Episode 7 Jean Harper - Published Fiction Writer

Warren Telling Tales - A Hub For Creators — Episode 7: Jean Harper (EJ Harper) Interview (Scripted for podcast use)

Host: Warren Adams — Warren Telling Tales - A Hub For Creators
Source: https://warrentellingtales.buzzsprout.com/
YouTube clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlLotXFJZ1Q (to watch with a clip from the book)

Intro

Host:
This week, we sit down with EJ Harper, scientist turned novelist.

She grew up in the North East of England and left to go to university in Nottingham. Home is now a twelfth century mill in South West France.

Today, we’ll talk about her literary influences, her writing career, the highlights of creating her debut novel Lazarus Remembered, and an interesting fact from her life.

Who or what are your literary influences?

EJ Harper:
For me, the most important aspect of a novel is the emotional journey. I want to shed tears of joy and tears of grief, and I’m in awe of any author that can craft a story with a powerful emotional punch.

Maggie O’Farrell’s After You’d Gone is the perfect example of this—it tore me apart, as did the achingly beautiful Hamnet.

Another emotion is, of course, surprise, and there’s nothing more delicious than a twist that leaves you reeling. Daphne du Maurier does this beautifully with Rebecca, and so does Sarah Waters with Fingersmith.

I’ve also a soft spot for Irish writers and their wry observations on life. John Boyne’s The Heart’s Invisible Furies is just about the perfect novel, and I unreservedly recommend it to everyone.

Tell us about your writing career

EJ Harper:
I’ve always loved writing and, following a twenty-five year career in scientific research and communications, I finally realised my life-long ambition to write a novel.

Early in the process, I decided to make it an audiobook complete with a soundtrack. Thus the idea for Lazarus Remembered, my debut novel, was conceived.

I’m currently working on my second novel—a psychological drama set in France. I also write short stories and have twice been shortlisted in international competitions.

What were the highlights of writing Lazarus Remembered?

EJ Harper:
There were so many! From a writing perspective, I remember wrestling with various plot strands, and one day, while out walking, suddenly they fell into place. It was an extraordinary eureka moment.

Working with Andy was a revelation. Seeing him take a musical phrase and turn it into a song was—and is—amazing. I still have no idea how he does it.

I loved the time in the studio recording the narration, but a particular highlight is Francesca singing Sosban Fach. Late one afternoon, we made a spontaneous decision to have her sing it. Overnight, Andy worked out the melody, Francesca rehearsed it, and the next morning a piece of magic was created.

Tell us an interesting fact about yourself

EJ Harper:
When I was studying for my PhD, novelist Catherine Cookson and Greggs the Bakers sponsored me to travel to Japan to present my research findings.

Outro / Close

Host:
That’s EJ Harper for you—scientist turned novelist, storyteller by heart, and full of creativity behind the scenes too.

You can find more about EJ Harper and Lazarus Remembered here:
https://linktr.ee/EJHARPER?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=82d51f8a-2973-4d85-b1d7-6490ba913af8

Buy: https://www.amazon.com/Lazarus-Remembered/d

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:00

Okay, hello everyone. Welcome. Today we have Jean Harper on the podcast. I'm very, very excited about having you on. Thank you so much for joining us today. How are you?

SPEAKER_01 0:10

I'm very well. Well, first of all, thank you, Warren. It was lovely of you to invite me. And yeah, the pleasure's all mine. So yeah, I'm great. Very well indeed. Thank you.

SPEAKER_03 0:19

Good, good. And and where are you at the moment?

SPEAKER_01 0:22

Well, currently I'm in the southwest of France. That's actually where I live. Um, so it's sort of, I don't know how well you know the area or how well your your um viewers know it, but we're sort of between Toulouse and Bordeaux. So bang in the middle between the two, yes, and beautiful, sort of uh rugged landscape and um not far from all the wine-growing areas of Bordeaux, just slightly east of that. Yeah, it is stunning, absolutely very inspiring. It's a very inspiring place to live. Yeah, lovely.

SPEAKER_03 0:51

And and how's the weather over there at the moment? Because it's where I am, it's absolutely freezing. So uh I'm hoping you have a bit of sunshine to make me feel a little better.

SPEAKER_01 1:01

Well, well, yeah, I kind of feel bad for saying, yeah, it is absolutely lovely here. No, it's it hasn't it's been bitterly cold. I mean, we do have very cold winters. Um, we have real seasons, but yes, it's beautiful here. Literally, spring sprang yesterday, and we're jumping into about 17, 18 degrees centigrade over the next uh well, today and the next few uh weeks. So, yeah, feels lovely, and it really has got that sense now. I I love that sense of possibility of spring. You know, start to see things, you know, the the change in colours and the landscape. It's beautiful.

SPEAKER_03 1:38

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, well, there we go. So, um, for those that don't know who uh Jean Harper is, she she's written very recently a fantastic audiobook called Lazarus Remembered. Uh, I've heard extracts of it already, and it it it sounds absolutely amazing. It's powerful, there's some stunning music that you've got in there and some singing, and it's a really, really interesting story as well. And we're gonna talk a little bit more about that later. Um, but it is it's out and it's available at the moment. Um, and I strongly recommend everyone to to to get out there and and um and to listen to this this audiobook. Uh but before we go down that path, before writing audiobooks, you were doing something completely different, and I wanted to just uh explore that area first of all. Um so you were in science, you were a a research scientist, have I got that correct?

SPEAKER_01 2:30

Absolutely correct, yes. Yeah, I yeah. So I um well, yes, I mean it the way it all started, when I was a child, I wanted to be a vet when I grew up. So that was like I loved animals, and I thought that that's the future. And so whilst I found I love literature and reading, and I'd always wanted to write a novel, it was it was the idea of working with animals drove me down a path of uh going into science, and I actually found it much more difficult. Um, I think naturally find the humanities easier, but I was determined to become a scientist. Uh, in the event I didn't become a vet, I I went to the vets to do a work experience, and with about within about half an hour of getting there, I fainted. So realised that it possibly wasn't the career for me. Um, so but I still pursued a scientific um career. Yes, I studied nutrition and biochemistry, and I was actually in in um a student for seven years, degree, master's degree, PhD, and uh and then sort of stayed in that that field and pursued a career in research and communications for about 25 years. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 3:42

Incredible.

SPEAKER_01 3:43

So yes, that was my yeah, that was my background.

SPEAKER_03 3:46

What were you researching? What was what was the general?

SPEAKER_01 3:48

Was it just science in general, or were you honing a particular area or well, I actually work for a pet food company, and my uh role was to understand the interaction of the food with the animal. So, you know, what makes an animal choose a certain food? Um, what happens in terms of digesting it? Are there things we can include in the food to help the animal be healthier and to live longer? So, yeah, that was it when it actually turned out to be the perfect role for me. So it combined my love of animals with my curiosity about science and nature. So yeah, I absolutely loved it. Um moved more into the communication side later on, but it was hard work, like all jobs are, you know, it's quite exacting. Um, so yes, it's uh and then what happened was the company I worked for um was uh like a lot of companies, I was uh able to retire quite early. So I took that opportunity and uh yeah, and then moved into writing.

SPEAKER_03 4:53

Wow, lovely. Yeah, um, and this wasn't a question I was going to ask you, but do you have a favorite animal? You've mentioned your love of animals. Do you have a favorite animal that you could tell us about?

SPEAKER_01 5:03

Well, I mean, I love dogs and cats, they're just wonderful. I have a dog and I have three cats, but if I had to name a favorite animal, oddly enough, I would choose the camel.

SPEAKER_02 5:12

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 5:12

There's just I know there's just something so I mean, you look at them and think, how did anything like that come to evolve? And there's just that sort of majesty about them and grace that I uh I love. So yes, if I had to pick one, that's what it would be.

SPEAKER_03 5:28

There we go, a camel. I did not expect you to say that. Um that's brilliant. Love it, love it. Good, good, good. Um, okay, and then so then after that, you went down, uh, you you then wrote this this book. Um, Lazarus Remembered. Uh, can you can you tell us uh the inspiration behind uh behind the book itself?

SPEAKER_01 5:48

I think um so for me what I wanted to do was write a book that made um other people feel the way I like to feel when I've read a book. And I love an emotional connection, that's what I'm always interested in. It with any art, actually. I want something that you know brings me joy or or terrifies me or you know brings it makes me sad. I want to feel, I want those emotional buttons pushed. So for me, that was the starting point to ensure that I created a story with characters that you cared about enough that you would actually invest in, you would have an emotional investment. And that was one bit, and the other thing I love about uh the novels that are my favourites are always the ones where I'm caught out where I think I knew what was going on, and then suddenly there's a great twist, you know. And who doesn't love that? And that's kind of another emotion, that's the the shock or the surprise, and then sometimes the anger at yourself thinking, why did I not see that? Why did I allow myself to be carried along? Um, so you know, for me, a novel like Rebecca, Daphne de Murray's Rebecca is perfect in that respect, you know, what you think is going on, you suddenly discover halfway through that you were seeing the world through the uh main protagonist's eyes, and she was not seeing things as they were. So I I love that. So that was the starting point. I knew how I wanted people to feel. Um, and then the other side of it is that I um something I feel quite strongly about is people placing judgments on other people's choices and other people's lives and the decisions they make, and how often we'll kind of gossip or make statements about other people based on very little, um, or based on how we think they should be living their lives, you know, what they should be doing. And it's that, yeah, it's it's something that really um kind of niggles at me. So, again, the basis for the story, which I won't go into in too much detail because it gives away the the ending, the big reveal, was around that about someone that's um made a choice in his life, and um who are we to judge that choice is made? And so it's all about getting, you know, actually you empathi, I hope you empathize with Peter, the main protagonist a lot, and then um gradually you start to understand the life he's chosen and um and hopefully have some empathy to about that decision.

SPEAKER_03 8:21

Yeah. Can you tell us any more about the story itself, apart from what you've mentioned just now? Is there any anything else you can give us that won't give away the ending and ruin the conclusion of the story? Where is it set, for example, and um yeah, what what what what the general the plot line is for for Lazarus Remember? That'd be very interesting to hear.

SPEAKER_01 8:41

Oh, of course, yeah. So um, well, the story starts with this guy called Peter. He's a um a guy, he's 50 years old, and he's walk, he's living in the UK, and he's woken up one morning by phone call from a friend to tell him that Lydia, his mother, is dying. And that's the opening. And then what we what transpires very quickly is we discover that Peter um was Australian by birth. He grew up in a town called Lazarus, and at the age of 18 or 19, he walked away from that town. He walked away from his family, from his friends, from his community, he left everything behind, he severed all ties and he hasn't been back. So that's the setup, um, if you like. And then through dual timelines, we follow Peter's story. So he goes back to Australia, and so it's all about the consequences of choosing to go back.

SPEAKER_02 9:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:35

Um, and then through the alternating timeline, we follow his story from literally from when he's born up until the events that precipitated his exile. And it really is the very end when you discover what led to his departure.

SPEAKER_03 9:52

Yeah, so that's that sounds so exciting. Sounds amazing.

SPEAKER_01 9:56

Thank you. Um, I think what I discovered, Warren, which is something very, very interesting. I'd heard other people say this that often the story will write itself, yeah. Which I found kind of hard to believe. But once I started writing, I realized I thought, wow, that's I never imagined that to be part of this story. And I think what can happen is you finish up with a lot of threads, and then the art of it is at the end to cut some of them if they're not adding, but then to weave the rest together. And so actually, the story I finished up with was not the one I started out to write, is the honest answer.

SPEAKER_03 10:32

Okay. It's fascinating. Yeah, it is amazing. That is so amazing. Um, okay, so I I'm I'm sort of just amazed that uh someone with your background can can move from science and uh and communication and what what sounds and appears to be so academic to then be able to just almost jump into a whole different world and and cut and create this this piece of work. And it's um did you do any training to as a writer or or how did your skill for writing develop? Did you do it on the side when you were younger as a as a as a passion? Or yeah, well, how did how did you actually learn to do that? Because it's not easy writing. I've tried and I find it very hard. And um, yeah, I'm amazed, I really am.

SPEAKER_01 11:19

Well, thank you. Yeah, I mean it was it wasn't easy, totally agree, but it was fun. Um, I think well, I so it always harboured this ambition to write a novel. Um, and I'm an avid reader. I mean, I've read books all my life. Um, you know, I've I never really gave up on novel reading. Um, it's kind of it was always my escape from you know the stresses and strains of the the day job is to be transported by a great novel. Um and so, in a way, because I had that background as a reader, I knew what I liked in a story. So that was an easy starting point. The actual skill, though, is completely different. So, as a technical writing, it's very, very different. I mean, you don't need to worry about taking the reader on an emotional journey, you know, when you're writing a scientific paper. It's certainly not what you set out to do.

SPEAKER_03 12:14

Um you can, it's a bonus at all.

SPEAKER_01 12:19

That really would be a skill. Um and you don't need to worry about things like rhythm or pace or what makes good dialogue or anything like that. You know, there's a structure, there's an introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, conclusion. It's very structured, there's a protocol that you follow. And suddenly not to have that. I mean, but of course, there's a structure to story, as you know. We all innately understand the basic shape stories take, but you have so much more freedom. And so what I I probably did use my analytical skills, um, in as much as I got a lot of books on how do you write and studied them and worked out very quickly what I could do relatively easily, and then the areas that I just really struggled with, and I'm kind of made a list of each, and then I worked like crazy on the ones that I struggled with. Um, I joined a writer's group locally, so there's a lot of writers in this area, it's a very inspiring area. So, with a few other friends actually who were also writers of one form or another, we used to get together and actually one of the most difficult things ever, I'll never forget this is the first thing I'd written was handing it over to other people to read. I mean, that is oh my yeah, it's I can imagine because yeah, and and it wasn't very good, it really wasn't, but I was okay with that. I didn't expect it to be, but I was kind of thirsty for this. So tell me what works, tell me what doesn't work, I want to fix it. So yeah, I did. I was in the writers' group for several years, actually. I as I say, I live I listen to a lot of books on um how to write. So I walk a lot and I run a lot, and I'm always listening to something, and I just devoured books on the craft. And each a lot of them are the same, but each one you'll pick up something and think, ah, that's interesting. I'm gonna put that into practice, yeah. And so, so yeah, it was a slow prose. Probably took me four years in all from start starting to write a novel to having the finished product, yeah. Um, and because the whole time I was honing the craft, I'd go back to something I'd written, you know, a year earlier and then just like face palm. Oh, here we go. Back to the drawing board.

SPEAKER_02 14:40

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:42

But you know, at the end of it, what's nice now is because I've started a second novel and some stuff that was so difficult initially, you know, and um the first time around now just feels like second nature. There's still a lot to improve on, there always will be. I don't think there's ever a writer who can never improve, but yeah, so that was the process, yeah. And I did one or two courses as well, which were fun. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 15:08

Well, it sounds like you're very active, very proactive, and you're just you've got all this knowledge that you just love get getting new knowledge on board and learning new skills. And I th that that must go an awful long way. And the beauty of an audiobook is that you can sort of listen to these anywhere as well, like on the go, walking, running, you know, in the car. I I mean, I personally I listen to audiobooks uh more than I do actually uh read a novel for that very reason. You can sort of continue with your your day and have this wonderful story coming in as well. So it's great. Um, were you involved in the production process at all? Oh yes, yeah, yeah, in in the in the studio with with with the actress that was reading it, and yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:50

Oh yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 15:51

How was that? How was that process like being in and amongst it all in the studio?

SPEAKER_01 15:55

And it was honestly that so the the narrator is uh an actor called Francesca Tomlinson. You'll have heard her voice, and I've known her uh actually since the day she was born because she's she's my um one of my oldest friend's daughters, and I really wanted her to do it. Um, so she came here. So we uh my husband um has a as I said, he's a composer, he has a small studio, and we decided to record it ourselves here. Um now it took Franchette chess, I'll call her because that's that's how I know I had it took chess, it took us nine days to do the first recording. Now, normally she says it would take three or four days, you know, she'd be in the studio with a sound engineer, and they just sit and you know, work a really long, hard day to get it done in three or four days.

SPEAKER_02 16:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:43

Whereas here, I mean, first of all, for me, I'm not an actor and I knew nothing about the craft, and watching an actor at work is just extraordinary. So uh, you know, and we'd start every day by discussing the characters. So, you know, how's this character going to sound? You know, where's the voice coming from? Is it the deeper voice? Is it more on the lips? Or and she would get into character and watching her, for example, do dialogue, so it's it was mainly dialogue, so there was rarely more than two people speaking, you know, to one another. There was one or two conversations where there were three or more, but just watching her physically move during the dialogue, you know, should be one position for one character, and then there'd just be the slightest nuance and she should move into another one. Honestly, it was amazing. And then hearing a brain, these characters that were in my head and that I could visualize, but hearing them come alive, honestly, it was the most extraordinary experience. And I I'm amazed that when I well, when she told me that a lot of all well, most authors don't actually go through that experience. Because I would just say, as an author, it was an absolute privilege to watch an actor at work like that, and it felt very connected. I think we had a real, you know, we we made changes on the fly. So I mean, Chess did an amazing job because she comes from the northeast of England, same as me, but actually she was narrating in a soft Australian accent. So this guy that's been exiled for 30 years, so very soft Aussie accent. So she was actually narrating in an accent other and other than her own, which is not really advisable.

SPEAKER_03 18:25

No, it's tough.

SPEAKER_01 18:26

It's very tough. I was amazed, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 18:29

I when I heard her voice, I I I picked up the accent, the Australian accent, but but often when people that are not from a particular country, they they they not overdo it, but but it's a very it's a very stock accent. And I felt felt like she was incredibly subtle and it was it was supernatural and believable. And I I remember thinking that as I heard it, I was like, that's an Australian accent, but it wasn't like, whoa, that's an Australian accent. It was like, oh yeah, okay, that's yeah, but it was it was really well, really well placed. Um, so yes, she did an excellent job, an excellent job.

SPEAKER_01 19:04

No, she did a fantastic job, and I mean she was switching um uh usually between Australian and Welsh. So when we go back to Lazarus and that the fact and we go back to the 60s and the 70s and the 80s, the family they're part very much part of the Welsh community, and that helped as a listener to distinguish between characters when you've got very different accents and and also you know, um different inflection of the voice and that kind of thing. So she was often switching accents, but something I learned as an author, which didn't help her at all, was occasionally I would like to have a character who literally had one line, let's say in the UK, and they'd be a Scot, or they'd be from Ireland. And to switch, so she's switching Australian Welsh, Australian Raj, and then suddenly she has to do one line in an Irish accent. You can imagine, yeah. Yeah, she said a brain was just so there was actually one character we quickly changed because it just wasn't working. I just wrote it as Scottish because she found Scottish easier because it's more similar to her natural accent. So that was the benefit of being in the studio. We hit her change. We have the freedom to do what we want, so yeah. So there were lots of things like that that yeah, we had uh freedom to make changes, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 20:16

I love that. Um it's so cool that you're all in there together in the studio, and your husband is so your husband did all of the sound and created the music for the story.

SPEAKER_01 20:26

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 20:27

That's incredible.

SPEAKER_01 20:28

Yes, the he had not expected that side of it, so he had a very clear vision of how he wanted it to sound. Yeah, so Andy has an incredible ear, much, much, much more sensitive uh than mine. And he knew the feeling of the audio that he wanted to create. So that sort of intimacy you get when someone's telling you a story and they sat next to you, and you really feel like they're speaking to you, you know, that a real warmth and intimacy, um, which again meant that the way we recorded it was wasn't how you would usually necessarily record it. So there's a you know, it was a very open sound, which of course then is more difficult to edit technically. And as it happened, Andy then finished up um doing the sound editing for the whole 12 hours, which was quite and that is not his background at all. So he really had to work and study and learn at that. And that was um it was kind of one of those odd things that because of the circumstances of 2020, where you know our freedom to move and the the normal day-to-day life changed completely, it actually, in an unexpected but positive way, gave Andy the freedom to uh have the time to work on that for basically the best part of a year to take the recording that we did at the end of 2019 and then turn that into uh you know a scene. Production.

SPEAKER_03 22:01

Yeah. You must have been so proud when the whole thing came together and you you got it out there. Because you all work together, you work together as a family, and you know you've made this amazing piece, and then you put it out there, and it seems like a lot of uh a lot of blood, sweat, and tears has gone into it, and that's uh it's uh it's awesome, lovely. And you mentioned earlier you're not you're now working on uh a second uh is it another audiobook or I haven't decided yet, um, because I but I think probably yes.

SPEAKER_01 22:31

I mean I have a real passion for audiobooks, I think for all kinds of reasons. I mean, you said earlier the beauty of them is you know, if you're driving or walking or doing chores, whatever, you can still engage in a story. And if you know you're someone that loves storytelling, and so to be denied that because you know you haven't got the time to sit and read, I think is a shame. And so I because I love audiobooks so much, and I love for me personally, they have a real impact. You know, a great actor telling a story has twice the impact for me than me just reading it, you know, on the the written word. And also I think there's an awful lot of people that love storytelling, but for whatever reason, reading doesn't come easily, whether you know you're visually impaired or you know, you haven't had the right or you haven't had an education that helps you to easily read, I think, then an audiobook is a wonderful way of of of sharing novels. So I'm very, very tempted to stay with that approach.

SPEAKER_03 23:33

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And uh is it is it super early days? Do you have a story, uh story in place, a structure for it at the moment, or is it are you just sort of like throwing some ideas around, or yeah, what what what what stage are you at with the second uh with the second?

SPEAKER_01 23:48

Well, um it's about a quarter written. So I know so I'm a planner, so I I I I I know that certain writers literally just you know start writing and see where it goes, and then others literally know, you know, scene by scene, exactly how it's gonna be structured. Yeah, I start, I am more of a planner, so I need to know how something's gonna end in order to map the journey. Um, so I but because of my learnings last time around, I know I don't need as much of a plan in order for it to work. So I so the basic structure is there, I know what the story is about, I know where it's set. I've written about 25,000 words, so about a quarter of the way in. Um, yes, so and I'd like to finish that this year. That would be at least to have it written this year. You know, that would that's kind of one of my goals for 2021.

SPEAKER_03 24:41

Amazing, amazing. And uh okay, so you yeah, in what about in 2020? I I ask um all of my guests that come on how that impacted your life, work, uh, the way you you were doing things, operating. Uh it was a very and it still is, you know, testing for a lot of people at the moment, even into 2021. Uh, this uh I we don't need to mention, or maybe we should mention it for our listeners, but obviously COVID and and the impact that that's had. But how was that for you as a creator? Did that have an impact? Did that slow things down for you, or were you able to navigate around that?

SPEAKER_01 25:17

Yeah, uh, it's a it's a great question because I think it had multiple impacts. I think initially, so in France we went into a lockdown in mid-March last year, which lasted about six weeks, and I found myself unable to do anything. I was just glued to what was happening in the world, you know. I'd never seen anything like it, and I was quite shocked by what was going on, you know, and people dying in terrible numbers and terrible circumstances. And so I became paralyzed in terms of even reading. I've always been a reader, but I couldn't concentrate, it was just too much. So that and the other downside for me is I love walking, and um that's when I'm at my most creative. I'm either listening to audiobooks or I'm plotting and planning and thinking about my own. But um, part of the restriction here was that you could only go outside for an hour maximum per day within a one kilometer radius of your house.

SPEAKER_02 26:17

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 26:17

So my the time when I'm you know, when I'm inspired and being creative was sort of taken away from me. So that was the downside. As the year progressed, you know, I think we all came a bit more to terms with what was going on. The initial shock went into something more akin to mild despair. But you know, it I think we sort of became accustomed to what was going on, and and so towards the end of the year, um I was more or less back on track, and that's when I started writing the second novel. But the other really positive thing I would say is that uh I that's when I joined the book community on Instagram.

SPEAKER_03 26:59

Oh, lovely.

SPEAKER_01 27:00

So yeah, so that was about June or July last year, and that was just fantastic. What a revelation because I couldn't, I mean, I belong to reading groups here, but of course we haven't seen one another. Um, and so a lot of you know, this the social aspects of our lives, I think, have all been thrown up in the air, but this lovely community on Instagram, suddenly it was there, and we could talk to people about novels I was reading and novels they were reading, and it was a real lifeline, it was absolutely fantastic. Um so that was one of the best outcomes of uh 2020. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 27:37

Good, good. So it seems like you you did manage to overcome that initial period of of shock, and then um, you know, that you then move forward and you you join the the book reading club, and then and then you've gone on to to make this wonderful story. That's such a such a lovely thing to hear. It's great. It's it's a really nice thing to hear. Um, okay, good. So, in terms of life achievements, I would love to know a couple of things that you've been super proud of. It doesn't specifically have to be work-related, it can be a life achievement, it can be climbing a mountain, it could be visiting a particular country, uh, a wild food that you've never tried before, that you decided to try, whatever it is. Um, uh, yeah. Do you have any of those moments where you're just like, I'm I will never forget that experience?

SPEAKER_01 28:24

Oh, yeah, yeah. Well, actually, I mean, I think one of them would be um uh the first marathon I ran.

SPEAKER_02 28:31

Oh.

SPEAKER_01 28:31

So I didn't take up long distance running, well, marathon running until I was in my 50s. And so I ran my first marathon at the age of 52. Wow.

SPEAKER_04 28:42

And that's inspiration for everyone. I'm gonna get out now and go running.

SPEAKER_01 28:49

Yeah, and I mean it it really wasn't. It's an interesting thing actually about uh marathon running in particular, not just long distance running, but it there does seem to be a trend that older people do better at it. And one of the theories about that is it's because of the um the mental discipline that's required and kind of life trains you for discipline, you know. So you get to a certain age and you know the only way you ever succeed at something is to put in the hours and to push yourself and push yourself and push yourself. And so actually crossing the finishing line for the first time, I've I've since done six, so I've done six marathons in total. Um, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, and so uh that is definitely, I would say, for me, you know, hugely proud of that.

SPEAKER_03 29:38

Uh when you said earlier that you loved running, I thought it was just a little run around the park, you know, listen to the birds chirping and all that kind of thing. Wow, that's that is impressive. Incredible, incredible.

SPEAKER_01 29:51

Yeah. All right, well then, yeah, yeah. So that would and the other one I would say as well is is finishing and publishing a novel.

SPEAKER_04 29:58

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:59

Because it it actually I was gonna say is I think you know, as an artist, actually you give something of yourself, you expose yourself and say, Okay, here's a my creative output, and it does take a lot of courage. It would be much easier to create something and then hide it in a drawer because no one can ever critique it, or you know, so so I think actually having the courage to do that is another thing that well it's it's the vulnerability factor, isn't it?

SPEAKER_03 30:24

It's it's your work, it's what means so much to you, and then you're you're sort of hoping that people are going to enjoy it and um appreciate it, and yeah, I can imagine that would be tough. I'm immensely distracted all of a sudden because we have a a cameo appearance that's just popped in behind you. You're you have a lovely cat. Oh, yes, just coming to say hello there.

SPEAKER_01 30:45

That's Vincent. Yes, hello Vincent.

SPEAKER_03 30:47

Hello, Vincent.

SPEAKER_01 30:48

He's quite in it. Yes, most people in the the community that I'm on on uh Instagram know Vincent, he makes a regular appearance. Yeah, and he's called Vincent because uh he has he only has one ear, so we named that after Vincent Van Gogh because he's a redhead with one ear.

SPEAKER_03 31:03

There we go, there we go. That's awesome. Uh so for everyone watching this on YouTube, you'll be able to see Vincent. But uh for those that aren't, he's just nicely perched, he's enjoying the sun coming in through the window, he's having a lovely time. Anyway, let's move on. Let's move on. Um, all right, good. So um where's the best place for people to contact you or reach out to you if they would like to find out more about your uh Lazarus Remembered, about you yourself?

SPEAKER_01 31:30

Um course, yeah. So we have a website and it's um conveniently called Lazarusremembered.com.

SPEAKER_02 31:38

Yeah, easy.

SPEAKER_01 31:39

And yeah, if you go on there, there's a contact form. Um to and there's also there's lots of other information. There's bios of all the people involved in uh in Lazarus Remembered. Um, and also I'm on Instagram as well as EJ HarperAuthor. And you know, I love connecting with people that love books and love stories, and yes, that's another way you can message me there. It's probably the two two easiest ways to find me. And I'm on Twitter as well as EJ HarperAuthor.

SPEAKER_03 32:08

Awesome. And uh for our listeners out there at the end of the episode, we're going to play a few extracts from Lazarus Remembered. We'll have the trailer on the YouTube channel, and then we're actually going to play uh an audio segment for uh the podcast platforms as well. So you get to hear and get a taste for the story. Uh and you you will then very quickly realize how amazing it is and be desperate to get out there and and uh and buy that by that wonderful story. Um before we go, I know you're a busy lady. We're gonna play a little game if you don't mind, Gene. Uh bit of would you rather? I'm gonna ask you five questions. This is where I turn into a game show host. Uh I don't know why. My voice suddenly changes and everything, but uh anyway. Um good. So uh yeah, are you ready to go? Five questions. Don't give it too much thought. The first thing that pops into your head, off we go. Number one, okay would you rather own your own boat or your own plane?

SPEAKER_01 33:07

Um I love the water, but no, plane.

SPEAKER_02 33:12

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 33:13

Plane, yeah. The idea of never having to check in or stand in a cube or lose my luggage again is very appealing.

SPEAKER_00 33:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 33:22

No, I second that, absolutely. Um, all right. Number two, would you rather see what was behind every closed door or be able to guess the combination of every safe on the first try?

SPEAKER_01 33:36

See what's behind every closed door. Uh, although I might get some nasty surprises.

SPEAKER_04 33:43

Who knows? Who knows?

SPEAKER_03 33:45

I think that's what it could be a comedy, a thriller, or a horror. No idea. Yeah. All right, number three. Uh, would you rather be able to dodge anything, no matter how fast it's moving, or be able to ask any three questions and have them answered accurately?

SPEAKER_01 34:05

The second one. I'd rather be able to ask any three questions. Um, that's the scientist in me, I think. And it would be biggies, like, you know, are we alone in the universe? That kind of thing. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 34:16

Nice, nice, nice, nice. All right, number four, uh, two more. Uh, would you rather be forced to dance every time you heard music or be forced to sing along to any song you heard? So dancing or singing to everybody.

SPEAKER_01 34:34

That's an easy one. I think for everybody else's sake, it would be dancing because you don't want to hear me sing again.

SPEAKER_03 34:40

Okay, okay. I actually do. I would love to hear you sing, but anyway, uh, I won't put you on the spot. I won't do that to you. Um, all right, number five. Would you rather have all your clothes fit perfectly or have the most comfortable pillow, blankets, and sheets in existence?

SPEAKER_01 34:58

The second one. A comfortable pillow is my idea of heaven. Yeah, that would be my desert island luxury. A comfortable pillow.

SPEAKER_03 35:06

There we go.

SPEAKER_01 35:06

Yeah, very easy.

SPEAKER_03 35:08

Comfortable pillow on on a private plane, flying around, never checking it.

SPEAKER_00 35:13

Yes. Very good. Absolutely. They're great questions. They're really, really good, really provocative. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 35:19

Yeah, yeah. Um, good, good answers. All right. So, the very lastly, Jean, uh, we would love your final thoughts. Uh, positive, uplifting thoughts for our audience on approaches to life, how they can deal with positive or negative change, that sort of thing.

SPEAKER_01 35:37

Uh the thing I would say there is um it's never too late. So, you know, as I said, I ran my first marathon at the age of 52 and I published my first novel. I'm in my mid-50s now. And I often think there's a point you get you can get to in your life. Or I hear people say, Oh, well, what's what's the point of me doing this now? I'm 60 or I'm 75. You know, I'm 75. What's the point of learning to play the piano at my age? You say, Well, in five years' time, you're still you're going to be 80, and you'll either be an 80-year-old that can play the piano or an 80-year-old that can't. So, which one do you want to be? You know, so for me, it's like it's never too late to try something new. And uh, that would be my absolute philosophy on life. Yeah. Wonderful.

SPEAKER_03 36:24

Never too late, guys. You heard it here first. All right, get out there and run that marathon. Come on.

SPEAKER_01 36:32

No excuses now, Warren. No excuses. I know, I know.

SPEAKER_04 36:35

Oh, dear. Um, all right. I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna do it. Uh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 36:40

Oh, okay. You heard it here first.

SPEAKER_04 36:42

Yeah, I know, I know. I just said that.

SPEAKER_03 36:43

Oh, dude.

SPEAKER_00 36:44

Why did I say that?

SPEAKER_03 36:46

Now I have to do it. Uh all right, uh, Gene, thank you so much for today. Uh, it's been a pleasure having you on, and it's been a really interesting uh listen. You're a fascinating person, and uh get out there and uh listen to Lazarus Remembered, everyone. It's uh it's awesome. And uh yes, have a lovely day. Enjoy the sunshine. Um, yes, I'm not jealous, I'm not jealous at all. No, as I look out my window at snow and wind, it's fine.

SPEAKER_00 37:12

Um, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 37:14

Snow's lovely, Warren. Snow's beautiful. It is beautiful, it is beautiful. Yeah, all right, Jean.

SPEAKER_01 37:20

Brilliant, thank you very much. Okay, bye bye.