Fiction Friday | Reader Interview With Jo-Anne Berthelsen

Welcome to Fiction Friday and our readers questions with Jo-Anne Berthelsen

If you were not an author, what would you like to be?

Probably a local church pastor again. I was part of a ministry team before I began writing, but in reality, I feel I am still ‘in ministry’, as I write and as I speak at various places, including secular venues.

How do you figure out your characters’ personality?

Because some of the seven novels I have written were inspired by people I have met, I often wove at least some of the personality traits these people had in real life into my characters’ personalities. But apart from that, I usually write a brief description of my main characters before I start writing. Then, as I go along, I ask myself, ‘Is this what my character would do/say in this situation? Is this how he/she would react? How are my characters changing as a result of what they are experiencing in the story?’

My characters definitely become real people to me and I have lots of interesting conversations with them along the way! Once years ago, my husband persuaded me to have a break from my writing and go out for coffee. On the way home, I said to him, ‘Quick—we need to get home so I can find out what my characters have been up to while I’ve been out!’ I was only half joking—at times, that is how it feels to me, as the characters come alive and make their own choices, so to speak.

If you were a butterfly, what colour would you be?

Definitely various shades of purple (my favourite colour), edged with black.

How do you choose names for characters in books?

Sometimes I simply choose names I like, although I also take my character’s personality into account. But at times I have had to be careful not to choose the name of someone I know or have known, in case they think I am writing about them. And, since my husband has been in ministry all our married life of over fifty years, we know many people!

Also, I always need to take the setting of my novel into account, both in time and place. For example, with my first novel, Heléna, which was set in Czechoslovakia during the war years, I had to research the names used then in that country and also ask folk I knew from that area if these were suitable. And with my most recent novel Down by the Water, I have had to be careful to stick to names used in Australia in the period 1909 to 1926.

What did you learn while writing your last book that surprised you?

So much! Because Down by the Water is an historical novel set in south-east Queensland in the early 1900s, I had to research many facts about Brisbane and nearby country areas in that time. I grew up in Brisbane and thought I knew some of this history already, but I found out so many surprising facts about transport in particular, including things about the early horse-drawn trams in Brisbane and where the railway lines went back then. I also loved discovering the history of some shops and cafes I remembered going to as a child—for example, Rowe’s Café and Finney’s store in the city.

But as I researched these things, I was surprised too at the depth of emotion I felt about them. There is something powerful, I think, in going back to our roots and writing about these places we knew so well in the past. Also, because I was writing about country towns where my maternal grandparents had lived, I often felt even more emotional, as I remembered their faces and the way they spoke and the many lovely times I had spent with them as a child.

If someone was just starting out with their first novel, what advice would you give them?

I would say learn from others and know what publishers are looking for, but at the same time, don’t be overwhelmed with what everyone else is writing about and how they are doing it. I think it’s important to go to writers’ conferences and do courses on writing and read books about writing. But in the end, we have to take the plunge ourselves and write what we want to write. I think we need to create stories about characters and themes we personally believe in and love, irrespective of the current trends in Christian fiction or whatever our genre might be.

Have you ever met a person in real life who is a doppelgänger (lookalike) for a character in your book/s?

It has been more the other way around for me. That is, I confess I have made a couple of my characters into doppelgängers of people I have known in real life. For example, in at least three of my novels, I have a lovely character emerge who looks and speaks and acts remarkably like my special ‘soul friend’ or mentor Joy who meant so much to me in my own life.

On a funnier note, while writing my first novel and wondering how best to describe an older music teacher in the story who came from a European background, my sister introduced me to a neighbour of hers. This lady was immaculately dressed and had lovely, white hair piled high on her head in a bun, with a black velvet ribbon tied around it. As soon as I met her, I thought to myself, ‘Yes—that’s how my music teacher character would have looked!’ So, unbeknown to this lady, she became the music teacher in my novel.

Which book that you’ve written would you like to see made into a movie?

Perhaps my first novel Heléna and its sequel All the Days of My Life, which were originally all one long novel. I remember how one gentleman who read these books way back kept saying to me, ‘I can just see these as a movie!’ But I also think my latest novel Down by the Water would make a good Aussie movie.

Do you have a pet that keeps you company when you write?

I don’t—but does my husband count?!

What do you like to eat or drink when you’re writing?

I enjoy my cups of tea—usually Lady Grey or Earl Grey. But when I am very involved in my writing, I honestly don’t care what I eat or when. I usually need to get dinner ready for my husband though, which is probably just as well.

Can you tell us a little about your latest book or books and where to find you on the web?

I have just released my historical novel, Down by the Water, set in Queensland in the early 1900s. It tells the story of Meg Porter whose life changes dramatically after a family tragedy. This novel took several years to complete, with many interruptions along the way, but I loved sharing in Meg’s journey and helping her grapple with such big themes as giving and receiving forgiveness, dealing with grief, receiving God’s love and grace, and using our God-given gifts.

Also, while this novel is not my grandparents’ own story, I loved drawing on information gleaned from them and from my mother in the past about the places where Meg lives and how life was in these country towns back then.

For more information about Down by the Water, please visit www.jo-anneberthelsen.com.