Jan-Philipp Sendker, author of The Art of Hearing Heartbeats and A Well-Tempered Heart, joins us to talk about happy endings, Burma and his upcoming trilogy.
Joyce: Welcome to HEA, Jan-Philipp! At first glance, A Well-Tempered Heart might not look like a novel with a romance. But it's there — and has a happy ending. Please tell us about it.
Jan-Philipp: The story in A Well-Tempered Heart is a bit darker, maybe sadder, than the one in The Art of Hearing Heartbeats, but readers also tell me that it is equally romantic, moving and inspirational. At its heart, the book is about the art of forgiving. One of the most difficult and important things we have to do in life. All of us get hurt emotionally at one point or another. Some of us are injured more deeply than others. Some so badly that they barely survive, or not at all. My book tells the story of someone who had to suffer at a young age for many years. He carries the pain, anger, and hatred from this experience around, until finally he realizes that only by forgiving can he be set free.
You are right about the happy ending. I don't think I could write a book that does not give you some hope at the end. That's just who I am.
Joyce: What is it about Burma that drew you for the setting of A Well-Tempered Heart and its prequel, The Art of Hearing Heartbeats?
Jan-Philipp: It truly is, or was, a magical country. I went there for the first time in May of 1995 when it was very slowly starting to open up after having been basically closed to the outside world for almost four decades. For better or worse it was completely untouched by our commercial, capitalistic lifestyle. The living standard was very low. Life was difficult. But despite the hardship, people did not pity themselves. They were incredibly friendly and hospitable, very humble and spiritual. It was an eye (and heart) opening experience for me.
I have been there many times since and feel that Burma has given me deep insight into what we have both gained and lost in modern society. Setting my first novel and its sequel there was an intuitive decision that felt completely natural. Those two stories could not have taken place anywhere else.
Joyce: You spent some time as a journalist before you became a novelist. Why do you think journalists make good novelists? Is it because they're exposed so intensely to the human condition? Or something else?
Jan-Philipp: I can only answer that for myself. I do think being a journalist helped me to become a novelist. As a journalist I learned how to do research. How to listen to people and their stories, their grief, pain, and hopes. I learned to watch people, to observe, to take in the sights and sounds of a place, which proved very useful to me when I decided to set my novels in Burma. Not being part of the Burmese culture, this was not an easy task, since I ran the risk of falling into one stereotype and cliché after another. To be authentic requires a lot of research. Luckily, readers in Burma have assured me that I achieved the authenticity I was aiming for.
Joyce: Please tell us more about A Well-Tempered Heart.
Jan-Philipp: It is a book I never planned to write. Years passed between the publication of The Art of Hearing Heartbeats and A Well-Tempered Heart. About three years ago I was traveling in Burma, sitting in a tea house, daydreaming. All of a sudden I started to think about Julia, the American lawyer who is one of the main characters in the first book. I was wondering what she might be doing now. How the first trip to Burma had changed her life. And slowly, very slowly, a story evolved. I went back to Germany and tried to get Julia out of my mind because I was writing another book, but I could not stop thinking of her. It was weird. After a few months I gave in and decided to listen to her. There was a story inside me that needed, that wanted to be told. Even though it is set in the United States and Burma, I think this is my most personal book so far.
Joyce: What can readers expect to see from Jan-Philipp Sendker next?
Jan-Philipp: I am working on a trilogy set in contemporary China. It is part love story, part suspense, and the first two novels have come out in Germany with great success. They are being translated into English right now and I am hoping that they will be published in the United States soon.
Joyce: Is there anything you'd like to add?
Jan-Philipp: Yes. I would like to thank my readers. I have wanted to become a novelist ever since I was 13. That I am able to write books now, tell the stories I want and need to tell and make a living out of it is due to the continuing and enthusiastic support from my readers. For that I am very grateful!
Joyce: Thanks, Jan-Philipp!
To find out more about Jan-Philipp and his books, visit artofhearingheartbeats.com.
HEA contributor and curator Joyce Lamb has 25 years of journalism experience and eight published romantic suspense novels, three of which have been RITA finalists. You can reach her at jlamb@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter (@JoyceLamb). You can also follow HEA on Twitter (@HEAusatoday).
Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2014/01/29/interview-jan-philipp-sendker-author-of-a-well-tempered-heart/
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