I’m appealing to the lover of stories in all of us

Known for her successful romance books, the novelist Jane Harvey-Berrick also has long-standing Polish links. “I wrote a series of adventure stories for children. The publisher decided to turn them into dual language books, as teachers were telling them that they had large intakes of pupils who were Polish and needed materials to help them integrate into British schools”, she explains in an interview with Brin Best.

When did you first get into writing in a serious way?

“Writing has always been an important part of every job I’ve had since I worked in marketing. So originally there was copywriting for advertisements and information packs.

But in 2001, I was made redundant so I decided to go freelance. I had a background in education, so initially I was writing materials for teachers to use in schools. I wrote short stories and mini-novels for children. Over 100, in total!

Five years ago, I started writing romance novels (with a different penname as I didn’t want children to be confused), and I’ve written 20 so far. I absolutely love it! I’ll be one of those people who wished they’d spent more time at the office when they die! I get such amazing and moving feedback from readers. I feel very, very blessed.”

You wrote several books for children, including some that were produced in English-Polish editions. Tell us more about that

“Yes, that was great fun. I wrote a series of adventure stories for children with exciting titles like Shark’s Fin Island and Adventure in Mexico. They were popular with children so the publisher decided to turn them into dual language books, as teachers were telling them that they had large intakes of pupils who were Polish and needed materials to help them integrate into British schools. I was delighted to be a part of that.”

A Polish friend of yours called Dorota helped you with your writing in several ways. Explain more about this support

“I met my Dorota through the website Fan Fiction (www.fanfiction.net). She was reading some stories I posted. She said it was to keep up her English skills, but she spoke (and wrote) better English than some locals I know! Dorota was struck by the comic line in one of my pieces of writing, ‘I am not a friend of Dorothy!’ (Dorota is the Polish equivalent of Dorothy) and that’s when she started writing to me.

She’d been a student in the UK when the Polish borders closed in 1981 and she got stuck here – a teenager with no money, and only one family member in the country. It was hard for her, being away from her parents, but it left her with amazing language skills. She also speaks fluent German and enough Russian to be able to sort out a problem I was having with a pirate e-book site.

At the time I was working on my dual-language English-Polish children’s books, and I was able to send them for her children to read. She was keen that their skills would be as good as hers – her whole outlook is very international.

As I moved from children’s writing to adult romance, she became a valuable beta reader for me. She picked up grammatical errors, but because she’d travelled so extensively, she was able to give me advice that helped flavour some of my stories which were set in countries that she’d visited extensively.

In one book, I had my characters riding a motorcycle down the coast of Italy. She criticised my description of the sea colour, saying it wasn’t really like that, and she also told me which wine my characters would have drunk.

To say she was outward-looking would be to misunderstand her. She’s a European, and proud of that fact. I’m proud to call her my friend. And I love how the internet can break down barriers of distance and foster friendships instead.”

What was it like making the transition to writing adult romantic fiction?

“I tell stories for a living, so it wasn’t really as different as it seems to other people. Obviously the content is different and the books are much longer, but essentially I’m appealing to the lover of stories in all of us, regardless of age.”

Two of your romantic fiction novels have recently been translated into Polish. Tell us more about these books

Yes these books are The Education of Sebastian (‘Edukacja Sebastiana’), which published in June 2017, and The Education of Caroline (‘Edukacja Carolina’), which is scheduled for publication in November 2017.

The Polish publisher, Pascal, approached me via my website. I was so excited that they wanted to translate my books and they even kept the original cover design concept. They told me that they decided to translate my first book mainly because of the plot and the very positive reader opinions abroad. They felt that many readers would the love the story of a young man and woman, older than him. They thought it was very original and interesting; it talks about forbidden love which is always addictive.”

Last year the same books had been translated into Portuguese for the Brazilian market, so they’re available in three languages now. I also have other titles translated into French and Italian, and I’ll be visiting book fairs in those countries to promote the books. I’d love to be invited to Poland to promote my books there.”

What are your plans for the future, as an author? 

“To be a bestseller, of course! Well, that would be nice. Mostly, I just want to keep writing. I have so many stories to tell! Too many stories and so little time.

Right now, I’m collaborating with a well-known rugby player on a story about a romance between a rugby player and a sports psychologist. Having insight into being an international athlete is fascinating (he played for England several times), and the collaboration is turning out to be great fun.

And then I’ve got two books planned about soldiers working in bomb disposal. That’s a subject very close to my heart as a good friend of mine works in EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal). We wrote a play about it together that was on in London and toured around the country, too. I get so angry about the way former soldiers are treated—my weapon of choice is words.”

FIND OUT MORE

Website www.janeharveyberrick.com

Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/JHBWrites/

‘Edukacja Sebastiana’ is available on Amazon now

***

This interview was carried out as part of the ‘Poles in the UK’ project, and is linked to the book Poles in the UK: A Story of Friendship and Cooperation (by Brin Best & Maria Helena Żukowska, 2016).

For more details, and to download 
a free eBook PDF version of the book, visit: www.polesintheuk.net.