Hawke's Bay author Adele Broadbent with her latest book, If Only.
I have been reading Adele Broadbent's books for 10 years now and am so impressed with
her sixth novel, If Only.
The Hawke's Bay author's writing just gets better and better.
The characters in her latest novel and the way she intertwines the story with an excellent
environmental organisation is brilliant.
Aimed at readers aged 13 and over, the story follows Kayla, a 15-year-old high school
student who lets her best friend Tam talk her into going to a party. A party her parents
know nothing about. However, something happens that turns the party into a nightmare
resulting in more lies and even worse consequences for both Kayla and Tam.
Then there's Alex. Kayla thinks he's rather cute and the fact he volunteers for an
organisation called Project Jonah makes him intriguing.
She doesn't know much about Project Jonah but thinks it might just be a good idea to find
out more.
If Only is about family, love, consequences and a boy that loves whales.
It has been published in support of the work of Project Jonah. At its book launch more
than $200 was raised for Project Jonah NZ and Adele is hoping to raise more over the
coming months.
I asked Adele some questions.
Your previous books have been aimed at tweens (aged between eight and 12). What made
you decide to aim for an older audience?
The story itself decided it, really. Influenced by issues in the news, young people around
me at the time, and a need for fiction aimed at advanced 12-13-year-old readers. As a
children's bookseller at Wardini Books, I feel responsible for what I recommend to young
readers, especially the older tweens who want to read 'up' from their age group. If Only
fits into that age group, without the darker components of many teen novels.
Is your main character Kayla based on anyone you know?
I think all of my characters are made up of lots of people. I begin with an inkling of a
character, and then begin to get to know them before I even begin. I've always found that
the more I know my characters - how they would behave in a certain situation, what they
like or don't like, who their friends are and what their family life is like - always helps me
write the story. I do get to know them more as I write and they eventually take over,
surprising me sometimes at where they take things.
If Only is published in support of the work of Project Jonah NZ.
Tell us how this came about and what it means for Project Jonah NZ.
If Only was sparked by a piece of music from 1984 (Save The Whale - Nik Kershaw's The
Riddle album). As with all my novels or stories, I immerse myself in the topic and this is
where I discovered the wonderful work of Project Jonah, saving the whales and other
marine mammals that land on beaches. I knew I had to make them part of my novel.
After I'd completed several drafts, I contacted Project Jonah and Daren Grover has been
incredibly helpful with getting the authenticity that I needed. My royalties from the book
launch and donations made are to go to Project Jonah, and I hope more people will check
out their work at www.projectjonah.org.nz and donate what they can to this amazing
organisation that has been saving our whales since 1974.
What does your day look like when you are in the middle of writing a book?
I don't really have a writing routine. I write when I can around work and family and our
lifestyle block. I've written at night when our children were small, sitting in my car while
waiting outside their schools for pick up time, on airplanes, holidays, and even at a
Mission Concert once. I work out plot problems or directions while I'm in the garden or
walking the dog. It's all writing!
How do you switch off your characters and slide back into family life?
I don't. When I'm writing my first draft, my characters are with me all the time. During the
day, I wonder how they would react in different situations that I encounter. Sometimes I
use that stuff, and other times it is put in the memory filing bank for another story. Once
when I was deep into an early draft of a novel, I was talking about one of the characters,
and my son said, 'You do know these people aren't real, eh Mum?'
What do you do to celebrate finishing a book?
I announce to my family, 'Right. I'm done!' They all learnt, along the way, that I wasn't, and
there'd be at least two more drafts to come. They'd roll their eyes, and say, 'Okay Mum.'
They're very well trained now, knowing my journey with books is never done until the
actual book launch itself.
What is the biggest lesson you have learned between writing your first book and If Only?
That's been a nearly 20-year journey. The biggest lesson I learnt was how to structure a
novel after a manuscript assessment through the NZ Society of Authors. The assessor
looked at my story and asked, ' ... but what does the character want? Why do they want it?'
These two questions are what young writers should ask themselves for every story they
write. It's a great base to launch from.
What three bits of advice would you give to an aspiring writer?
Read, read, read. Write, write, write. Get out there and do stuff. Reading will help you learn
about how a story is put together. Writing is like anything you want to be good at. You
must practise it. Anything you write will make you better for the next piece you write.
The more you DO - whether it be something simple with friends in your community, a
school trip, or an overseas holiday, the more things, people, places, experiences, you will
have to write about.
Tell us something surprising about yourself. What's next for you?
It's not really surprising, as everyone who knows me knows I'm a book nut. When I was a
librarian for the Napier Library for a while I saw how many young readers struggled to
choose a book. I've been working ever since on an online tool for young readers to find
their next great read. It's also useful for parents, school librarians or teachers to find
fiction by a study topic. I work on it almost every day and aim to develop it further. It's
really just about the love of reading, and making it as easy as possible.
¦You can find If Only by Adele Broadbent, published by OneTree House, at
whatbooknext.com, $24.
'It can be quite amusing to watch ... it's not so amusing to clean up.'