Why do we need Older Characters in Books?

Why do we need older characters in books?

One of the joys of reading is when you can relate to a character and feel as though you could be best friends with them. I loved reading rom-coms in my twenties and thirties with fun female characters navigating the dating scene. However, as I reached my forties, I noticed that most of the books I picked up were still about those twenty and thirty-year-olds and I could no longer relate quite as much. I had lost interest in reading about couples hooking up at clubs.

I suddenly wanted to read about relationships where there were the dynamics of stepchildren and second chances. Thus, I saw a huge gap in the market for relatable 40 and 50-year-old characters and over. I wanted to know where those everyday people were who juggled marriage/ divorce with parenthood, ailing parents and trying to keep a job down. Aside from that, I wanted to show the world that the 50+ generation can have fun lives too. Yes, even with a splash of romance thrown in! I felt characters of this age had so much to bring to the world of fiction and I was determined to do something about it.

My debut, Twice in a Lifetime, is set in New York and Wales, in the UK. The novel is a romcom about a transatlantic love affair with a 48-year-old main character. Amelia is a mum of naughty twins who is down on her luck, following her divorce. When she clears out her mother’s attic and finds a suitcase with the telephone number of a handsome New Yorker, who had asked her out on a date twenty years earlier, she decides to call him. Throughout the story, I wanted readers to laugh with Amelia as she got involved in all sorts of escapades. Mostly, I wanted to tell the world that heading towards 50 is not old and you can still have lots of fun. 

Similarly, the 50-year-old narrator, Martha, in A Scandinavian Summer has to re-evaluate her life when her husband dies suddenly. She bravely tries her best to comfort her teenage daughter, although Martha has flaws and struggles with her own issues. When her daughter moves out, all Martha has left is the Scandi Noir dramas that she watches on the television to keep her company when she is feeling lonely at night. The character of Martha was important to me as I wanted readers to know that people can struggle with loneliness when they find themselves alone. I felt that there were parents everywhere of this age who have to deal with an empty nest and may struggle to find themselves again. 

For my latest book, Fly me to Paris, I chose to have another fifty-year-old character. This time, Penny is a character who never had children and was in a long-term relationship. When the relationship is over, she realises how much time she has wasted with her boyfriend who never wanted commitment. Again, we have a character who has to pick herself up mid-life, but this time she chooses a career that she has always dreamed of. Penny becomes cabin crew and sees the world at the age of 50. She is proof that it is never too late. Penny’s story demonstrates that you may think your life is going a certain way, but you don’t always know the destination you will end up. 

Just like Penny, I was a little older when my career took a change in direction. I was previously cabin crew and, when I hung up my wings, I turned to journalism. Part of the reason that I got involved in journalism was that I thought it might help to have some published articles as I had always wanted to be an author since I was a child. However, as any aspiring writer knows, getting that manuscript into tip-top condition and, even harder, getting it published, can take time.

I was in my forties when I was fortunate to find my wonderful publisher, Hera, who agreed that books can sell with slightly older characters. I will always be eternally grateful for the faith they had in me. It is quite amazing when a publisher shares your vision and it was definitely worth the wait in getting published. Fortunately, I do think the trend is changing. There are now more books with older characters coming out all the time. I would still like to see this age bracket in more rom coms though, and it would be great if the movies had more older characters too. 

They used to say that life begins at forty, but I believe it doesn’t matter how old you are. Life can begin at forty, fifty, sixty, seventy or eighty! It is never too late to reach for your dreams, just as the characters in my books prove. 

Social Media contacts 

Twitter – @HelgajensenF

Instagram – @Helgajensenauthor

Facebook – @Helgajensenfordeauthor

Author bio  

Helga Jensen is an award-winning British/Danish author and journalist. Her debut novel was a winning entry in the 2017 Montegrappa First Fiction competition at Dubai’s Emirates Literary Festival. Her debut was also a contender for the coveted 2021 Joan Hessayon Award for new writers. Helga’s second romantic comedy, A Scandinavian Summer, went straight to number one on the Amazon Kindle charts for Danish travel on its publication day. Helga holds a BA Hons in English Literature and Creative Writing, along with a Creative Writing MA from Bath Spa University. She is currently researching for a PhD.

Fly me to Paris 

Penny is not living her best life.

Her job is far from thrilling and her long-term boyfriend shows no sign of wanting to commit.

She has just turned fifty and is going nowhere.

Wanting a new start, Penny applies for a job as cabin crew, to find out if she can push herself out of her comfort zone.

Her new job brings the adventure she craves, even if she does keep bumping into impossibly handsome but deeply annoying pilot, Matt Garcia.

Stuck in Paris on an unscheduled stopover, the chemistry between them grows. But the path of love never did fly smooth, as Matt’s past threatens to come between them.

Beside which, Penny is not looking for love. But what if love finds her?

A romantic, uplifting and inspirational read all about taking chances later in life – fans of Milly Johnson and Sandy Barker will love this!

BUY HERE: amzn.to/3Hg0JZF

 

 

Tags: featured, women writers

Category: On Writing