Get to know our author of our book of the month for August, Jess Kitching. Jess is an avid reader, writer and binge-watcher. Originally from Bradford, England, she lives in Canberra, Australia.
- To begin with, why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled?
My name is Jess Kitching and I am a Canberra-based author. I grew up in Bradford, Northern England, hence the ‘John Snow-esque’ accent! The middle child in my family, I’ve always had a love of reading and an overactive imagination… I crafted lots of stories throughout my childhood. I’m sure I had some impressive nightmares too!
In the UK, I studied a degree in English Literature at the University of Huddersfield before qualifying as a primary school teacher. I’ve been in Australia for over six years now. During my time here, I’ve lived in Sydney, Melbourne and now Canberra, and travelled a lot. I feel so lucky to call somewhere so beautiful home!
2. What did you want to be when you were twelve, eighteen and thirty? And why?
Honestly, I always wanted to be an author. My two ‘life goals’ were to write a book and live in Australia for a patch of time. To have done both is a very special feeling! It was only when I moved to Australia that I actively pursued my writing goals, though. There was something freeing about moving to the other side of the world. It gave me the confidence to say, ‘This is what I want to do’ and go for it. Because of that, and for many other reasons, Australia will always be so special to me.
3. What were three works of art – book or painting or piece of music, etc – you can now say had a great effect on you and influenced your own development as a writer?
My favourite book is The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I remember reading it when I was a teenager and being absorbed. The idea of a book written from the perspective of Death fascinated me. It was one of the first times I’d noticed narrative voice being played with in such a way.
Another book that had a big impact on me was Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl. I remember reading the reveal and thinking, ‘I have to find someone else who has read this book so we can talk about it!’ That was when I realised how powerful a reveal could be, and understood the way a book can grip a reader completely.
Outside of books, I always listen to music when writing. Nothing gets me more into the mood of a story! I often create a playlist to match the tone of the project I’m working on (my Spotify algorithm is very erratic!). But one piece of music that makes me feel all the emotion is a song called ‘Velvet’ by The Big Pink. It never fails to give me chills… I still remember exactly where and when I heard it for the first time.
4. Please tell us about your novel (which is also our BOTM!), The Life Experiment.
Thank you SO much for making The Life Experiment your book of the month! What an honour.
The Life Experiment centres around two lost strangers named Layla and Angus, who decide to join an experiment that will tell them the day they will die. Both at a crossroads in life for different reasons, they hope the knowledge will show them how to live. By chance, the pair meet in a cafe the same day they find out their result, not knowing that the other is involved in the experiment too. As this is a love story, sparks of course fly! But before anything can happen between them, Layla and Angus need to work through the news they’ve been told.
The Life Experiment is a story of love, connection, grief and, ultimately, hope. I started it in 2020, when Covid lockdowns made me stop for the first time in years and process how losing a friend to cancer in my early 20s pushed me to make huge changes in my life.
5. What do you hope people take away with them after reading your work?
I hope readers find optimism and heart in the story. The Life Experiment is a book that asks people to take themselves, their dreams and their relationships seriously, and to find small joys in everyday moments. Above everything, I hope these are the themes that shine through.
6. Whom do you most admire in the realm of writing and why?
My writing hero has always been Jacqueline Wilson. She wrote some of my favourite childhood books, covering topics like living with a parent with mental illness or growing up in the care system. She balanced these deep themes with humour and lightness, and with characters who were not ‘good’ or ‘bad’, but lived in the grey. Her work taught me empathy and the importance of stories that reflect the human experience. I loved that she was a writer who never talked down to me – she showed me the world as it was and invited me to make up my own mind about it. While I don’t write in the same genre as her, I see so much of her influence in my writing.
7. What advice do you give aspiring writers?
The only bit of advice I’d give is to get the first draft down. It’s the hardest one, but the most important.
From talking to other writers, I’ve realised we all create in such different ways. For example, I always know the end of a story first then work backwards to create an idea. The one thing all writers seem to agree on, though, is the importance of the first draft. So many times I’ve fallen into the habit of getting halfway then going back to the start or obsessing over a few lines to the point that I lose the momentum of my writing. First drafts are meant to be messy.
The Life Experiment
A poignant, life-affirming love story about two people whose lives are turned upside down when they enter an experiment that predicts when they will die. For fans of Beth O’Leary, David Nicholls and Matt Haig.
When OPM Discoveries puts out an ad seeking participants for The Life Experiment, a study that claims it can predict when people will die, two strangers searching for meaning apply.
Layla, a corporate lawyer, has foregone all relationships for her career, stuck in an endless cycle of late nights, impossible deadlines and the London rat race. Growing up on the poverty line, Layla has fought tirelessly to better her circumstances. But with work grinding her down, she wonders if happiness can be found behind a desk after all.
Angus, son of the esteemed Fairview-Whitley family, is struggling with his family’s expectations after the death of his brother and a failed investment. Unsure of what to do with his life, Angus is frozen in a cycle of long hours and lazy days, watching time pass him by.
Unaware that they are participating in the same experiment, Layla and Angus meet by chance in a café the same day they get their shocking results. Their attraction is instant, but can they open their hearts to more when their time might be brief?
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