A worn deck of picture cards, handed on a whim to a lonely child, becomes a lifetime’s companion, offering direction, friendship, and a way back across a bridge long thought broken.
Jaelen Davis’s Once Upon a Tarot Card is a work of literary fiction (and quiet literary fantasy) woven through with the Tarot, illustrated with twenty-eight original black-and-white photo montages, one for each reading.
Q&A with Jaelen Davis
Q: How does the Tarot work within the story, and what role did your own art play?
A: The Tarot does play a part throughout, although it serves primarily as a thread connecting events and characters. I didn’t want to overwhelm readers who aren’t familiar with the cards with lengthy descriptions, so black-and-white photo montages accompany each reading, twenty-eight in total. I am also an artist, which was an important factor in the plot for several of my characters.
Q: How did the book come together, and what made you decide to publish?
A: It first began over ten years ago as a collection of short stories. Eventually a common narrative began to show up in them all, and over time it made more sense to work these together into one novel. I’m not a naturally organised writer on the whole, so I often delved into side stories which were later culled. Even so, they were still helpful in that they allowed me to explore aspects of characters’ personalities and actions which could then be incorporated. As it grew and I became focused on finishing it, publishing seemed the next natural step. After spending over a decade on it, I couldn’t just shove it in a box and put it on a shelf!
Q: Which character was the most challenging to write?
A: It was definitely a challenge to write about a character who was a villain, while at the same time making them someone nuanced, someone with facets, who isn’t wholly “bad.” This was important when it came to the mother of one of my characters, because I wanted to show a more balanced aspect to her personality. She was not a monster, just someone whose upbringing caused her to make mistakes.
Q: What themes do you hope readers take away?
A: Hopefully the theme of tolerance, to other faiths, beliefs, cultures and ways of life. Perhaps a better understanding of the Tarot as well!
Q: Did real places shape the book?
A: One goal was to accurately portray the places mentioned in the book. I didn’t want to simply write scenes with characters walking down nameless streets, or living in neighborhoods without a history. I hoped to leave my readers with a sense of what it’s like to live in a British city.
Q: Do you have a favorite moment from the book?
A: There is one scene where my main character stands up to a bully, but I won’t quote it here, she swears rather a lot during the process. Allowing her suppressed rage to explode onto the page was a very satisfying thing to write, however.
Q: What was the biggest challenge in writing or publishing it?
A: Staying on track until the end, and then editing and formatting it myself. That wasn’t fun.
Q: What is next for you as a writer?
A: I’m going back to painting for a bit. I’ve neglected my art over the past few years, and I’d like to return to that for a while.
Author Bio
Jaelen is a Tarot reader and artist living in London. She likes collecting echeverias, and any which survive the first month or so generally do well. She is rubbish at anything business-related, so promoting her novel has proved to be more difficult than writing it ever was.
Social media: Facebook
Buy the book here: Amazon UK | Foyles | Waterstones
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