My Father's Shadow

An edgy young-adult thriller from 2015 black&write winner, Jannali Jones

Kaya is completing her Higher School Certificate when she is woken in the middle of the night by her mother. They are to pack immediately and go to their holiday home in the Blue Mountains. Her father is 'not coming back'. He has been involved in a court case to give evidence against some dangerous criminals.

Months later, they are still in hiding and the mysteries are multiplying. Kaya is not sure who to trust: her mother's new friend, the policeman or her new friend, Eric, from the local store.

Kaya is also recovering from memory loss caused by PTSD after a chilling encounter with the criminals. She is seeing a psychologist in an attempt to recall the evidence she might have to give in a forthcoming trial.

Her best friend Jenna has gone overseas and Kaya is trying to make sense of what is really happening.

Jannali Jones has crafted a thrilling story which keeps you on edge, right to the end.

Jannali Jones is a Krowathunkoolong woman of the Gunai nation. She holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Technology, Sydney. Jannali was the winner of the 2015 black&write! Indigenous Writing Fellowship and an inaugural recipient of Magabala's Australian Indigenous Creator Scholarship. Her short stories and poetry have been published in literary journals in Australia and overseas, including Overland, Southely and Review of Australian Fiction and Westerly. When not writing, Jannali enjoys spending time with her family, video gaming, going to the movies and reading.

My Father's Shadow
Magabala Books
Author: Jannali Jones
RRP: $14.99

Interview with Jannali Jones

Question: How did you come up with the idea of My Father's Shadow?

Jannali Jones: I'd heard about a writing prize called the Black&Write! Indigenous Writing Fellowship that I had always wanted to enter, but felt that the novel I was working on at the time didn't have a good enough concept. So instead I decided to start from scratch. I often jot down little ideas that I have from time-to-time on a list. It's quite random and I don't always remember when or where I got the idea from. Some of the items on my current list include "cassettes and guitar cases" or "young and upcoming graf artist ditching school" - so they're often not fully formed but more images or concepts I think might lead somewhere at some point. So I looked at my list to see if there was anything that inspired me. One of the ideas was of two people driving dangerously along a windy mountain road at night. I thought that was an interesting idea and set about writing who these people were and what their story was. The final book is quite different to what I originally wrote, but that's essentially where the story started.


Question: How much of the inspiration came from your own experience?

Jannali Jones: I did use some of my own experience in the characters and background, as well as the setting. I lived in the Adelaide Hills when I was a child and I also visited Mount Wilson in NSW's Blue Mountains. That really helped to bring the setting to life. Parts of Kaya are also based on my own experience, such as things that happened to her at school. The background story of Kaya's father is also inspired by real life events I'd heard about.


Question: There are several issues raised in this book. Was this deliberate or did the story evolve this way?

Jannali Jones: It was definitely something that evolved over time. I began with the central premise but then as I built the plot and introduced new characters, that created conflict and issues. For example, Kaya and her mum are in hiding after her father is murdered, which is quite a confronting series of events for a young person (or anyone!) to experience. Once I started writing I realised that it made sense that Kaya would probably be dealing with the impact of that in some way. People in those sorts of situations often end up with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and so I went and researched what having PTSD is like before going back to incorporate that into the draft. So it was definitely a process of weaving in layers as it made sense to the story, rather than starting with a list of issues I wanted to cover.


Question: What is the best thing about creating a character like Kaya?

Jannali Jones: Kaya can be a bit cheeky sometimes, and I like how she still has a sense of humour despite what she's been through in life. I also think her representation as a young Aboriginal girl is important, and I hope that helps challenge stereotypes about Aboriginal people.


Interview by Brooke Hunter

My Father's Shadow
Magabala Books
Author: Jannali Jones
RRP: $14.99