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16 June 2021

On Wednesdays on social media, people use the hashtag #WriterWednesday to chat about all things author, book and writing, including authors promoting their own work. As we love to support self-published authors, we thought we’d join in and we will be featuring a UK self-published author every Wednesday on the website.

This week, we met Jennifer Jenkins to find out more.

Please tell us about yourself; when did you first become interested in writing?
I am currently employed as RE and Spirituality Officer for Coventry Diocesan Board of Education. I am a former primary teacher and assistant head teacher and I live in a village outside of Rugby in Warwickshire with my husband, two sons and our sausage dog. I have always been a lover of writing and literature. I first started creating storybooks when I was a kid. I was the subject leader for English when I was a teacher and I was a Lead Teacher for the RSC for several years, leading a network of schools in how to teach Shakespeare to young children. I love writing poetry and have several notebooks full. I was first interested in the story of Eyam when I was teaching it to my class of six and seven year olds in history. I visited the village several times over the past decade and began proper research, with the intention of writing my novel, about two years ago. It was always my life’s ambition to become a writer so to have finally published a book is a dream come true for me.

Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?
Yes, it was called Mrs Robin and Dr Bluetit and it was the story of a a bluetit doctor helping a robin mother give birth to her first egg! The second one was equally as memorable but for all the wrong reasons. Being young and naive, I named it ‘The Squirrel who Lost its Nuts’ and could not understand why my parents and their friends found this book so funny.

What genre/genres do your books fall under?
My book is a historical fiction novel. It fuses historical fact with creative imagining to bring three female protagonists, from the time of the visitation of the plague to Eyam in Derbyshire in 1665, to life. One reviewer said: ‘I think Catherine, Elizabeth and Emmott- ah, especially Emmott- waited hundreds of years for the right voice to tell their story. Now, here it is’. When I read that review, I was struck by what a privilege it really is to tell their story.

What is your latest book called, what is it about and what was the inspiration behind the book?
The book is called ‘Three: A Tale of Brave Women and the Eyam Plague’. It tells the story of three women- Emmott Syddall, Catherine Mompesson and Elizabeth Hancock- who lived in Eyam during the year (1665-1666) when plague arrived from London in a box of cloth ordered by the village tailor. Slowly, the deadly disease began to spread and this novel follows the lives of these three women, taking the bare bones of what is found in the historical record and adding flesh and life so that these characters really capture the heart and imagination of the reader. I first fell in love with Emmott’s story on my very first visit to Eyam. She is a young woman betrothed to be married to a young man, Rowland Torre, from the next village, at The Wakes festival the following year. I won’t spoil what happens but many readers have expressed a love for Emmott. Catherine is the wife of the village rector. It was his decision to close the village in order to save the lives of those in the surrounding villages and towns, that left the residents of Eyam to face their peril in isolation and bravery. Catherine discovers something for herself, a sense of self-worth and purpose, that she may have struggled to find without the arrival of the pestilence. Elizabeth must face many perils and she is a character who many have come to admire for her absolute grit and resilience despite the tragedy she has to face. The story of Eyam is well-known but this novel puts these three women right at the front and centre of the epidemic and the village’s valiant response, rediscovering female voices and experiences at a time where empathy from readers for those navigating a pandemic is at its peak. Ever since I taught the story of this village to my Year 2 class I wanted to write about it. The pandemic, with all its challenges and tragedies, offered me that chance as I had just completed over a year of research for the book when I was furloughed from my job and was suddenly given the gift of time.

Besides your current book, do you have any new projects coming up?
Well, people have loved this book so much they are asking when I will write another one! I don’t think anyone needs another pandemic (which helped me to write the last one due to furlough), so I am trying to juggle researching a new book, and promoting the current one, around my work commitments. We recently moved to a village just outside of Rugby in Warwickshire and when we take the dog for walks I can see all the undulations in the fields where the peasant strip farming of medieval times were. I have also discovered the Manor House from the 1600s and some victorian era cottages. So I am wondering about a historical novel set over four time zones. In Three I weave the narratives of the three protagonists together, so perhaps I can do something similar with this idea? I’m also interested in British pirates, Boudicca and a story that finds a setting within my family’s canal-dwelling heritage. So, my mind is full of ideas!

Where can people find your books?
My book is available for sale via Amazon in three formats: Kindle, paperback and hardback.

What has been the greatest moment in your writing career?
Definitely the day my book began arriving through people’s letterboxes and they were sending me pictures of it sitting there on their dining room tables- my actual book!

Besides writing, what hobbies or interests do you enjoy in your spare time?
I LOVE reading. I have book piles everywhere, virtually and on Audible, as well as in real life. I have also really gotten into gardening lately and I love taking my dog for walks. I enjoy crafting, especially handmade cards, and I like to bake with my youngest son.

Which novelists do you admire?
I really love novels by Tracy Chevalier, Joanna Cannon, Joanne Harris, Sarah Winman, Alice Hoffman. I think Fredrik Backman is a great writer, somehow fusing pathos with comedy. A Man Called One was such a great read! I also loved Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. I was cracking up reading that one. The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker was fantastic too. I’m also a lover of the classics. My fabulous aunt, who has been a journalist and sub-editor in her time, bought me Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre for my 12th birthday and I loved them. So Austen, all the Brontes and Louisa M Alcott are absolute faves. I always wanted to be Jo March. She is my literary hero!

What has been the best piece of writing advice you’ve received?
Well, it was just to get started with writing without worrying about how good it was going to be. Ernest Hemingway famously said, ‘The first draft of anything is shit’ and I read a quote from Shannon Hale that said ‘I’m writing a first draft and reminding myself that I’m simply shovelling sand into a box so later I can build sandcastles’, and I loved that! Anne Lamott’s brilliant book, Bird by Bird, has a whole chapter called ‘Shitty First Drafts’ so it felt like it was ok to just get going with the writing and see how it went. I think I made a few sandcastles…

Do you have any tips or advice for other indie authors?
Yes, edit often. I hate it but it is so important. Don’t rely on your friends to be proof-readers either, especially if you have written something decent. They get absorbed in the story (which you absolutely want of course), but they can’t spot everything that’s wrong when they are emotionally connected with you and the story. They are great for feedback on characters, whether it is making sense, the pitch of your vocabulary and balance of dialogue to action. You need someone skilled in proofreading to spot the errors.

Also, this quote really motivated me: ‘Write the book you want to read’. Just like the Toni Morrison quote, ‘If there’s a book you really want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.’ So I did! And so must you.

You can find out more about Jennifer on her website or via Facebook or Instagram.