Get ready to learn more about the book Once in Berlin in this discussion with sapphic author Jo Havens.
Join us for an exclusive peek behind the scenes as we quiz Jo Havens about Once in Berlin, writing, reading, and more.
This book is part of the Set in Europe category in the 2024 IHS Reading Challenge.
Why did you write Once in Berlin?
I was memorising the periodic table (as you do) during the final days of lockdown and became curious about the story behind the element Meitnerium. It’s the only element named after a woman — Lise Meitner — the Austrian woman who split the atom in the 1930s. Yes, the woman who discovered atomic fission and who was never mentioned in the movie Oppenheimer chose humanity. She never wanted to be involved in the development of a weapon but instead was simply curious about the science. Lise’s own story is fascinating, but she started me imagining a similar woman, brilliant, queer, sensational in a tuxedo with a gorgeous 1930s motor car…
Who is your favorite character in the book?
Mila Nessian is definitely my favourite character, and perhaps I like her best because she gets away with the things I can’t. We share very similar interests — astronomy, Rachmaninov, jazz, spanky cars — she’s just a million times better at all those things than I am!
How did you come up with the title for your book?
The title is based on a promotional slogan that was famous in Germany in the 1920s. “Jeder einmal in Berlin” translates very roughly as ‘everyone should be in Berlin at least once in their lives’. Or, Once in Berlin.
How much research did you need to do for Once in Berlin?
Tonnes!!! I have a science background, but not in nuclear physics. Researching how human understanding viewed atomic structure before we’d figured out how to split the atom was fascinating. I needed to thoroughly understand it so I could lay it out and mix it up with romance and the urgency of the spy/thriller plotline. I also thoroughly enjoyed drooling over 1930s backless gown styles. Fun fact: disco balls have been a thing for just over a century!
What’s your favorite writing snack or drink?
Almonds and dark chocolate with a cup of green tea. Sometimes cheese. Actually, often cheese.
Do you have a pet who helps/hinders your typing?
All. Three. Cats! The big boy (Howl, named for the wizard) is the easiest to deal with. He likes to plant his hefty rump on my paper notes though he’s mastered the Hard Stare when I try to move him. But the new kittens… faaar out! One is named Popcorn, the other is named Colly (short for Olivia Coleman), and they are Chaos On Eight Legs. To tell the truth, I’m not really coping. I haven’t managed to convince either of them that laptops are not for walking over, so the work in progress is full of strangeeeeeeeeewrddesssssssss….3#$$$ss…..
What is the most valuable piece of advice you’ve been given about writing, and by whom?
This is an emotional one, but my best writing advice came from my mum who said “oh for heaven’s sake, just do it.” That’s good advice at any point, but mum was within ten days of the end of her life when she told me this. She was drifting in and out of consciousness and coherency, and I was sitting by her bedside… waiting. One day she looked me square in the eye and demanded to know why I wasn’t writing — she knew Once in Berlin wasn’t yet finished. I murmured something about spending the time with her and she rolled her eyes and was very brusque. “You could be here,” she pointed out, tipping her chin at her bed and inevitability and the remains of hope, “and you’ll never know when. Don’t waste your time, darling. Just do it.”
What do you do to get inside your character’s heads?
I find a Dremel can be handy— Oh! I see what you mean. Erm… I write a 20 minute rant on the subject at hand from the point of view of the character. Ranting is brilliant to get the words and ideas flowing.
What books did you grow up reading?
As a kid I read mysteries and adventure stories — Trixie Belden, The Famous Five. As a teen I moved to fantasy — the Belgariad, Raymond E. Feist, Ursula K Le Guin. It was tough finding strong female characters and great female authors. They were there, of course, but not to the same extent as now. Perhaps as a result of too many boy-heroes, and formulaic fantasy stories where the love of the female character was the reward for the male character, I staunchly refused to read romance. I had no idea sapphic romance even existed until literal decades later. I often wonder how this might have changed my writing (or indeed my whole life) had I known earlier that sapphic romance books were a thing.
Describe your favorite reading spot.
The hammock in my garden, the swing chair on my deck, the glasshouse when its cold, the exercise bike when I’m feeling guilty — lots of places. A good book takes me somewhere else anyway.
