AJ Betts
Zac & Mia is my third novel for young adults, but it’s the first to be inspired by real life. It’s a work of fiction, but it draws on my observations and experiences with working with teenagers. I’ve been a high school English Teacher in a children’s hospital for the past ten years, specializing on the cancer ward since 2008. Over that time, I’ve had the privilege of meeting hundreds of young people who amaze and inspire me with their courage, outlook, and humor.
The story opens with Zac, a patient who’s already spent twenty days isolated in a room due to a bone marrow transplant. He’s beginning to struggle with boredom, as well as his mother’s constant proximity (she’s sharing the same hospital room). Zac is counting down the days (fifteen to go) before he’s allowed to leave hospital. Page one begins with a newbie arriving in the room next door. Due to his strict isolation, he can’t meet her (and they can’t physically meet for the first third of the novel) but through their shared wall he hears the details of her arrival, her fights with her mother, and her questionable music taste. Chapter one ends with a knock on the wall, which this leads to other forms of communication, and a friendship that neither of them sees coming.
Zac & Mia isn’t a story about cancer. It’s about the friendship of these two contrasting characters, and their lives after treatment as they adjust to the outside world. It’s not a depressing story, but one full of humor and authenticity.
Please tell us about the characters of Zac and Mia.
Zac is the kind of guy I wish I’d known when I was a teenager. For a seventeen-year-old he’s quite laid-back, optimistic, and level-headed. He has heaps of mates, many of whom play sport with him. He does well at school, but doesn’t excel. He approaches problems with a calm, methodical approach, relying on facts and logic. Best of all is his ability to laugh at himself, and he uses humor to make others feel at ease. Zac was first diagnosed with leukemia earlier in the year, but he’s since relapsed, hence his bone marrow transplant. When not in hospital, he lives with his family (parents and older sister, Bec) at their olive farm which is in a rural area situated on the southern coast of Western Australia. He’s an outdoor guy who’s accustomed to spending time on the farm, or with the animals that Bec raises in the small petting farm.
Mia is something else entirely. She cares little for school or sport, or animals for that matter. In the popular group at school, she spends most of her time with her clique of friends. Her other interest is Rhys, her older boyfriend. Mia lives in Perth with her mother, though they aren’t close. She doesn’t know what she’s going to do after school - some people say she should try modeling or beauty therapy - but she hasn't paid it much attention. She’d been feeling a pain in her ankle but was largely ignoring it: she’d assumed she’d twisted it in her high heels. But when she’s diagnosed with cancer, she doesn’t believe it. Unlike Zac, her actions are determined by emotion and impulse. She comes across as feisty and fierce, but deep down she’s quite scared. Mia was lots of fun to write. I’d crank up angry tunes when writing some of her scenes, and then for others, I’d sit in silence with my own tears. She’s certainly surprising, and I’ve become very fond of her.
Why did you decide to write for young adults as opposed to adults?
I never consciously chose to write for young adults. It was my first publisher who told me ShutterSpeed (my first novel) was for young adults, rather than adults. While the ideas and language are quite sophisticated, the story (and all of them since) has adolescent concerns at its core. I’ve continued writing for young adults because it’s what I’m drawn to: I love the energy of it, the rawness and opportunities. I love that the future lies ahead of these characters, and that they strive to make it a better one. I love their fight and spirit. Best of all, I love the responses I now get from teenage readers who really connect with the characters and are moved by the stories. It’s a privilege to be able to reach out to young readers.
Please tell us about your previous novels ShutterSpeed and Wavelength.
ShutterSpeed is quite an edgy book. The protagonist, Dustin, is disengaged and unmotivated...until the day a photo gets jammed in the photo processor (that he’s been working with) and it changes everything. ShutterSpeed is a story about obsession, loneliness, and the thin line between right and wrong. The book was fun to write (though it took me eight years to complete) with a quick momentum and surprising twists.
Wavelength is probably my most humorous and philosophical book. Oliver is in his final year at school, about to sit his exams in a week. Due to his mother’s business, however, he has to spend his study week down south at his dad’s house, and nothing goes to plan. This one week gives him an education on matters he didn’t expect, as Oliver comes to consider his hopes, strengths, and relationships.
The book is based on a student you know so can you tell us a bit more about this?
The book is inspired by the hundreds of students I’ve known over the past ten years. Just to be clear, Zac and Mia are both fictional.
There was one student in particular who was instrumental in the behind-the-scenes writing process. Her name was Tayla, and she was a big fan of the story as it was unfolding in my head. Each day I saw her on the ward I’d tell her more of the story, and she was enthusiastic. She wanted to help me write the ‘Mia’ sections when I got to them. Unfortunately, Tayla passed away at sixteen. I gave up on the story completely, until Tayla’s mother urged me to finish it. I realized then that the novel had a bigger purpose than just a friendship story: it had to capture the incredible strength and beauty of Tayla and all the other teenagers whose perspectives and dreams are altered due to sickness. I knew it had to be a story not just for unwell teenagers, but for the rest of us, who forget how lucky we are to have the gift of long lives.
The book has won the Text Prize for Young Adults and Children’s Writing, so what was your reaction when you found out?
Amazement. Shock. When I got the call I was in a shopping centre car park with my mum. I remember walking around in tight circles while on the phone. Then I sat in the bushes and cried. When we arrived home, I ran towards my parents’ pool and jumped in, fully clothed, screaming like a lunatic.
What is next for you?
At the moment I’m busy touring festivals to promote Zac & Mia, which is such a fun thing to be doing. Once this settles down, I want to resume working on the story that I’d begun last year, and it’s something completely different: a book set in the future, off the southern coast of Australia. It’s not sci-fi or dystopia, but a realistic view of a possible future world. I hope there’ll be plenty of suspense and intrigue. The central character will be a fifteen-year-old girl (I think).