J C L Purchase

JCL Purchase (aka Jenny Purchase) lives on the shores of the Whangãrei Harbour with her best friend/partner, John, two cats who loathe each other, a dog who is more human than animal, and a puppy who was never going to be allowed to sleep on the bed. She gives thanks daily that the waka that brought her to Aotearoa from distant lands beached itself on these shores, under the guardianship of Mount Manaia. 

Jenny is a senior secondary teacher of English, ESOL, and French, but has also taught a range of subjects in the tertiary sector. She has worked in a variety of other fields too: librarianship, banking, administration and accounting, management, public service, and the hospitality and entertainment industries. At one stage in her career, she was the only female on a committee of twelve! This fact still astounds her, because as a young woman, who had attended a girls' only Christian boarding school, she was terrified of men. She considers herself a jack-of-all-trades, and is a multidiscplinary writer, having designed teaching and educational materials, produced business reports, procedures manuals, and promotional materials, and published academic writing, reviews, and articles.   

Since gaining a post-grad diploma in communication and a master’s degree in creative writing at AUT, Jenny has published short fiction and poetry in journals and anthologies, and has written short film scripts. Lasavia Press published her debut collection of short stories, Transit Lounge, in December 2022.

Jenny is currently working on an epic historical novel in the classic tradition and a memoir/philosophical reflection on her life and times. She is also compiling a second collection of short stories. A project close to her heart in recent times has been her selection and editorial work for a themed anthology on the topic of solo parenting and differently structured families in Aotearoa New Zealand, titled Rere Takitahi/Flying Solo, due for release at the end of June 2024. Jenny arrived in New Zealand in 1998, an immigrant and solo parent with three children and four suitcases. She is determined that the voices of marginalised alternative familes be registered and heard. Jenny still relief teaches at her local college, particularly helping out in the English Department. She always enjoys teaching language: the vehicle of consciousness, thought, imagination, and connection. 

Jenny campaigns tirelessly for magazines, newspapers, and periodicals to publish more short fiction and poetry. She is also something of a music afficionado with hundreds of records and CDs, and reams of sheet music. She plays piano and guitar, and sings, after a fashion. She has even written some cringefully awful song lyrics!  

In another incarnation Jenny would have liked to have been a performing artist, and way back in her past, she played Olivia in Shakespeare's Twelth Night to a large audience. She also managed a band for a couple of years, and enjoyed being part of the music industry for a short time. In her current life, she reads, thinks, walks, teaches, writes, swims, prays, sings, and travels, though not necessarily in that order.

 

Genre:

  • Academic
  • Adult Fiction
  • Autobiography / Memoir
  • Business Writing
  • Feature Articles
  • Fiction
  • Film Scripts
  • Freelance Writer
  • Poetry
  • Review Writing
  • Scriptwriter
  • Short Stories
  • Text Books

Skills:

  • Academic Writing
  • Corporate Writing
  • Editing
  • Freelance Writing
  • Journalism
  • Manuscript Assessment
  • Mentoring
  • Novelist
  • Print Media Writing (magazines/newspapers)
  • Proofreading
  • Reviews
  • Screenwriting
  • Short Story Writing
  • Textbook Writing
  • Workshops (adults)

Branch:

Northland

Location:

Northland

Publications:

Transit Lounge by JCL Purchase

Transit Lounge is a collection of distinctive short fiction for adults and mature teens, released by Lasavia Publishing in December 2022. It includes nineteen stories, several of which have been formerly published in journals, anthologies, and ezines, and received special mentions in competition. The book was awarded a full manuscript assessment by NZSA in 2019.

Unique to this literary collection is Purchase's stylistic exploration of voice, tone, and register as she explores the artistic possibilities of short fiction, with stories ranging from the lyrical to the confessional, the comedic to the tragic. Examples of cryptic fable, social commentary, black comedy, subverted myth, potted history, cautionary tale, magical realism, psychological drama, flight of fancy, slice of life and redemption story are included.

The reader is drawn into a variety of detailed, intimate settings where a cast of eclectic characters face challenging circumstances during times of historic instability and change. Each story stands alone, yet characters reappear and themes resonate throughout the collection, laying bare the effects of cultural, social, and political influences on human experience, and creating a complex mosaic that spans 200 years of history, weaving together past, present, and future.

The big issues of the day simmer under the surface of these stories — political upheaval, race relations, colonialism, identity politics, misogyny, aging, the immigrant experience, neglect of children, substance abuse, loss, the Trump presidency, the Covid pandemic, misinformation, fake news, and violent crime are just some of the subjects treated. 

Purchase’s inimitable characters include a deeply-flawed Elvis impersonator whose life’s mission is to solve the mystery of his provenance; a Pākehā baby left for dead on the forest floor who is rescued and raised by Māori in the early 1800s; a young man on the run from an irate employer whose daughter has seduced him; a rugby-mad detective and perpetrator of domestic violence; an English language student tripping under the influence of hallucinogens while stranded at Wellington Airport; a woman who reincarnates through the ages in order to fulfil her destiny; teen-aged twin pyromaniacs whose delinquent behaviour is fuelled by family tragedy; and even a self-employed tomcat named Claw who resides at the picturesque Apple Tree Cottage with Lilith, Queen of the Night, where together they set about 'retraining' an indomitable cad.

Prolific British short story writer and short fiction expert, Brindley Hallam Dennis, says, “reading Transit Lounge is like being submerged in cold water, the shock of immersion swiftly followed by something profoundly absorbing”. Mike Johnson, doyen of NZ literature, describes the collection as “sharply written and provocative.” (These recommendations and others from Michael Botur and Saige England appear on the back cover.)

Transit Lounge is refreshingly different, absurdly humorous, and often, profoundly moving. While throwing the spotlight on lives of quiet desperation, this collection plays with literary tropes and subverts reader expectations, yet the author leavens the sometimes serious subject matter with lyrical acuity and wry insight.

Transit Lounge is available from all good bookshops and online retailers. Bulk orders may be placed with the publisher: enquiries to rowan@lasaviapublishing.com. If your library doesn’t have a copy, please ask them to order one.