A Prose By Any Other Name

(Or, one girl’s guide to genre-busting and following your intuition)

When I am asked what my book is about and I explain that it’s the interwoven stories of a genetic scientist and a prehistoric shaman there can be some interesting reactions. Often the initial response is a surprised ‘oh?’ (Even from people who may be familiar with my New Scientist reading habit). This is usually followed by further expressions of bemusement. Why would this particular nexus of subject matter so inspire a middle-aged woman (who spent much of her career in the arts, media and marketing) to invest eight years of weekends in a novel of this nature? My response has always been a polite but provocative, “why shouldn’t it?”

After all, so many of us love a great nature documentary, don’t we? Or something fascinating about our ancient ancestry making headlines news? Or an audio-visual journey into the wonders of our universe? For me it is only a small further step to ask, “Ah, yes, but… what if?” At which point the storytelling cluster of my brain cells kicks into action. Characters start to come to life and demand to be written about, landscapes begin to form and relationships begin to build.

Although, if I’m honest, when I was about halfway through writing this book I did ask myself what the heck I thought I was doing taking on such meaty subjects, ones in which I have no formal academic background. But then, an ‘amateur take’ was partly the point – I wanted to absorb such complex themes and translate them into something accessible, relatable and meaningful, while also telling a captivating tale. None of which came easy. But with perfect timing, just as I was considering abandoning the effort, I came across a couple of uplifting quotes from the venerable Carl Sagan.

The first was:

“Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere.”

The second, also from his book, Cosmos, was:

“For small creatures such as we the vastness is bearable only through love.”

Both of these aphorisms set me back on track in vital ways. A reminder that science, wonder, imagination and creativity are open to all of us, they are the natural gifts of our species.

Sagan’s words reminded me that the driving forces for my pair of protagonists, as different as each woman and her world could be, were aligned with what we all have in common. Whatever that compulsion is, whether it comes from our DNA, our social programming, the evolution of our consciousness – whether it is some basic instinct of survival, as some believe, or a divine gift as others prefer – Love or the need for it, seems to be the force that connects us all… as surely as all those ‘entangled’ particles that fizz and pop within the fabric of the universe.

I was reminded that without imagination so much of our progress, discoveries and understanding would have stalled, indeed we might not yet have learned to walk upright, or make fire. (Though some might say, for the sake of ecology, such a stasis would have been a preferable outcome!)

My novel, Bone Lines, is a book about the human condition, about what makes us who we are, and as such I’m hoping it will appeal across the spectrums of age and gender. However, it was also important to me that my primary characters were women. That’s not to say the book should be strictly labelled as, or restricted to ‘women’s fiction’, whatever that means. But I felt that the undervalued and unsung role that women have played in our pioneering history – indeed in our very survival – needed to be explored. In some ways, cutting off from the feminine principle and our closeness to nature, the devaluing of ‘intuition’ seems to have played a big part in tipping us out of balance?

While rationality is key to both the book and to my scientist character, Dr Eloise Kluft, she remains open to a sense of possibility when it comes to the big questions. Meanwhile, the shaman character (or ‘Sarah’ as her bones have been named in the contemporary narrative) practises a form of measured observation and experimentation, of the kind that may have evolved into our scientific methods. Nevertheless, intuition plays a significant part in her prehistoric storyline, one in which a young woman with a tiny child must travel alone towards some ‘received’ sense of sanctuary in the wake of a massive natural disaster.

I didn’t contemplate the demands of genre while I was writing Bone Lines, it was simply the book I wanted and needed to write. But once it became a publishing prospect, I was forced to face some commercial realities. The market loves a label, the bookshop prefers a well-defined shelf and the reviewer needs an idea of at whom the book is aimed.

At every turn, Bone Lines defied a pigeonhole. I prefer to call it genre-fluid, but whether defiant, bending or busting, it resists classification. Yes, it has elements of sci-fi, cli-fi and historical fantasy but it is also grounded in recognisable worlds and anchored by, hopefully, relatable people. It delves into science but is mostly about everyday struggles for love and meaning. It explores survival under the harshest conditions, but offers the hope and salvation to be found in kindness, sacrifice and endurance. It is about loneliness, relationships, ambition, ingenuity and belief, it is about nature and nurture, curiosity and courage.

Whatever label it may be given, from the moment I wrote the first line I was fully aware that the subjects I was tackling could be as divisive, as I hope, connecting, but also I have felt that people will read what they will into this book and take from it what they want, which is more than fine by me. I am thrilled at the thought of it being read at all… And so glad that I followed my intuition when writing it.

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Born in Hong Kong to expats from Liverpool (and something of a nomad ever since), Stephanie is based in London but manages her sanity by escaping to any kind of coast. Before returning to her first love of writing fiction, Stephanie spent many years pursuing alternative forms of storytelling, from stage to screen and media to marketing. Meanwhile, an enduring love affair with words has led her down many a wormhole on the written page.

Drawn to what connects rather than separates, Stephanie is fascinated by the spaces between absolutes and opposites, between science and spirituality, nature and culture. This lifelong curiosity – and occasional conflict – has been channelled into her debut novel, Bone Lines, and into short stories, poems and various works in progress. This includes ideas for the continuation of the Children of Sarah series, of which Bone Lines is the first story.

http://stephaniebretherton.com/

twitter: @BrethertonWords

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BONE LINES, Stephanie Bretherton

A young woman walks alone through a barren landscape in a time before history, a time of cataclysmic natural change. She is cold, hungry and with child but not without hope or resources. A skilful hunter, she draws on her intuitive understanding of how to stay alive… and knows that she must survive.

In the present day, geneticist Dr Eloise Kluft wrestles with an ancient conundrum as she unravels the secrets of a momentous archaeological find. She is working at the forefront of contemporary science but is caught in the lonely time-lock of her own emotional past.
Bone Lines is the story of two women separated by millennia yet bound by the web of life. This intriguing tale of love and survival, of courage and the quest for wisdom also explores the nature of our species and asks what lies at the heart of being human.

Gracefully written… a brave and moving adventure of the imagination. Lindsay Clarke, author of The Chymical Wedding

A monument to the timelessness of human nature, and a work of art… a masterpiece of pacing. Bretherton ignites her characters with a life, complexity, a personality with which any number of readers will identify and empathise with. Naomi Moore, Editor, New Orbit literary magazine
Bretherton weaves a cat s cradle of human history, from the panoramic overview to day-to-day existence. An accomplished debut… one to watch. Su Bristow, author of Sealskin

“A brilliant, genre-defying read, Bone Lines deftly unravels the wonder of oneness.” Barbara Bos, Editor, Women Writers, Women s Books.

Compelling… the story drew me in completely… a fascinating read. Cheryl Morgan-Muir, book blogger

BUY THE BOOK HERE

 

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