In an another new session of Author Q&A, I present you the best-selling author who inpires her readers with her heart-touching as well as gripping story about history, tragedy, loss and love. Yes, my freinds, we have today Dinah Jefferies, the best-selling author of the book called, "The Separation", to talk about past, present and beyond the horizon of life. So, scroll down to learn more about Dinah who bares her soul to let us see that what a wonderful, inspiring human being she is and always have been!
Me: Hello and welcome to my blog, Dinah.
Congratulations on your debut book, The Separation. Please tell us briefly
about the story behind, The Separation.
Dinah: The story behind The Separation
is that I knew I wanted to write a book about loss, and I knew I wanted to set
the book in Malaysia where I was born. My son, Jamie, died in an accident aged
fourteen so I felt I could write about a mother losing her children with some
authenticity. However, I didn’t want to write my own story and so thought up
the idea of missing children. I imagine that not knowing what has happened to
your children must be the worst thing. Because communications in Malaysia were
in such chaos at the time, it was the perfect place for deceit and betrayal to happen,
and for people to vanish mysteriously.
Me: They say: "Experience is what
you get when you didn't get what you wanted". Do you feel that The
Separation was inspired by your experiences and challenges of your life?
Dinah: Well I think I probably answered
that in the last question to some extent. There will always be an element of
loss in my books, though explored in very different ways. The Separation deals
with a mother’s longing for, and her search for, her children. In addition, I
really do think that being brought up as a child in a colonial family has left
me with very mixed feelings. I had an amah – known as an ‘ayah’ in India. My
books do explore racism, as well as sexism, to a greater or lesser extent. In
my second book The Tea Planter’s Wife the story is partly a seductive love
story, and partly the tragic consequences of prejudice.
Me: Was it always your one true-dream to
be an author?
Dinah: Not at all. I’ve done lots of
interesting things in my life from living in a rock-music commune to working as
an artist. Writing has come as a complete revelation to me but I am so glad I
found it.
Me: Please tell us one trait of Lydia,
your protagonist, that intrigues you the most.
Dinah: It’s hard to say, especially as
The Separation is now two books ago. I find that once I’ve moved this far from
the characters they belong more to my readers and less to me. But if I’m pushed
I’d probably say I admire her resilience in the face of so many difficulties
and challenges. She is a typical 1950s woman in many ways but not in others.
She wants to live her life, but hasn’t been equipped with much of an education,
and so has had to rely a great deal on the men in her life. Yet, despite that,
she shows courage in the face of heartbreak. She’s a flawed character but a
real character with a big heart.
Me: You not only took your readers to an
exotic land like Malaya via your story but you also transported you readers
back in a particular time. Did you research extensively or did you draw on your childhood
experiences to write the story?
Dinah: Both. I researched the Emergency
quite extensively, but I also relied on my mother’s photograph albums from the
1950s, and family stories that she handed down. A few things from my childhood
are also in the book: the holidays on tropical islands, the waxworks, the hotel
in Singapore, and various other bits and pieces.
Me: Since you were born in Malaya, can
you tell us about the period when the Malayan Emergency was declared? What was
it like to live in such a gruesome and tough period of time?
Dinah: A state of Emergency was declared
in 1948 and so for most of the 1950s, while it continued, I was just a young
child. It didn’t impact heavily on my life, though I became accustomed to
seeing guns. My father had to go to work with two armed policemen every day,
which to me seemed quite normal. The worst thing was seeing the awful waxworks
from WW2. Emma sees them too - in my book.
Me: How will you describe your journey as
an author so far?
Dinah: Exciting. Exciting. Exciting. And
very hard work. Also very up and down. One minute it’s all wonderful, the next
you’re wondering what on earth you’re doing. You keep going. Just like life.
It’s marvellous really, as is life! I feel very fortunate, and all the time I
just want to learn more and grow as a writer.
Me: What are you working on now? Please
tell us briefly about it.
Dinah: My second book, The Tea Planter’s
Wife will be published in August 2015 by Penguin. It’s set in Sri Lanka, but
when it was known as Ceylon in the 1920s, but some of the novel takes place in
1930s New York. I finished the final edits in July, and now the first draft of
my third book is with my agent and I’m waiting for edits. It’s set in Vietnam
and that’s all I can say at the moment. But I am VERY excited about it.
Me: How do you get away from the stress
and from your busy writing days?
Dinah: I read books by authors I admire,
like Rachel Joyce and Sarah Waters, I also listen to classical music, and I
like to watch good drama on the television. I particularly like some of the
Scandinavian dramas we’ve been seeing lately. I also love to travel and cannot
wait to visit India, where I hope to set my fourth book.
Me: Thank You so much Dinah for sparing
time to have this interview session with me. I can only wish you luck in all your
future endeavours.
Dinah: Thank you for inviting me, Aditi.
I’ve enjoyed it. Good luck with your blog.
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