Each Monday and Thursday, Christian Writers Downunder's faithful and
talented blog team contribute blogposts to inspire and inform aspiring
and established writers. In 2017 we will be adding Tuesday Spotlights -
posts that spotlight both writers and organisations that contribute to
the writing scene Downunder. Our first on December 27 was on Nola Passmore,
writer, editor, academic and the previous coordinator of Christian
Writers Downunder. The Second on 14 February was of Anusha Atukorala, encourager, prayer warrior, and inspirational writer and an invaluable member of the Admin team. Today's and the next one will continue highlight the CWD Administration
team: Anusha Atukorala, Paula Vince and Jeanette O’Hagan.
Today's spotlight is on Jeanette O'Hagan with questions from Nola Passmore.
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| Nola Passmore and Jeanette O'Hagan |
Nola: You’ve had a
number of interesting jobs, including doctor and Bible college lecturer. What inspired you to become a writer?
Jeanette: I’ve had a
passion for creating stories since I was eight or nine and wrote a novel in my
late teens, early twenties. It didn’t occur to me that I could be a writer, so I
studied medicine, practiced as a General Practitioner, studied a Bachelor of
Theology and began post-graduate studies in theology and was thrilled to lecture
in ethics, world religions in a bible college. I loved it and had no time for creative
writing. It was only when family commitments meant the door slammed shut on my
lecturing that God reminded me of my passion for writing.
Nola: You’ve done a
lot of courses and workshops on writing (e.g., a Masters degree in creative
writing, a Margie Lawson immersion class, Year
of the Edit with the Queensland Writers’ Centre, and more). How have these classes/workshops helped you
in your writing journey?
Jeanette: The
different courses as well as networking through writers’ groups, conferences
and workshops, have been invaluable in learning writing craft, and in understanding
the writing journey and markets, and also, in learning how to research, learn
and solve creative challenges.
On a purely technical level, writing has been a
hard craft to perfect. It’s been important to understand current stylistic
trends and story requirements. It has been just as
important to realize the ‘why’ behind the rules, to know when to bend them, and
to know, not only the don’ts (don’t
use adverbs, don’t use creative dialogue tags etc), but also to know what to do (how to show, how to add emotion and
subtext) – which is what I appreciated about the Margie Lawson Immersion
experience.
Nola: Your novella Heart of the Mountain was published last
year and it’s been getting great reviews.
How did the idea for the story come about?
Jeanette: Well, Nola –
remember when we had the brilliant idea to create and edit an anthology for the
International Year of Light – Glimpses of Light? I thought about the theme - not just of light, but a glimpse. Which got me thinking
about an underground realm where the lights were failing. I wanted to place it
in my imaginary world – Nardva – which gave me a few other ideas about plot and
characters. Trouble was, as hard as tried, I couldn’t keep the story to the
7000 word limit. So, I wrote another piece for the anthology – Ruhanna’s Flight – and then, revised and
expanded Heart of the Mountain story
into a short novella.
Nola: You’re the Queen
of Multitasking. As well as your
novella, you’ve had a number of short stories and poems published in various
anthologies. You were the driving force
behind the Glimpses of Light anthology,
you organised the Omega Writers Book Fair in Brisbane, you coordinate Christian Writers Downunder, you’re
working on a series of novels and a poetry anthology, you blog, you paint …
Phew! How do you keep all of those balls
in the air and maintain a healthy work-life balance? I’d love to know your secret.
Jeanette: Oh wow, now
I’m blushing. I’m not sure I do keep all
the balls in the air – or maybe I catch them just before they hit the ground. I
work well to deadlines. I like to-do lists. I’ve got bull-dog Curtis genes –
once I commit to a task, I don’t like not finishing it (my sister-in-law suggests
it’s ‘sticking to the rut’ genes). I pray a lot. I prioritise. I focus on my
writing. I don’t watch T.V. Writing (and reading) is my hobby as well as my
passion. I keep my family clean, clothed, fed and where they need to be
(school, interviews) but I am not the best housekeeper. I probably should
exercise more (though grocery shopping and gardening are exercise, right?). I
pray a lot. I said that, but really, God’s grace and underpinning is
everything.
Nola: Tell us about
your current work in progress.
Jeanette: I’m
currently working on another YA fantasy novella, Blood Crystal, a sequel to Heart
of the Mountain – which continues the story of Retza, Delvina and Zadeki
about twenty days after HOM finishes with new challenges for the people under
the mountain. I finished a first draft
last year but am now revising it and adding some scenes with view of publishing
it in a few months’ time.
I’m also want to get the
first few books of my Akrad’s legacy
series ready for publication this year. I have put a lot of work (several
revisions) into Akrad’s Children and
need to get the first drafts of Rasel’s
Song and Mannok’s Betrayal into
shape. The books follow the fortunes of four young people following a devastating
civil war and an uneasy peace —the orphans Dinnis and Ista, the young Tamrin prince
Mannok, and Rasel, a mysterious young woman of the forest folk.
I have a few other
short story ideas and anthologies I wouldn’t mind working up. We’ll see.
Nola: You’ve done a
fantastic job of coordinating CWD in the last year. What are your hopes and dreams for CWD in 2017
and beyond?
Jeanette: Thank you. If I have, it’s because of the work of previous
coordinators like yourself and Lee, and also the wonderful admin team, Anusha
and Paula. I love how responsive and helpful the CWD members are to each other's questions and triumphs, and also the
faithfulness and creativity of our blog team on the blogsite Christian Writers
Downunder.
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| Omega Writers 2016 Book Fair |
My hopes and dreams are
that we continue to be a supportive, accepting and interactive group that
honours Christ in our words and deeds. I have ideas of revamping the look and
some of the features of the blogsite – some of which I’ve done (adding an about
page, some rearrangements in format) and of introducing Tuesday Spotlights. I like idea of spontaneous interactions –
like the Friday Fun posts — on the CWD Facebook
page. I’m glad we have an ongoing cooperation between other groups, as affiliate
of Omega Writers (OW), and the Cross-Posts (on Genres in 2017) with our sister
group Australasian Christian Writers
(ACW) as well as connections with Faith Writers. I have some ideas brewing on additional pages
to the blogsite and maybe events in which we could support each other as writers.
Thanks Nola for some challenging and interesting questions. Next Tuesday Spotlight, we’ll be asking another member of the Admin teams, Paula Vince, some curly ... er interesting and intelligent questions.
Jeanette O’Hagan first
started spinning tales in the world of Nardva at the age of nine.
She enjoys writing
secondary world fiction, poetry, blogging and editing. Her Nardva stories
span continents, time and cultures. They involve a mixture of courtly intrigue,
adventure, romance and fantasy.
Recent publications
include Heart of the Mountain: a short novella, The Herbalist's Daughter: a
short story and Lakwi's Lament: a short story. Jeanette is also writing her
Akrad’s Legacy Series—a Young Adult secondary world fantasy fiction with
adventure, courtly intrigue and romantic elements.
Her other short
stories and poems are published in a number of anthologies including Glimpses
of Light, Another Time Another Place and Like a Girl.
Jeanette has practised medicine, studied
communication, history, theology and a Master of Arts (Writing). She loves
reading, painting, travel, catching up for coffee with friends, pondering the
meaning of life and communicating God’s great love. She lives in Brisbane with
her husband and children.
Links
Kirsten (aka K.A. Hart) is a born and bred Territorian who moved to Queensland and had no choice but to stay after her assimilation into the Toowoomba's infamous, collective known as Quirky Quills.
