Q&A: Jennifer Kennedy, Author of ‘Our Gifted Hearts’

We chat with author Jennifer Kennedy about Our Gifted Hearts, which follows Fortune who must flee her village after she’s accused of witchcraft and to spare her neck, married a man she barely knows. But is the man who promises to be her saviour all he seems?

Hi, Jennifer! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

Hello everyone! I was born and raised in Liverpool and still live there today. I’m an English teacher by day and a hermit who writes stories by night. I love reading of all kinds, but my favourite genres are gothic and speculative fiction. The Thing and Alien are my comfort movies. My favourite tea is Peppermint and Liquorice.

When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?

I have always loved stories. Since before I can remember I have loved being lost in a good story. Writing came much later! I was in my late-thirties before writing anything creative, but once I started I was hooked. And here I am ten years later sending my debut novel out into the world. What a crazy ride it has been! 

Quick lightning round! Tell us:

• The first book you ever remember reading: A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
• The one that made you want to become an author: This is difficult because there wasn’t one book alone. I think it was an amalgamation of the books I’ve read and loved throughout my life.
• The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Another hard one! But I’d have to say Wuthering Heights has haunted me since my teens.

Your debut novel, Our Gifted Hearts, is out October 14^th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

Atmospheric, isolated, secrets, lies, and ravens!

What can readers expect?

Fortune Blyth suffered the loss of a secret child when she was sixteen and vowed never to let another man touch her. Ten years later she is content living a spinster life with her Ma and beloved birds.

But when witch hunters come to town, it isn’t long before fingers are pointed her way, and Fortune is forced to choose – stay and hang, or marry a relative stranger and escape. She chooses marriage.

But her husband’s island residence is not the safe haven she was promised. Plagued by the sinister secrets of the house, Fortune discovers that there are some things worse than death. 

Perhaps she would have been better off hanging after all…

Where did the inspiration for Our Gifted Hearts come from?

It came to me as an image at first. A woman standing on a cliff edge being circled by ravens. I started re-reading my old gothic favourites and came across The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter. This is one of my favourite stories and why Our Gifted Hearts has ended up as a loose retelling of Bluebeard. But ultimately, I was inspired by my love for the gothic genre. Readers will find many gothic tropes covered in the plot, setting, and characters. It is my love-letter to the genre. 

Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?

Yes! There are many, but I really enjoyed writing the conversations between Fortune and Esme. Esme is Fortune’s mother-in-law and is incredibly eccentric. She wears extravagant clothes and make-up with nowhere to go, she has interesting views about love and marriage. And of course, with this being a gothic novel, not everyone is as they seem so I had a lot of fun including clues that would be picked up on when reading for a second time.

Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?

I enjoy a challenge and writing this book gave me many! I think my main challenge was getting the book to a standard I was happy with. I wrote many drafts and worked on my craft. I felt I was at a bit of a disadvantage due to me starting writing quite late, but the positives to that were that I already had the skills needed to persevere. As a teacher and mother I already had patience in droves, and knew that good things come with consistency and strength.

This is your debut published novel! What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?

It has been incredibly exciting! I joined my first writing online writing group in June 2017, then attended my first writing event later the same year. I met friends there that are still friends today and my writing world has expanded exponentially. I had no idea this writing world existed before then and I’ve never met such kind and supportive people, or made so many close friends.

It has taken roughly ten years from first picking up the pen to seeing Our Gifted Hearts out in the world, and I’ve been incredibly lucky. 

What’s next for you?

At the moment I’m riding high on my debut’s release, but can feel the makings of another novel stirring at the back of my mind. It isn’t fully formed yet, but I’m looking forward to writing many more novels, and meeting many more wonderful people. It would be really nice to get out of the house a bit more and do some events too! 

Lastly, what books have you enjoyed reading this year? Are there any you’re looking forward to picking up?

I’m currently reading Babel and absolutely loving it. Other books I’ve read and loved this year are Slewfoot, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, Blood on Her Tongue, and The River Has Roots. I can feel myself falling down a dark academic rabbit hole because of Babel so I will seek out similar books. The library at Hellebore is definitely on the list.

Will you be picking up Our Gifted Hearts? Tell us in the comments below!