“It doesn’t matter what the sexuality of the character is. It’s the person,” author Ragini Werner told The Northern Times in an interview about her new book.
Becoming Janice is the latest book from Dutch-born author Ragini Werner who grew up in New Zealand. After living in London and Amsterdam, she settled down in the North of the Netherlands where she started a local writers club at the International Welcome Center North (IWCN). The Northern Times had a chat with Werner about her new book.
Use of Queer characters
Werner says she’s had two different responses to the main character Janice. Some got really annoyed by her but recognised she was growing and some really resonated with Jancie and her sexuality. However, she explains she doesn’t want to put the book in a box and wants to write for a universal audience.
“I’m a lesbian, and my characters are gay and lesbian because that’s close to me. It doesn’t matter what the sexuality of the character is. It’s the person,” Werner said.
She was still a bit concerned because she also wanted to reach straight readers. Luckily many readers understood Werner’s view on this.
Without revealing too much, Werner explains that for her, the book is about a young queer girl who has to learn to take responsibility for herself. “She’s somebody who finds, who experiences things and it’s not that she blames others, but she doesn’t take charge of her own life,” Werner explains. “She doesn’t say no and she doesn’t say yes, she just floats along.”
Werner stresses that even though she makes mistakes in looking for someone to replace her old lover, she learns from them. “At the end of the book, she’s much stronger and far more self-confident and far more in charge of her own life than she was at the beginning,” she said.
When asked how much Janice is Werner, she explains that small aspects of Janice are indeed her, which is inevitable since she created her.
Werner notes that she isn’t really meant to be any of the characters, even though she would like to be Colin. In fact, no character is inspired by anyone in her life, but this didn’t stop her friends from speculating.
“Friends of mine who have read the book, they’ve asked me, ‘Oh, am I so and so?’ And I look at them and I think, oh, you identify with that character?” She does find that a compliment as they’re treating them as real people, but sometimes she admits she also thinks: “What is your image of yourself?”
The story begins with Janice, newly arrived in London from Auckland, seeking to fill the void left by her first lesbian lover. Janice also finds herself running away to Amsterdam.
“I can’t help feeling a bit annoyed because the assumption is that, okay, you’ve written a book, but it’s not fiction. It’s based on your own life. It’s your life,” Werner said. “And it’s hard to get around that one because yes, I have lived in London. Yes, I have lived in Amsterdam. And yes, I do come from New Zealand. But those are my experiences, which I’d be a fool not to use. The book is fiction. It’s not based on real life.”
Werner’s favourite character in the book is Colin.
“It’s because Colin loves wordplay. He’s got this marvellous sense of humour. And he’s got this really silly sense of humour. And I have to admit, that’s my sense of humour. I’ve put all my silliness into Colin,” she explains.
“He’s not just laughing at Janice, he’s laughing at himself and laughing at life. And he’s got that objectivity that Janice lacks,” Werner added.
She also notes that Colin isn’t cruel, he’s just very camp. Werner explains that she likes this contrast and that if he were real she would definitely be friends with him because Colin’s humour is also her humour she explains – something she blames her mum for.
Writing process
The inspiration for the book was a short story called Treating Juno, which she uploaded to her website. The story serves as the prequel for the book and the main inspiration. “I remembered I had the short story and I started wondering, well, what happens after?” Werner explains.
Werner thinks the most important goal of Becoming Janice is to entertain readers. She hopes for it to be an “easy read with a riveting kick” and that readers can relate to Janice’s story. She also would like readers to think about what they would personally do since Janice comes across some uncomfortable situations. “The old saying is that you write the book you want to read, and this applies to me,” Werner said.
The book is set in the 1970s, which was a conscious decision for Werner. She moved to the north of the Netherlands in 2000 and before that, she lived in Amsterdam and London, where the book also takes place. Since both capitals have changed so much she didn’t want to rely on Google Maps – although it gives her a sense of what one would see today, it leaves out anything one would hear, smell, or feel in a place. Setting the book in the 70s meant she could rely on her own memories of the atmosphere.
Werner explains she’s a slow writer cause most of her creativity went into her work and her social media which she was very active on. However, when covid happened she suddenly had some more time and decided to get back to it. She worked together with author Corina Onderstijn who she describes as “a brilliant book doctor”.
“I would write a chapter and she would give feedback on it. And that was another prompt to keep me going. Knowing that I had to deliver the goods for Corina was a big help,” Werner said.
Werner also explains that being an editor, she kept revising her drafts constantly. Besides this, she asked a group of beta readers for feedback and she got a lot of constructive criticism.
“And then when I was over the hurt, I picked up the manuscript again and I started polishing it,” she said.
Future endeavours
She has been asked by a lot of people if Janice will get a sequel.
“I’m very tempted to do that. Have her come back to the Netherlands, because obviously, no spoilers, but whatever happens in Edinburgh doesn’t keep her there. And I might even have her move up to Groningen,” Werner said.
Werner’s book Becoming Janice is available at Walter’s Bookshop in the Oude Kijk in t’ Jat Street near the Harmony building, as well as her own website. Besides this, the book is also available at Bruna and Amazon. However, the book is printed in the UK, which means the shipping and import duty are added to the prices if you buy it in any of the shops besides her own website.
In September, Werner will be interviewed at an event in Groningen. More details will be released close to the date.
Photo: Leonie Kuizinga
