ZILLAH BETHELL | AUTHOR INTERVIEW
Flights to exotic shores with the kids may be off the menu, but Zillah Bethell’s new children’s book The Shark Caller transports readers to the golden sands of Papua New Guinea. Just look lively, there are sharks in those crystal blue waters…
The Shark Caller, the latest adventure by south Wales-based kids’ author Zillah Bethel, follows the story of two girls with traumatic pasts – Blue Wing and Maple, who form an unlikely friendship in a world where men of magic can summon the beasts of the ocean. When Maple’s father, a tourist and explorer, starts acting suspiciously, the two girls unite in unravelling the mysteries he’s holding dear to his troubled heart.
Why has he brought Maple to stay in Blue Wing’s old family hut? What is he searching for amidst the waves and coral? And will Blue Wing ever settle the score with Xoc – the terrifying shark who took the lives of her parents?
Bethell uses a lot of authentic native phrases in The Shark Caller. But did she find it difficult to keep writing within the language of Papua New Guinea? “I grew up learning English and Ewa ge, the language of the sea people,” she says, “so it wasn’t too hard to write in a variant pidgin English. I nearly always write in the voice of my characters in any case. I like to inhabit other people’s skins, a little akin to method acting perhaps?”
Having grown up in Papua New Guinea, a place painted as exotic and enchanting in her work, but now settled in south Wales, does Bethell miss her old life? “I miss the simplicity of life there,” she confesses. “No newspapers, televisions, social media, fashion, cinema… just a deep connection with the land and the sea. Luckily, south Wales is on the edge of the land and is fairly mild with lots of rain, so not dissimilar to PNG. I don’t miss the mosquitoes and malaria! I do miss the azure sea and the magical coral reefs.”
With Xoc an imposing, crucial character in the story, it begs the question: has the author been up close with sharks for real?
“I did swim beside a shark once. I think it was a thresher shark. It was just like any other sea creature I have met, shy and beautiful. It swam beside me for a while, unsure, I imagine, who or what I was and then it simply disappeared. I could hold my breath for a very long time underwater and it’s very silent beneath the waves. All you can hear is your own heartbeat. I don’t remember feeling scared at all.”
Chimera, the elder, witchy outcast in The Shark Caller, speaks of spirits and communicating with the dead, something that fascinates both Blue Wing and Maple. But has Zillah ever seen anything spiritual that she couldn’t explain?
“Yes, many times,” she says. “Often when someone has passed, I see an insect like a butterfly or dragonfly. I often see a hawk when thinking about my late mother. I feel these are messengers from the next world. This belief is very ingrained in PNG where almost everything is seen to have an energy which lasts beyond the physical realm of existence. On a lighter note, I remember walking along the street, wondering whether to say yes to a marriage proposal, and around the corner a random woman appeared in a wedding dress! I said yes! That was 17 years ago…”
So what’s next for her?
“I’m just finishing my second contracted book for Usborne, which is a companion piece to The Shark Caller. It’s set in the Northern Territory of Australia – the red centre – and is inspired by the songlines of the desert, a kind of GPS system used by First Country people. I’m exploring perception and reality in this book, which is why I wanted to set it within the dreamscape of a desert.”
With the power of her writing bringing readers to tears in The Shark Caller, expect all future projects by Zillah Bethell to bring that admirable, unforgettable quality.
The Shark Caller is published by Usborne. Price: £7.99. Info: www.usborne.com
words KARLA BRADING photos SIAN TRENBERTH