Interview with Jeanette O'Hagan

Today, it's my pleasure to welcome writer and blogger, Jeanette O'Hagan. She is a wise and encouraging person to know, and I enjoyed this opportunity to ask questions about her reading, writing and literature which we all may benefit from. 

1) You’ve led a busy and varied life, having practiced medicine and taught theology. Now you are choosing to focus on your creative writing. What is it about telling a good story that has made you decide to dedicate this current time in your life to pursuing it?

 I’ve had a passion for telling stories and for writing them since primary school. I love words. I love people and wondering about why they are the way they are, what motivates them, what are their stories, their hopes and dreams. I also love the possibilities of change in the middle of life’s difficulties – of even the bleakest situations turning around, of hope, love and new beginnings. And I love writing.

I’ve enjoyed doing a number of things – studying, doctoring, teaching, mothering - but about 6 years ago circumstances forced me to give up a long term dream and ministry that I had invested heavily in for many years. I felt abandoned in the desert but very gently God began whispering into my life that he had other plans for me. The last three years have been an exhilarating roller coaster journey as I’ve taken up study, blogging and began reediting and expanding into a series a novel I wrote 20 years ago.

(Your last three years sound amazing. It may sound hackneyed to say, 'When one door closes, another opens' but we all love hearing true stories about when this happens)

2) Okay, now that I’ve asked, “Why choose writing?” I know you’ve been an avid reader of many different genres. You are writing a fantasy adventure series so I’ll hone in even deeper. What is it about this genre that you find particularly fascinating?

 Ever since my parents began reading the Narnia series to me and my brothers (I was seven), Fantasy has been my first love in fiction. I love science, theology, history, travel, languages and cultural studies – the complex beauty of the inhabited world lifts my spirit and reminds me of the Maker. All novels have the ability to transport the reader into a new/different world – but fantasy is full of wonder and is strong on world building. It is full of movement and colour. It is rich in metaphor and allows the exploration of grand themes.

(Well said!)

3) As a lifelong reader, how has reading changed your life?

 It’s hard to imagine my life without reading. In the first few grades of Primary school I found it hard to make friends but took to reading with ease. Then I discovered the school library – and that opened up whole new worlds. Reading became a way with coping with not being included. Over the years, I did learn to make friends – but I also kept on reading and imagining. I’ve learnt a lot about life from both fiction and non-fiction. It’s given me a greater knowledge of myself, other people and God. 

4) Can you name a couple of people who have influenced your love of reading and writing and tell us why?

 First, I would have to say my mother who took the time to re-enact nursery rhymes when my siblings and I were little and to read to us each night. Then I would say my Dad who didn’t have patience for small talk but would discuss what books I was reading (especially if they were serious tomes) and who gave up Engineering to manage the Crusade Bookshop in Mt. Isa (which actually started as a bookcase in our lounge room in the mid 1960s). In Grade 11 & 12, I got to work in the book shop on Saturday mornings and for stock take. And then I could name the host of authors – like Lewis and Tolkien and a multitude of others whose works captivated my imagination. But you did say a couple – right?

(I love how you honour your parents first, knowing that they were instrumental in introducing you to Tolkien, Lewis and the others. I'm sure we could have another interview or two just about the Crusade Bookshop. What a great family business/outreach to be involved in.)

5) As well as studying, you are hard at work on a fantasy series. I’ve been lucky enough to have a sneak preview of the first, “Akrad’s Children.” Without plot spoilers, can you tantalise readers with a brief overview of what we might expect?

 In the Akrad’s Legacy series I follow the lives, loves and adventures of four young people in following a divisive civil war. Mannok is heir to the throne and anxious to win the approval of his father; Dinnis and Ista are orphans connected with the fierce northern invaders and Rasel is a feisty young woman of mysterious origins. And then there is an unknown assassin targeting the royal family. The stories are set in Tamra, part of the imaginary world of Nardva – there’s lots of intrigue, friendship, danger and a little bit of romance.  If you want to know a bit more, I wrote a hypertext story ‘My sister’ by Dinnis son of Gaia as a teaser last year. http://jeanetteohagan.com/my-sister-by-dinnis-son-of-gaia/

(I've just had a read of the hypertext. It's a very tantalising glimpse into the mind of Dinnis, near the start of the story, and just hints at some of the mystery and intrigue to come.)

6) Do you run your ideas past your family as you write? Do your children share and support your love of writing.

 Actually, I don’t tend to talk about my stories while I’m writing them. My daughter has expressed an interest in reading them but then gets cold feet though she has enjoyed the few excerpts I’ve read to her. My family is supportive of my writing. And both my children show narrative flare J

(I actually agree with you. That way, you get to keep the story developing the way you want it to, without being diverted by the possibilities of other people's suggestions.)

Jeanette has practiced medicine, studied communication, history and theology and has taught theology.  She is currently caring for her  children, enjoying post-graduate studies in writing at Swinburne University and writing her Akrad fantasy fiction series (http://jeanetteohagan.com/my-books/).  She is actively involved in a caring Christian community.

You can find her on her Facebook pagehttp://www.facebook.com/JeanetteOHaganAuthorAndSpeaker or webistes Jeanette O'Hagan Writes &   JennysThread.com .