they like about themselves? Is this something you wish you could tell your younger self, given the chance?
When I was a teen and even as an adult, every time I looked in the mirror, I’d automatically see the things I didn’t like about myself. I really wanted to challenge that all-too-natural instinct and make people stop and consider what they actually do like about themselves. I think girls in particular are socialised to minimise their accomplishments and strengths, when really we should be recognising and celebrating what makes us ALL great. I always say you should treat yourself like you treat your best friend – you point out all their good points and don’t criticise them, so you should love yourself like that as well. You deserve nothing less.

And finally, is there anything you can tell us about what you’re working on right now (either novel or freelance writing)?


I’m freelancing for a lot of publications – like the Sydney Morning Herald, Junkee, GOAT, Flicks and even BuzzFeed! It’s a lot of fun to be writing for different audiences and on a range of topics. In terms of novel-writing, I am working on a follow-up – I can’t say too much, but it is another YA rom-com standalone. It’s hopefully going to be a lot of fun!