Latest up on the Sunday Tribune is a short interview with the wonderful Hellena Jane who I know from the poetry open mic circuit in Manchester, author of “The Winter of Our Femininity”.
“The Winter of Our Femininity” is an harsh portrait of society, and the pain lurking within it as well as a study of secrets inbetween a group of friends that everybody wants to hurt.
Andy N:
First of all, can you can tell us about the background of “The Winter of Our Femininity” – where it all came from etc?
Hellena:
The idea for ‘The Winter of our Feminiity’ came from when i was drunk at a house party and I was walking down some stairs and my shoe came off. In that moment the idea came to me completely but I think the background to it came from unlearning that I had been doing over the last three years, a process of kind of taking the rubbish i had been taught out of my system and recoding how i look at everything
Andy N:
I know you know through your poetry and your shorter work through the live circuit on the Manchester Spoken Word circuit how does this novella compare to your earlier work?
Hellena:
I think it connects as my work is always based in my own experiences. I believe you always here ‘write what you know’ and this work is definitely connect to that theme i’ve had in all my work, but i guess to be on a scale this novella is a work of fiction more so than any other work i’ve created.
Andy N:
The beginning is particularly great – what made you want to start this novella at a funeral?
Hellena:
the funeral was a moment i could see when writing, and the more i wrote the story the more i could see this scene. I just really wanted to write it and once i did it felt like something to set the scene, a funeral is a place where we tell nice stories about the dead and celebrate their lives and to open this story on this celebration of death felt like the perfect start really.
Andy N:
Great stuff. What plans do you have next? Do you think you will write a sequel or a novel / another novella?
Hellena:
these characters are so linked to this series of sad events I don’t think I could ever see them doing anything else but another novella could be on the horizon for me, now I’ve started getting my work out there i don’t think i could ever stop.
Andy N:
Where can people buy your novella?
Hellena:
Sure. People can pick up a copy of this from Amazon.(Click on the image)
