Friday Fiction: Interview with Penny Jaye

Interview with Penny Jaye (also known as Penny Reeve) about her new picture book, The Other Brother

Please welcome Penny Jaye to our blog today. Penny Jaye will be talking a little about her new book The Other Brother.

1. Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I’m a children’s and young adult writer who seems to write books about the things I care about. Things like faith, life, freedom, adventure and belonging. I’m also a wife and a mum, and a follower of Jesus Christ. All of these things impact my life as a writer, often strengthening my perspectives, shaping world view or just keeping me busy! I live in western Sydney, I like to grow African violets (a hobby that feels like it should belong to my grandmother!) and watch the sunset.

2. When you were a child did you have a favourite book, and which authors do you feel influences you the most?

I’m not sure I had one particular favourite book, but I do know I read A LOT! I used to churn through books so fast my mum thought I was pretending to read them. I know I enjoyed a healthy dose of Enid Blyton and loved Christian children’s authors like Hilda Stahl and Patricia St John.

It was probably Patricia St John who influenced me the most. Both as a child learning about God’s grace and as a writer learning how I wanted to write faith into some of my stories. At age seven, I became a Christian through her story, Treasures of the Snow. St John had a wonderful way of weaving a faithful witness to the word of God in her stories in a manner that was authentic, relevant and entwined with narrative. I love that!

3. When did you know you wanted to be an author?

I think I always dreamed of being a writer, but never really believed it could happen. I was just little old me – not a famous writer! But writing was always something that captured my imagination, not just the words but the way it could engage an audience. I remember when I wrote my very first book in year three, and it was this sense of wonder that my words would be read by someone else that really caught my heart! It’s still a major part of how I write today. I’m always trying to think of the best way to entertain, engage and move the reader of the story I am trying to tell.

4. What was the inspiration for The Other Brother?

The Other Brother is a story about the arrival of a new sibling into an existing family of five. It’s told from the perspective of the until-then youngest child, Jayden James who finds this new arrival quite unsettling. What makes The Other Brother a unique ‘new sibling’ story, however, is that this new arrival is not a baby. Instead, Mitchell David is a child of about 3 or 4 years of age.

I started writing this story after I heard a foster care worker comment on the lack of children’s picture books about foster care or adoption, and that those books that did exist often depicted their characters as animals (for example a little pig moves in with the bear family etc.) I knew if I was going to write about these themes, that I didn’t want to shy away from human characters. Instead, I wanted to highlight the very human emotions such a scenario might evoke, and to encourage children – whether they are directly involved with circumstances of adoption or out-of-home-care or not – to have the courage and compassion to welcome others into their lives.

5. What was the most challenging thing about writing this story?

The trickiest part was figuring out how to position the reader so their empathy remained with Jayden James, the older brother faced with the arrival of the new brother. As the writer I knew both of my child characters would have huge emotional stories to navigate, but I needed to introduce the reader to the conflict and tension Jayden felt first. This was done not to belittle the valid emotions of Mitchell David, but to allow the readers to empathise with the effort Jayden has to navigate in order to properly welcome Mitchell David into his space. It was also important my text was sparse enough to allow the illustrator to build on and enhance these themes as well.

6. Do you have a bit of fun trivia in regards to writing this novel?

There is a very subtle twist to this story that many readers may not pick up unless they are told. That is, that Jayden James is also a non-biological member of this family. When this story takes place he has already been part of this family for several years, perhaps arriving as an infant. He is now settled, confident and thriving. This subtle detail – communicated only through the illustrations – offers a powerful dynamic to the story of the new arrival that I hope some readers locate and appreciate.

7. Where we can buy The Other Brother, where can we find you on the web?

The Other Brother is available at all good bookstores both instore and online. If your favourite store doesn’t stock it, just ask them to order it in. This is always a great help for spreading the word about good books.

The best places to find information about me and my other books are my websites: www.pennyjaye.com and www.pennyreeve.com You can also follow my Facebook pages where I share relevant and hopefully encouraging content, sometimes book related. https://www.facebook.com/PennyJayeAuthor/ and https://www.facebook.com/pennyreevethepennydrops/

Thanks again Penny Jaye for visiting with us today.