Helen Mirren on Rachael Johns’ wishlist for her new book Just One Wish, if it became a film
Aussie author Rachael Johns’ new chick-lit novel is funny and quirky. She also wants Helen Mirren if the book turns into a film.
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If you like your chick-lit with a dash of intelligent social commentary, Just One Wish is the perfect summer read.
Rachael Johns’ latest novel is sparklingly funny, quirky and totally of this moment.
It’s not The Female Eunuch or The Handmaid’s Tale, but it does ask the big questions — at the same time taking the reader to that perfect happy place one expects of the Perth author.
For that alone, it’s worth a place on the sun lounger.
Johns, who describes her work as “life-lit”, is a master of escapist fiction — deftly transporting the reader from Melbourne’s bustling city streets to an octogenarian birthday celebration aboard an Elvis-themed cruise (yes, they really exist) with a few thousand golden oldies.
Just One Wish is the story of family matriarch, leather-pants-wearing physicist and second-generation feminist Gralice (Grandma Alice); her daughter Sappho, a social media maven and 1950s housewife wannabe; and Sappho’s daughter Ged, a high-flying investigative journalist.
While on the outside all the women seem together, that is questioned when life delivers the unexpected.
“I like that women are all different but strong in their own way and that’s what I’ve tried to explore,” she said.
Focusing on the three and their relationships, Just One Wish is a light but insightful look at intergenerational feminism. The author dreamt up the concept at Perth Writers’ Week a few years ago.
“I was listening to (American author) Lauren Groff talking about how she never believed in marriage, she never thought she would get married. But then she fell in love with this man and he was the type of person who really believed in marriage and thought that was important. And he proposed to her and she was thinking, oh my gosh, this is my worst nightmare! But at the same time, she knew if she said no, she would lose him; and he was the most amazing man. So she said yes against her own values and she said it was the best decision she ever made.
“I thought, what would happen if she said no? Would she eventually, years down the track, regret it?”
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Euthanasia, abortion, climate change, feminism, gender equality and queerness are all a part of Just One Wish. While these areas can be fraught with danger, Johns navigates complex questions and moral dilemmas with gentleness, humour, and an ability to include the older generation in this modern tale.
“I wanted to explore different shades of feminism,” she said.
“In this day and age as women we are expected — by ourselves or society’s expectations — to have a family, we can have a really good career, all this stuff. And I like the concept of ‘you can have it all’, but not at the same time. We have to make choices in life that are not always the ones we want to make.”
When it comes to her own life, Johns juggles motherhood and writing, after years working as a teacher and owner of a supermarket while scribbling on the side, dreaming of becoming an author.
She is now up to a book count of 24 with number 25 due for release next year. As well as her successful and quickly-growing fiction stable (her last release Lost Without You was published in November 2018), outback romances and Mills and Boon imprints round out her tally.
Now writing full-time, Johns is refreshingly candid when discussing her own work-life balance.
“I do read, I don’t iron. I was thinking that I need to watch more TV. And I’m not much of a cook anymore!”
To help the writing process, Johns uses Pinterest to visualise her storyboard and characters and develop the clever plot lines and intricate character development … meaning she has already assigned actors to her characters for an imaginary (for the moment) Netflix version of Just One Wish.
Helen Mirren, Kerry Armstrong and Asher Keddie would be her top picks, with Michael Fassbender and Ryan Reynolds playing Ged’s love interests.
When she does take a moment to herself, Johns chooses crime fiction to enjoy the experience fully, without critiquing her own work while reading someone else’s story.
“I like reading Australian authors now because there’s so many,” she said.
Currently on her bedside table are Silver by Chris Hammer — and the “lovely” Liane Moriarty and Marian Keyes are two of her favourite authors.
“I would love Marian to read Just One Wish! That would be a dream come true.”
* Just One Wish by Rachael Johns is out now — and the HarperCollins Australia novel is also our Book of the Month for November, which means you get it for 30 per cent off! Go to Booktopia and use the code NCBT19.
And if you’re not already in the Sunday Book Club group on Facebook, check it out — from polls and extracts to videos and chat, there’s a lot happening for book lovers each week.
