Interview: Jessica Howland Kany talks about Parrot Heaven

Jessica Howland Kany has called Rakiura/Stewart Island home for over twenty years. On the island she worked at the post office/flight centre, the Pub and as “desk crew” for her fisherman husband. Other hats: editor of the Stewart Island News, rat trapper and librarian. Jess is a runner, penguin fan and artichoke enthusiast. Past endeavours include writing for The Jackson Hole News in Wyoming and working at the Lahaina Library in Maui, Hawaii. She currently resides in Wānaka where she is working on her next book. Jessica talks to NZ Booklovers.

Tell us a little about your novel.

Parrot Heaven is an unconventional, darkly humorous whodunnit taking place on Rakiura/Stewart Island. The protagonist, Maudie, is New Zealand’s southernmost librarian. Maudie is a trail-running amateur sleuth married to a fisherman. We follow her and other islanders as they juggle relationships, parenting, mental health crises, and the myriad responsibilities of being part of a small island community. Like my first novel, there’s a lot going on –sort of like Richard Scarry’s Busy, Busy Town, but for grownups. I think everyone in the sandwich generation can relate to the feeling of being spread thin while trying to nurture and please their children, aging parents, colleagues and mates. The foil to the seemingly idyllic paradise of Rakiura is a world which grows darker and scarier with every headline, the horror unavoidable thanks to ever-present phones and screens. Maudie attempts to maintain sanity through trail running and a jailhouse bookclub in which she discusses one of the oldest stories ever written: the 5,000-year old Epic of Gilgamesh. There is something for almost everyone in Parrot Heaven: overcoming a running injury; headbanging sea shanties; woodsplitting; artichokes; pub quizzes; native birds; the eroticism of dictionary stands; and a murder mystery to boot!

What inspired you to write this book?

After A Runner’s Guide to Rakiura was published, I was approached by film producers who suggested a series, so it seemed a good idea to continue building Maudie’s world and telling Stewart Island stories. This felt like a natural thing to do anyway. I had a lot of fun writing the novel A Runner’s Guide to Rakiura and after it was published, the characters were still talking in my head and carrying on with their shenanigans so I decided to write it all down. At the same time, my friend Julie and I started a myths and legends club for kids on the island, and we were teaching them about The Epic of Gilgamesh. I became captivated by the story and knew that my book would celebrate Gilgamesh in the same way A Runner’s Guide celebrated Moby Dick and the poetry of William Butler Yeats.

What research was involved?

I read several translations of The Epic of Gilgamesh, scholarly books about Gilgamesh, books about the history and science of language and written language, books about cuneiform and the archeologists who found the Gilgamesh tablets and the Assyriologists who deciphered cuneiform. I also read Māori myths and legends, particularly stories about Maui, because much of the book explores how people grapple with mortality – how people shake their fists at death. [Cue Dylan Thomas: RAGE, RAGE AGAINST THE DYING THE LIGHT!!] One thread of the book deals with a pre-schooler studying for a bird track quiz, so I studied the tracks of native New Zealand birds and ornitholgical art. I closely observed kākā whenever I saw them (no surprise that bush parrots figure largely into the narrative).

What was your routine or process when writing this book?

Running is my muse. When I run the stories flow through my brain and as soon as I get home I scribble down notes to type up later.

If a soundtrack were made to accompany this book, name a song or two you would include.

Maudie’s husband Vil is in a head-banging sea shanty band called The Unholy Gumboots and there are several references to their songs, lyrics included. I think it would be such a cool opportunity for a musician to put those lyrics to music if the book goes to screen. Both of my novels unfold cinematically and would be perfect for a series so in my mind there’s a particular song for every scene. (The film rights for ARGTR were bought and not used so they are again available … take note filmmakers and producers!)

Besides The Unholy Gumboots fictional songs, there are numerous real musicians and songs referenced in the book including:

One of Us (Joan Osbourne)

I Can’t forget (Leonard Cohen)

Jailhouse Rock (Elvis)

Wild World (Yusuf Island fka Cat Stevens)

Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd)

What did you enjoy the most about writing this novel?

I loved the process that went into creating the art. Sharon Parker, my neighbour and friend, is a graphic designer. I had a million images pingponging around my head and I gave her a list of them and she was able to tease out a really cool cover for the book. She chose a mamaku tree as a central image, not knowing that my family is crazy for mamaku trees! And I love how the map of the island on the back cover looks like an ink puddle next to the library date stamp.

I created the artwork inside the book: various native bird tracks which had to look a particular way so I made them out of hand-carved potato stamps. I get fixated on certain imagery and I enjoy getting super insane in pursuit of matching the result on paper with the vision in my brain.

Another rewarding aspect is the dedication page. For as long as I can remember, my family felt fractured, like smashed-egg broken. My parents, who are in their 80s, divorced decades ago. They both encouraged me in my writing and I included them in my dedication and it felt special that they can see my published book, in the flesh, with their names on the dedication page alongside my sisters’ names. Our whole once-fractured family rebuilt, in a little inky list, together on a page. In a funny way, that might be what so much of this whole thing is about. Just trying to cobble all the Humpty-Dumpties back together. I know that sounds bonkers. That’s okay. Writing is therapy. Reading is therapy. Lord knows we need all the help we can get these days.

What did you do to celebrate finishing this book?

I bought a replica of a Gilgamesh tablet. Perfect prop for my solo sexy Assyriologist role-playing games.

What is the favourite book you have read so far this year and why?

I always have a few books on the go. Absolutely loved The Bell in the Lake by Lars Mytting. It’s part of a trilogy so I’m looking forward to the next book. And I am gnawing my way through the On the Calculation of Volume seven-book series by Solvej Balle. It’s odd and I have no idea where it’s taking me and I’m loving the weird ride. I like staying brushed up on Kiwi history and Kiwi authors so Lauren Roche’s Julia Eichardt was just the ticket. A fascinating story about a great woman and an iconic Queenstown hotel. And a total impulsive bookshop purchase was the picture book Timeline illustrated by Peter Goes. Wow, wow, wow. I’m obsessed with timelines and this book has me buzzing!

For book orders and enquiries contact rakiurabooks@gmail.com and for updates on Jessica’s writing follow @jessicahowlandkany_author on Instagram.