Author Interview | Jodie McCarthy

Fast Five

Long black or flat white?

Short Mac to start the day, then tea after that.

Cricket or rugby?

I fell in love with test cricket watching the 2006/2007 Ashes.

Hobbits or Mad Max?

Hobbits, I’m more a fantasy girl than Sci-Fi.

Sun or snow?

As my childhood was spent in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, I love both.

Plotter or pantser?

My friend Sarah calls me a quilter. I write lots of smaller pieces then stitch them together.

Getting to Know Jodie McCarthy

What’s something interesting or unusual about you that not everyone knows?

I am a TCK (Third Culture Kid) growing up in a number of different countries from the age of 4-14. Whilst I always felt Australian, my parents had to educate me as to some cultural norms that I had missed. I remember them playing John Farnham to us for the first time just before we returned to Australia.

Where are you from?

I am originally from Perth, Western Australia and this is my current home, though the travel bug hasn’t left me.

What is your town or city most famous (or infamous) for?

Perth is known for being one of the most isolated cities in the world. Yet, in my experience, this distance from the other state capitals creates a unique environment where creatives encourage each other rather than compete, as we all need support in our respective fields.

About Your Writing

What do you write?

I am a contemplative writer who likes to investigate the deep questions of life and the harder parts of the journey. I write poetry, devotionals and non-fiction. As well as my published books I blog regularly on my website and for Kin Women.

Who or what are your main writing influences?

Writers I admire and learn from are people like Shauna Niequist, Emily P. Freeman and Brené Brown.

But my main writing influences are the amazing local women, my writing gang around me. People like Elaine Fraser, Amanda Viviers and Jenny Glazebrook. These women show me how to do life and be a writer, in a real and approachable way.

Do you have any books published?

I have Indie published two books, both dealing with the topics of grief and lament.

Blank Pages is a collection of poems released in 2012 that came out of my experience with infertility and miscarriage.

Then in July last year, I released Beauty in the Ashes: Learning to Lament, a book for those that are grieving to journey with them through pain and loss. This book is all about the importance of lament and how the hurt and the healing are intertwined.

What inspired you to start writing?

I was always a writer as a child, and I have journaled for all my life. But I didn’t start writing as an adult until a friend asked me to write something for a church event. I looked at him blankly and said something along the lines of, “don’t be ridiculous”.

Then as the conversation swirled around me I wrote a poem perfect for the event. I believe in that moment God unlocked something that had been quashed within me. That was in 2004 and I haven’t stopped since.

What’s your favourite part of the writing process?

Flannery O’Connor says, “I write because I don’t know what I think until I read what I say.”

I resonate so much with this quote. My favourite part of the process is wrestling with an idea to understand what I really think about it. It is in the writing that clarity and insight occur.

How does your faith impact your writing?

My tagline on my blog is encouragement for the journey and as I tackle the hard questions of life, I cannot do this without coming back to my grounding in my faith. My writing is informed by Colossians 4:2-6. It starts in prayer and contemplation, and then I endeavour to proclaim the message clearly, and wisely, with grace.

I know I don’t get it right all the time, but that is the amazing thing about a life of faith. He is pleased to work in and through me, despite my inadequacies. I love that it doesn’t all rely on me.

Finally, where’s the best place to find you online?

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest