Julietta Henderson was brought up in a book-loving family in the rainforests of North Queensland and has been writing professionally for more than 25 years. Having worked her way through jobs as diverse as a bicycle tour guide in Tuscany to an editor for a digital marketing agency, Julietta got serious about fiction writing when she completed a novel writing course in 2013. Now a full-time freelance feature and travel writer, Julietta divides her life mainly between Melbourne and the UK.
What books and authors have inspired you?
The books that truly move me are the ones defined by the simplicity of their writing and the complexity of their observations. I’m drawn to authors who I think achieve this so brilliantly; people like Nick Hornby, Roddy Doyle, Anne Enright, Tony Parsons, Marian Keyes and David Nicholls. Three books that will never fall out of my top ten and that continue to inspire me are Man and Boy (Tony Parsons), How to Be Good (Nick Hornby) and One Day (David Nicholls).
Norman desperately wants to be a comedian and is inspired by several comedy legends, who is your favourite comedian of all time?
Not surprisingly, most of those comedy legends that Norman loves so much are very close to my heart as well. But my all time favourite is the late Dave Allen, one of the greatest observational comedians ever, in my opinion. I remember watching him on TV as a child, and while I’m quite sure I didn’t understand his satire at the time, his cheeky ‘Irishness’ and absolute irreverence had me enthralled at first sight. Most of all though, he always struck me as such a gentleman.
We know that writing articles is your day job but Norman Foreman is your debut novel. What advice would you give to someone wanting to find their voice as a novelist?
Like many other authors my first published novel isn’t actually the first I’ve written and I have quite the collection of unfinished stories on my hard drive! But the difference is that I fell in love with Norman and Sadie’s story so much that my desire to push through and finish it was stronger than the temptation to stop. So I think for anyone who wants to write a novel, you have to create the time and space to listen to the story your heart is telling you – and then write the book that nobody else but you could write.
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About the Book
Norman and Jax are a legendary comedic duo in waiting, with a five-year plan to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe by the time they're fifteen. But when Jax dies before they turn twelve, Norman decides paying tribute to his best friend just can't wait... so he rewrites their plan. Look after mum, find Dad, get to the Edinburgh Fringe.
Sadie knows she's never going to win Mother of the Year, and not knowing exactly who her son's father is doesn't help. But when she finds Norman's new plan, all she wants is to see her son smile again. So they set off on a pilgrimage to Edinburgh, making a few stops to find Norman's dad along the way. An inspiring feel-good novel about a small boy with a big heart – and even bigger dreams.
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by Julietta Henderson
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