Broken is Beautiful is a novel about breaking, mending and how to be friends across idealogical divides.
How do you mend the broken, be it toasters, relationships or people? Julia once re-created broken objects to be better than before. However, a series of earthquakes triggered Julia’s descent into apathy and now she’s lost the will to repair anything, including herself. She’s going to a support group for help – Obsessives Associated. Each member has their own obsession to overcome – eating plasterboard, amassing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, brand-name tattoos. Finding a friend in Lynda, a doll-obsessed marathon runner, Julia feels as though she’s finally on the mend until a dilemma fragments the group and threatens to break Julia all over again. Which glue repairs fractured humans?
The story is a perspective on the pandemic years in the hermit kingdom of New Zealand. For the people of Christchurch, the notion of a civil emergency was no new thing. The majority remembered vividly how their city broke apart at the seams in the four major earthquakes of 2009 and 2010. Ultimately hopeful, ‘Broken is Beautiful’ is a story of people, their relationships, their differences, and the futures they create from their shared narratives.
Threads of Connection is a novel about the continuum between right and wrong and the importance of community.
What would you do if your friend sank a coal ship in the interests of saving the planet?
In a future Christchurch battered by climate change, three women lead storytelling workshops to bring people together in challenging times. But when a shocking act of protest comes to light, friendships and beliefs are pushed to their limits. Discover a gripping story of resilience, community, and the bonds that help us face an uncertain future.
Our climate is changing and we are going to have to change along with it. This story is one perspective on what changes might take place and how people can respond, together, to face the inevitable future. ‘Threads of Connection’ is about friends, community and finding joy in uncertain times.
Read about Jane’s approach to climate fiction in The Post
Read about Jane’s thoughts on climate change in Newsroom
Hear Jane talking about climate fiction on RNZ