Jennifer is joining us today to talk about her novel, Our Gifted Hearts. Here’s the publisher’s description:
When she’s accused of witchcraft, Fortune must flee her village to spare her neck, marrying a man she barely knows. But is the man who promises to be her saviour all he seems?
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 with her beloved birds. But when witch hunters come to town it isn’t long before fingers are pointed at the spinster and she is forced to choose; stay and hang, or marry a man who can offer her safety far from home.
She chooses marriage.
Her husband’s island home is not the safe haven she expected, with a surly housekeeper and an eccentric mother-in-law to contend with. And there is something else; secrets hiding in the walls, demons creeping in her nightmares. Something sinister in the concealed tunnels below the house. It turns out she is not his first bride… Perhaps she would have been better off hanging after all.
What’s Jennifer’s favorite bit?
Writing Our Gifted Hearts was a labour of love for me. I love the gothic genre and this was my opportunity to pour all my favourite gothic tropes into a novel of my own. But of course, they had to work seamlessly. The last thing I wanted was for readers to think they had been shoe-horned in for no reason. The shady characters, the isolated mansion, and the secrets lurking behind closed doors, were all so much fun to play with! But within that I’d like to focus on a few of my absolute favourite tropes.
The Threat of Things to Come (Foreshadowing)
Creating the right atmosphere was absolutely vital to the story. I wanted the reader to feel a creeping sense of dread, even before Fortune, our protagonist, reached the isolated mansion. The unusual behaviour of the birds and the way they are drawn to Fortune hints early on that everything may not be as it seems – “The birds had gathered … they huddled around me, sensing my sorrow.”
Isaiah is an out-of-towner who proposes to Fortune, and when things turn ugly and she is accused of witchcraft, he offers her a way out; a safe haven on his island home as his wife. Isaiah has a big presence and dark secrets, and I often used light to reflect the impact he has on the space and the people within it – “The fire reflected in his deep-set eyes … They flickered and shifted as he moved … They sucked in the light from the room.” I hope that when readers reach the moment of the whirlwind wedding, they are shouting at Fortune not to do it! Find another way!
The hanging of Old Rita in chapter three is something that haunts Fortune for the rest of the novel. She doesn’t believe Old Rita is a witch but there is nothing she can do to help. And when the village turns on her she knows there is no way out. Old Rita was hanged for a much lesser crime than she is accused of. Fortune refers to a noose around her neck tightening as the tension ramps up later in the novel, reminding us of the horror of death, and Fortune’s fear of it. But what is a gothic novel if not the fear of death?
The Witch’s Familiar
Our Gifted Hearts isn’t exactly a witchy book, but I do love a familiar and with Fortune being alone most of the time she needed an animal friend. As she is unusually familiar (pun intended) with birds, there was no question she would have a feathered side-kick.
Enter Purdie! The most loving, loyal, and clever raven. I had so much fun writing Purdie, and enjoyed watching lots of videos about ravens on YouTube (thank you #fabletheraven) I wanted Purdie to have her own personality from the beginning and what better way than to scare some men on her first appearance – “[She] lifted off with a flutter and dived, sweeping low across the deck … Sailors ducked and cursed. Some crossed themselves.” But when she appears again at Fortune’s side, alone on the island, we see she is much more friendly – “A raven flew in and landed on the rocks beside me. She hopped up the cliff face, keeping my pace.”
Purdie is there in Fortune’s darkest moments and likes to comfort her by nibbling her hair as she falls asleep. She is a fierce protector and will do anything she can to help Fortune in this dangerous place. She also provides moments of joy in the all the sadness and worry. She is the very best of familiars!
The House
Ah, the house. My secret obsession is houses, particularly gothic ones. Count Dracula’s Castle anyone? Did anyone else want to move there and roam the endless halls and discover secret rooms and dungeons? Just me? Maybe while Dracula was away in London. But seriously, gothic castles have a certain mood, and I wanted to capture that in Isaiah’s island home.
It was important to evoke the feeling of being unwelcome, as if the walls themselves were whispering for Fortune to leave. To run. To never look back. It starts with her first view of the house – “And there, set back on the grassy crown above the cove, nestled into the island like an eagle hunkering, was the house.” The house is almost a character in itself, and like all the other characters, it has hidden depths. It is up to Fortune to uncover them.
Fortune feels incredibly uncomfortable when she arrives at the house alone. Isaiah had business and promised that his housekeeper, Zena, would look after her when she arrives, but the house and its keeper are determined to see her gone before she has taken off her boots. Even gaining entrance is a challenge – “The iron knocker was heavy and cold … and I flinched as it dropped … I waited but nobody came.” When she finally does enter Zena is no more welcoming – “She grabbed my wrist with a cold bony hand, and pulled me back out the front door.”
Thinking about the house as its own entity led to a lot of interesting scenarios, a lot of secrets, and a lot of fun!
Ultimately, Our Gifted Hearts was a wild ride! I strapped in my seat belt and went for the creepiest, most gothic story that my dark heart wanted to tell. I hope you enjoy the ride too.
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BIO:
Jennifer Kennedy is a gothic horror author from the North West of England. Her short stories and flash fiction have been published in various magazines and anthologies. When she isn’t writing she dreams of living in a haunted castle on the moors. Until then, she is content in her tiny house with her son and their extremely black cat. Our Gifted Hearts is her debut novel.