Behind the Scenes: Count Your Blessings by Hazel Barker

Today we go 'behind the scenes' as Jeanette (Jenny) O'Hagan interviews Hazel Barker.

Jenny: Congratulations, Hazel, on the release last year of Count Your Blessings: Colin’s Story. This is now your fourth book published book, plus a number of short stories. Can you tell us what is this book about?

Hazel: ‘Count Your Blessings. Colin’s Story’ is about a young Aussie battler who struggles to fulfill his dreams. His mother has mood swings, and his school mates bully him. The Depression Years cast a shadow on his future, and his studies are cut short, but his plucky spirit carries him through one crisis after another and the unexpected turns up.

 Jenny: It sounds like an inspiring tale. One of your books is called Chocolate Soldier. It’s an intriguing title. What does it mean and how does it relate to your book?

Hazel: Clarence Dover, the protagonist of ‘Chocolate Soldier. The Story of a Conchie,’ was a conscientious objector who trained as an Ambulance worker at Manor Farm, which was only a stone’s throw from Bourneville Village and the Cadbury Chocolate Factory. The estate was owned by the Cadbury family who were anti-war and provided training for conscientious objectors. The men came to be known as Dame Cadbury’s chocolate soldiers.

After training, Clarence was sent to London as an ambulance driver during the Blitz. When the blitz was over, he volunteered to work in China alongside members of the Cadbury family.

 

Jenny: Ah, now it make sense. In some ways, I think conscientious objectors needed twice the courage as non-combatants in a warzone. In Heaven Tempers the Wind you relate events of your childhood during World War Two in Burma (now Myanmar).  How did your early years shape you into the person you are today? Have you ever returned to the land of your birth? Would you like to?

Hazel: During my early years, we were under Japanese occupation and suffered from sickness and starvation. I lost my elder sister, June, from the plague, nearly lost my young sister from small-pox, and my two older brothers from the bombing.

One night, an incendiary bomb landed on our house between my brothers’ beds. Fortunately, they had taken refuge in our trench and suffered no harm. My young sister, who had smallpox at the time, could not shelter there, but my mother had taken refuge with her, beneath a table. In her delirium, while bombs were falling overhead, my little sister sang the hymn, ‘Father we thank Thee for the night.’ She recovered and is still alive now. This incident, in particular, has had a profound effect on my life as I have learned to always trust and hope in the Lord.

In reply to your second question, Jenny, I left Burma in 1967 as a stateless person with no passport and only a certificate of identity. I never wanted to return, but years later, when holidaying in Thailand with my husband, our tour guide told us that we could visit Tachilek markets on the other side of the border, if we bribed the Burmese guard with a US Five dollar note. We did so, crossed the bridge over the Salween River and entered Burma. That is the only time I set foot in Burma, but I have never visited my birthplace, Mandalay. The country has changed so much since I left, but I would love to show my husband the places I frequented as a child, and the towns we had fled to when the Japanese army invaded Burma in 1941.

Jenny: I'm glad you managed to get a small visit to Burma. I enjoyed showing my husband around my birth town some years ago. And, wow, such a formative moment with danger at every side, yet God's faithfulness shinning through. I also glad you've taken time to write your story. 

When did you start writing about your life and your family? What have been some of the biggest challenges and joys along the way.

Hazel: I commenced writing my story as soon as I retired from teaching. It was so difficult telling my story that I wrote it in the third person but feeling that a first-person account would have more appeal, I re-wrote the entire book in the first person. I shed many tears when re-living our sorrows and hardships, but my biggest challenge was not to hurt my family.

After storming heaven with my prayers, I felt I needed to keep writing. I hoped that others too, would more greatly understand the Lord’s mercy and never give up hope even in the direst circumstances.

The biggest joy when writing my memoirs was re-living those happy moments, and just holding my books when they first arrive from the publisher.

Jenny: Good on you for keeping on writing at the Lord's prompting through the difficulties. Holding one's book is a wonderful feeling. Any tips on how to approach writing a memoir or biography?

Hazel:   1. Read many memoirs and find out what appeals to you about them.

              2. Write a timeline of your life and decide which events you wish to include in your memoir.

              3. Think of a theme to link your story.

4. Start writing your first draft.

5. Ask clarification about incidents you may not quite recall. Ask your parents, your family or

   anyone who may be able to jog your memory.

6. Do not delay.

Jenny: Do you plan to write and publish any other books? What will they be about, and do you plan to publish them?

Hazel: Yes, Jenny. There are two more books I hope to write before I pass away.

1.      The last book of my memoirs, ‘Opera, Orchids and Oz.’ I’ll give my publisher, Armour Books, first preference for its publication, as they have already published books one and two of my memoirs.

2.      My final book will be ‘The Soprano,’ a novel based on a true story of an Australian opera singer. I will give first preference to Rhiza Press as they published my first novel, ‘Chocolate Soldier. The Story of a Conchie,’ which is still earning Public Lending Rights from libraries.

Thank you, Jenny, for giving me this opportunity to speak of my books, which I hope, will continue to result in more faith and hope in the Lord, as well as heaps of pleasure to my readers.

Jenny: I love that title 'Opera, Orchids and Oz'. All the best with your two projects and thank you for taking time to share your fascinating and inspiring story with us today.

Hazel Barker migrated from Burma in 1967. She holds degrees in Arts (UWA), and Education (UNE), and excerpts from her books have been published in anthologies. 

Hazel’s debut novel, Chocolate Soldier. The Story of a Conchie was published by Rhiza Books in 2016. Both her memoirs, Heaven Tempers the Wind. Story of a War Child (Armour Books, 2016) and The Sides of Heaven, (Armour Books, 2018), were finalists in the CALEB Competitions, 2017 and 2019, respectively.

Count Your Blessings. Colin’s Story was released by Armour Books in 2020.

Blog address: http://hazelmbarker.wordpress.com

Behind the Scenes: Down by the Water by Jo-Anne Berthelsen

 

Today we go 'behind the scenes' as Jeanette (Jenny) O'Hagan interviews Jo-Anne Berthelsen.

Jenny: Congratulations on your new release. What inspired you to write Down by the Water?

Jo-Anne: I often wonder what my maternal grandparents would think about being a large part of the inspiration behind my latest novel, if they were still alive! Down by the Water is set in the early 1900s in various places in south-east Queensland where my grandparents lived. It follows the journey of Meg Porter, whose plans to study art are cut short when a family tragedy occurs. 

I kept my grandparents’ photo in view on my desk to inspire me as I wrote this novel, but it was my own memories of them—their personalities, mannerisms and even the sound of their voices—and also the things my mother and they told me about their lives that helped me shape Meg’s story and add more colour, depth and authenticity to the novel.

But beyond that, I had what I hope was a God-inspired, deep desire to write a novel that would highlight some key themes I believe are so important for us all such as experiencing God’s love and grace, giving and receiving forgiveness, dealing with guilt, coping with grief and using our God-given gifts to build others up. I wanted to highlight too how God calls us and draws us closer in different ways, according to our own unique personalities and temperaments. The more creative, artistic people may come to faith in God in an entirely different way from the more rational and intellectual among us, but their experience of God is real and valid too.

Jenny: It sounds like a treasure trove of family history-inspired story telling and spiritual insight. Fill us in more about the book. Does it fit in with your previous fiction titles or is it stand alone?

Jo-Anne: Down by the Water is a stand-alone novel, although it may end up with another to stand with or alongside it eventually—we’ll see! After I wrote my first novel, Heléna, back in 2004, I vowed and declared I would never write another historical novel because it adds another whole layer of complexity to the writing journey, with so many facts needing to be researched and verified. But then the idea for Down by the Water began to emerge—and soon I was hooked. As it turned out, I loved delving more into the history of Brisbane in particular, where I myself grew up, and also that of towns such as Helidon, Rosewood and Harrisville, where my grandparents lived.

Jenny: Having adopted the city as home since my Uni days, I love books and shows set in Brisbane. Something to look forward to :) What do you enjoy most about writing fiction?

I love the freedom of being able to create my own story and my own little world, so to speak, bringing my characters to life and giving them a voice. So often as I write a novel, I sense God right there beside me, almost whispering in my ear and enabling me to listen to where the story seems to want to go. And that can be such a fulfilling, rewarding experience.

Also, while I love writing non-fiction, I have found I can get away with sharing concepts or challenges in novels that could well be harder for people to consider or accept in a non-fiction work. For example, as one of my characters grapples with forgiving someone, I can show what forgiveness involves and how it can impact our lives so much, hopefully without sounding too ‘preachy’, rather than merely explain about forgiveness to my readers. And that gives me great joy.

Jesus’ own words about why he used parables—or stories—when he taught encourage me too in this regard:

The disciples came and asked, “Why do you tell stories?”

He replied, “You’ve been given insight into God’s kingdom. You know how it works. Not everybody has this gift, this insight; it hasn’t been given to them. Whenever someone has a ready heart for this, the insights and understandings flow freely. But if there is no readiness, any trace of receptivity soon disappears. That’s why I tell stories; to create readiness, to nudge the people toward receptive insight. In their present state they can stare till doomsday and not see it, listen till they’re blue in the face and not get it. Matthew 13:10-13 (The Message)

Jenny: You have written some memoir/non-fiction books. What motivated you to write Soul Friend and Becoming Me?

Jo-Anne: I loved writing Soul Friend because I wanted to inspire others not only to seek out someone to be their spiritual friend or mentor but also to encourage them to be a spiritual friend to someone else. Soul Friend is a personal and quite intimate account of my own journey with my lovely, wise soul friend Joy and the warm, life-giving relationship that developed between us during our fifteen years of meeting together. I wanted to share my struggles with self-doubt and the challenges I faced in this period of my life openly from the heart, so readers could identify with my journey and see the value of having someone help them deal with such issues. I used to call Joy my lifesaver often. Above all, she truly believed in me and encouraged me to become all God had called me to be as a woman in ministry, then as a writer—and this helped me so much.

Then a few years after writing Soul Friend, I sensed God prompting me to write another memoir that would look at my whole life rather than only part of it—and eventually Becoming Me: Finding my true self in God was published. I chose the image of the Russian dolls for the cover to convey how God can gradually remove those things in our lives that restrict us, until we are free to become more of the person God created us to be. And I decided to include questions at the end of each chapter to encourage readers to undertake their own journey of allowing God to remove these layers, as they too experience God’s deep love and grace and wonderful acceptance.

Jenny: You've touched a bit on this already, but how does writing fiction differ from writing non-fiction?

For me, writing fiction is a lot harder and more time-consuming than writing non-fiction, for a start! I think both my non-fiction books took around eight months to complete the first draft, whereas each of my novels has taken at least a year and often much longer, as in the case of Down by the Water, which took around four years.

I remember once how relieved I felt when switching from writing a novel to a non-fiction book. Now I could simply state the truth and get straight to the point. Now I did not have to think about how to build my story or how to develop my characters or how to keep that tension going until the last page. Yet in writing memoir, such things still need to be taken into account to some degree at least. But I cannot let my mind roam free and invent facts about my life or someone is bound to let me know! And I cannot invent anything about my inner journey with God either, as I am accountable to God, I believe, to write with integrity. And the same applies when I write my weekly blogs (see www.joanneberthelsen.wordpress.com).

In writing fiction, in a sense everything I write still has to be ‘true’, in that it needs to present God and those deep spiritual themes I love including in my novels to my readers as best and as truthfully as I can. Yet now I can let my imagination soar. Now I can allow my characters to grapple with these truths in all sorts of ways. Now I can weave a story that will hopefully draw my reader in so that they not only enjoy the story for itself but also are gently drawn closer to God in the process.

So much more I could say here—but perhaps that should be my next book?!

Jenny:  That sounds like a great subject for your next book. :) Do you have any plans for further books? If so, what are they?

Currently, I am considering exploring the journey of one of the other characters in Down by the Water, rather than writing a sequel that continues Meg’s story, which was my original plan. But more and more, I am thinking what fun it might be to write something quite different—perhaps a novel set in a retirement village far, far away from the one in which we live?! Alternately, I have been thinking of reworking some of the over six hundred blogs I have written and shaping them into some sort of themed collection of devotionals. So many possibilities!

 Jenny: Indeed! And some great possibilities for future books. Thanks you, Jo-Anne, for taking the time to share about your books and experiences.

 

Jo-Anne Berthelsen is a Sydney-based author of seven published novels and two non-fiction works, Soul Friend and Becoming Me. She holds degrees in Arts and Theology and has worked in teaching, editing and local church ministry. Jo-Anne loves encouraging others through both the written and spoken word and is a keen blogger.

www.jo-anneberthelsen.com

www.joanneberthelsen.wordpress.com