This week on Big Words and Made Up Stories, we’re doing something a bit different. For the first time ever, I’m interviewing another writer, Joy Margetts, a fellow Instant Apostle stablemate. Her first novel, The Healing, the story of a medieval monk and a disillusioned nobleman, comes out on 19th March. I caught up with Joy last week to ask her some questions.
Can you tell me a little bit about your background please?
I trained as a nurse and midwife and worked for many years both in the NHS, and out of it, before deciding about ten years ago that I wanted a change. During that time, I got married, moved to North Wales, brought up two children and helped found a new church! I grew up in a Christian home and have had a personal faith since I was a small child.
Eight years ago, my life was suddenly turned upside down when I became mysteriously ill. This turned out to be ME (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome). I lost my job, my ability to look after my home and family, and had to put down many of the things I loved doing most. It was a dark time, but God knew that He would use my difficult experience for good, and The Healing is proof of that.
Oh, and I was born in Essex, which makes me a bona fide Essex girl … (but don’t tell anyone) and my first car was a 1980’s Skoda!
Your secret’s safe with me, Joy! How does your writing day look?
Mornings aren’t my best time. I have always envied those who can rise with the lark and just get motoring. I use my mornings to have quiet time with God, potter around and do the household jobs that I can and catch up with emails and social media. Then most afternoons I give myself the luxury of two to three hours of devoted writing time, when nothing else of importance requires my attention. I have been known to get so engrossed that I forget to put the evening meal on… the longsuffering hubby will appear with a plaintive ‘shall I do the dinner then?’
I love history. I always have. I blame my father who also loved history, particularly military history
Why did you choose to write a historical novel? Is this something which particularly interests you?
I love history. I always have. I blame my father who also loved history, particularly military history, being a retired soldier, and who dragged us children around every historic site probably in the country! I would have chosen to study history at university if a particular school history teacher hadn’t made the subject so incredibly tedious! My son followed that path instead and helping him with his research and assignments felt like I was finally doing that history degree, if vicariously! I still love historic sites and we will still plan holidays around places we can visit. I have spent many, many, many hours researching our family history. I also love reading all kinds of history books, both non-fiction and fiction, so I suppose it was natural that I would lean towards that genre myself.
Did you know how Philip’s story would pan out when you first began writing?
Yes, I think I did. The inspiration for the story came to me all at once, as a sort of download, I suppose. I was sitting in the ruins of a Cistercian Abbey, just enjoying the beauty and peace of the place, when I began to wonder how many people of the past retreated to monastic life to find healing of soul. The story came to me – of a non-monk, becoming a monk in disguise, long enough for him to find the healing he needed, but then being able to return to the world he had left, a changed and redeemed man. I wrote those first thoughts down on a scrap of paper and filed it away. I suppose I knew from the start that Philip’s story of healing would reflect my own in many ways. My illness forced me to rest and go through a time when my main focus was on my relationship with God, relying on Him and learning to trust Him for my future. God has graciously and lovingly done an incredible healing work in me, from the inside out. When I came to actually write the book, the story was fleshed out and altered slightly, but the main storyline remained.
I’m fascinated by the amount of historical and cultural knowledge in The Healing, yet it is so cleverly woven in around the narrative. How easy did you find this?
I found it easy most of the time. I knew quite a lot already about the medieval period, but I also did my research. I had to find out more about the way Cistercians lived to get that as accurate as possible. Researching was not a chore!
One thing I would say, is that I get put off by too much detail, and by long descriptive passages in novels. I didn’t want that for The Healing, so I tried to put in just enough detail to make the setting authentic, but in a natural way, to not distract from the story. I also love it when real people and events are included in historical fiction, so I did that too. Philip de Braose did exist, as of course did Llewellyn the Great. The great prince really did have his horses bred at Abbey Cymer, and the de Braose family really did marry into his.
How much did your home in Wales influence the sense of place in the novel?
Completely. It was an abbey just down the road from here that was my place of inspiration. I love my adopted homeland. It has stunning natural beauty, of course, an inherent calm and peace, and a rich spiritual history. Not just the Cistercians, but centuries before them, saints and pilgrims came to Wales, and there are many ancient Christian sites around me.
Who is The Healing aimed at?
Anyone! I suppose it is adult fiction by genre, but I think it would appeal to teenagers and young adults too. It is overtly Christian in flavour so I guess would appeal to people who already have a relationship with God, but not exclusively. Anyone who has an interest in the history of Christianity, or of Wales for that matter, would hopefully enjoy it. Certainly, I would hope it would fall into the hands of people who need to find hope in a difficult situation. This is my prayer for the book, that it is not only an enjoyable story, but that it blesses people on a deeper level as they read it.
Apart from writing, what are your three favourite things?
Only three?! I would say reading, crafting (crochet mainly) and board games. Oh, and I love dogs… and baking… and eating… I even made and sold chocolate as a small business for a while.
Will we be hearing more about Brother Hywel and Philip de Braose?
Yes and no! I didn’t think that I would return to Philip, which is why there is an epilogue at the end of The Healing. But I have written a novella that features him in his new life (no spoilers here!) which I am hoping to publish as an eBook soon. I knew, however, that Hywel had a story that needed to be told, so I am writing that now – a prequel of sorts. It is a work in progress, and has had to take a back seat, but I’m itching to get back to it. I also want to write the stories of at least two others of the characters mentioned in the book… I might be writing for a while!
It was lovely to chat to Joy and find out more about the details of her book. The Healing is available from Amazon and Waterstones and can be pre-ordered on Kindle. You can also get your hands on a signed pre-publication copy right now by contacting Joy via her website here.