When Deborah Jenkins got in touch about her book Braver, I knew it would be one I’d love. Sadly, there are only 24 hours in a day and I haven’t been able to squeeze it onto my TBR pile. However, I wanted to feature it on Linda’s Book Bag so I asked Deborah if she would be willing to ‘stay in’ with me and luckily she agreed. I’m only sorry it has taken me so long to share our chat – there’s been a bit too much ‘life’ happening of late!

Let’s find out more:

Staying in with Deborah Jenkins

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag Deborah and thank you for agreeing to stay in with me.

Thank you for inviting me. I’m honoured to have been asked for an evening with you!

Tell me, (although I have a jolly good idea) which of your books have you brought along to share this evening and why have you chosen it?

I’ve brought my novel, Braver, with me and I’ve chosen this one because it was my debut, published by Fairlight Books in 2022, the year I turned 60.

As someone in their 60s too Deborah I love the fact that Braver was published then.

I’d been trying to get published for a long time so for this reason, Braver holds a special place in my heart. But also, because the themes of the book – anxiety, loneliness, the power of friendship and community to change lives- are timeless, I think.

They are – and themes that are more important than ever in today’s world.

What can we expect from an evening in with Braver?

You can expect a fair amount of quirkiness. Braver is narrated by three people: Hazel, a neurodiverse teaching assistant; Harry, a vulnerable teenager and Virginia, an unconventional church minister with a past.

They sound really interesting characters. Tell me more!

You can expect unlikely friendships and impossible choices. You can also expect disability and inclusion. I am profoundly deaf due to an ongoing condition which, sadly, I can’t do much about. But I can make sure my books include characters from the full spectrum of society. Several reviews mentioned smiles and tears and one or two of my favourites compared my writing to people like Frederik Backman and Rachel Joyce which had me swooning with disbelief.

That’s brilliant. 

I was also amazed and overjoyed that the book was shortlisted for the Society of Authors’ ADCI Award and the Writers’ Guild Best First Novel.

You must be so proud of those achievements. Congratulations. Could you give us a flavour of the book?

Here is a taster from quite near the beginning. Hazel has just had an accident during which she met Virginia and Harry. She is now at Virginia’s house:

After a few moments, the dizziness begins to subside, and Harry helps her up. They sit, the young woman, the boy and the older woman, at the huge table drinking coffee and eating bacon while the world wakes up and drifts through the open window: a milk float whines, an aeroplane drones. There is an outside smell of earth and sky and city things.

Hazel feels as though she’s in a dream. She can’t remember the last time she went inside another person’s house, unless you count the counsellor’s, which is a poky semi in Milton containing an enormous TV and a number of rather dubious fish. Hazel watches them swimming up and down behind glass at Moira’s shoulder, their unblinking eyes filled with suspicion. They make her freeze when Moira asks things like, ‘So when did you first feel the need to make everything symmetrical?’ or ‘What makes you think your mother hated you?’

Hazel glances at Virginia. She is cutting up her bacon with cool precision, squaring her knife and fork, discarding rind, as if performing a well-practised dissection. She smiles at Hazel, an open, friendly smile without guile or agenda.

‘Nice bacon,’ says Hazel and she realises, with a frisson of surprise, that she has said this spontaneously, without any planning at all. Usually, she needs to plan to avoid saying inappropriate things…’

That has me hooked Deborah. Braver sounds EXACTLY my kind of read. 

What else have you brought along and why have you brought it?   

     

When Hazel isn’t working, she spends most of her time in her small flat indulging her passion for chocolate and box sets. So, I think I would bring a large packet of peanut butter flavoured Kitkat bites and some Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups. Can you see the theme here? 😉

Oh I can and it’s one I heartily approve! How have these escaped my notice before?

I would of course bring some Cadbury’s or Green and Blacks in case you don’t like peanut butter (in credibly some people don’t). Virginia is a church minister, so I might bring you one of those gorgeous tall ecclesiastical candles as a gift. As the book is set around Easter, we could listen to The Messiah by candlelight. Or if you don’t fancy that, we could watch a film version of a book and discuss what we think of it. 

With Easter approaching rapidly, I think the music might be perfect Deborah. 

Harry gets into quite a few fights, but I think we’ll leave that one as I’d quite like to be invited back!

With a wonderful sounding book like Braver, and those chocolates, you’re welcome back any time Deborah. You can even bring Harry!

Thanks so much for staying in with me to chat about Braver. You put the music on and I’ll give readers a few more details:

Braver

Hazel has never felt normal. Struggling with OCD and anxiety, she isolates herself from others and sticks to rigid routines in order to cope with everyday life. But when she forms an unlikely friendship with Virginia, a church minister, Hazel begins to venture outside her comfort zone.

Having rebuilt her own life after a traumatic loss, Virginia has become the backbone of her community, caring for those in need and mentoring disadvantaged young people. Yet a shock accusation threatens to unravel everything she has worked for.

Told with warmth, compassion and gentle humour, Braver is an uplifting story about the strength that can be drawn from friendship and community.

Published by Fairlight on 30th June 2022 Braver is available for purchase through the publisher links here.

About Deborah Jenkins

Deborah Jenkins is a freelance writer and primary teacher who has worked in schools in the UK and abroad. She has written educational textbooks and articles for the TES online and Guardian Weekend among other publications. Her short fiction has appeared in magazines and anthologies and she has also published a novella, The Evenness of Things. Her debut novel, Braver, was published by Fairlight Books in 2022 and Winter Lights, a book of short stories, came out in November 2023.

Deborah lives in Sussex and enjoys reading, walking, gardening, and good coffee.

For further information, visit Deborah’s blog, find her on Instagram or follow Deborah on Twitter/X @Loverofhats.