An interview with the Maltese author Roberta Bajada
Dear Reader,
One of my most favourite Maltese authors out there is the spectacular Roberta Bajada. She is author of Termini u kundizzjonijiet japplikaw (Terms and conditions apply), a Maltese novel which follows the main character, Gonsalvo, on his quest of finding his murderer beyond the grave, with the help of a young boy named Miki.
In this post you can find a snippet of the interview I had with her where I ask about not just her novel but also her writing techniques, recommendations and overall expertise!
INTERVIEW
P: Thank you very much for accepting this interview it's so nice to meet you.
RB: No problem, [smiles], it's nice to meet you too.
P: I wanted to start by asking you why you decided to mainly write for children and adolescents instead of adults. What was your main reason behind this decision?
RB: Well I'm actually trying to write novels for adults too. Currently, I'm writing two novels, one for adults and one for adolescents. I mean, you're right in saying that I mainly write for children and adolescents however that doesn't mean that I don't also experiment with writing for a more mature audience. I think it comes naturally to me to diverge towards writing for children, primarily because when I was a child I used to read a lot of novels by authors like Trevor Żahra and Charles Casha (other Maltese authors). So, so to speak these are the types of novels I grew up and so they had a much greater impact on me in my writing journey. Of course, other mature novels I read today also help me when it comes to writing for adults.
P: Have you written anything for a mature audience lately?
RB: Actually yes, I was asked to write a short story a little while ago for this event that I had, and as I was writing, I naturally began to write the story as if it were for children. So you can imagine me a little while after I realised what I was doing... I practically began to panic as of course, this was not the task I was asked to carry out. So there's that aspect again, that aspect of switching between writing for children and writing for a mature audience. You need to make sure what you are writing about is going to be interesting for the audience you have in mind and not diverge into your comfort zone. I cannot say this task wasn't a challenge but I managed in the end.
If you're writing for a specific audience, say children, and then you have to jump to a different audience, so take adolescents as an example, you can't treat the adolescent as you would a child, you need to take into account their interests and mentality while also making sure you don't go all out as if you're communicating with an adult. So, so to speak there needs to be a balance between writing for different audiences. Again, if you're selling a book to a younger audience you need to make sure that what you're giving them isn't full of content that could confuse them and similarly, this also applies when it comes to selling a book to an adult, you need to be really careful to not use language you would use for a younger audience. At the end of the day, you really have to read a lot of different books for different audiences to truly get the idea of what you need to look out for when writing for each age group.
P: I couldn't agree more. It can be very hard sometimes to branch out and not stay stuck in that one genre or age group when writing.
RB: [nods].
P: On to the next question... before you write, what are the essential things you must do?
RB: Good question. Well, as I mentioned before, I have to read a lot of books solely for the audience I have in mind so I get a feel of where I must aim to be at the end of my novel before I start writing. That's not to say that even before I read such novels I haven't started to already plot out everything so I get an idea of the flow of the novel and where it's going to be headed.
P: So true, exactly, exactly. How long did you take when it came to writing Termini u kundizzjonijiet japplikaw? And why did you want to become an author?
RB: So, for that novel I mainly took... I believe a month. In a month, we're saying the first draft because then you have a long process of edits and revisions. But you're saying as in how long I took to finish it I mean, the whole complete process took just a matter of months. I was pregnant during this process so work stopped and I obviously took a while before picking it back up. So, the circumstances you find yourself in life you know, they don't always allocate a lot of time for you during such projects. You need to invest in a lot of time to finish your manuscript however thankfully I still managed to send the revised and finalised version the exact night before the book was due. I had a great amount of pressure and panic but I manged. Hmm, now when did I realise I wanted to become an author... well, I think it was from the second I started reading. I was always fascinated with the idea of seeing your own name in a bookstore or library, it's something that gives you a great satisfaction. So, at the end of the day, I think I always wanted to become an author for that reason. In fact, I still have copybooks from when I was a child, when I was maybe six or seven years old. I used to write in them as a hobby. During that time we didn't have the Internet and all that technology and so those copybooks gave me hours and hours of, well, they acted as a means I could truly express myself with. I actually have a copybook somewhere here! One second. [RB proceeds in showing me one of her childhood copybooks].
P: Wow! That was so cool! [smiles] Thank you for showing me.
RB: No problem, [smiles] it's nice to see someone interested in these types of things.
P: Okay next question...Do you have any other friends who are authors? If so, do they help you when it comes to writing? Like maybe Antoinette Borg (another Maltese author) ? If not, is there someone in particular that gives you opinions and advice?
RB: Haha actually yes Antoinette Borg is one of my closest friends. I speak to her about my works and so yes, it is a wonderful experience when you have relationships with other authors. You get criticism after all.
P: Do you find it hard to receive criticism?
RB: For me, criticism is a crucial and important aspect which I learn from a lot. Um, ideally you have friends who like and do the same things you do. I mean, you could ask someone who likes feasts for example but ideally of course you ask someone who has experience in these things. But yes, I speak to others, family and friends also help me too and give me advice.
P: No I agree though personally I myself can find it hard to not take criticism as a bit of a burden, I mean you have to make sure you don't get offended with such things because it is supposed to benefit you and help you grow.
RB: Exactly.
P: Next, if you could go back in time what exactly is that thing you would've wanted to know before?
RB: Uh I think, well this is something I acquired with time. I've started to self-edit myself, so before I even send in a manuscript I make sure it is the best it possibly can be to prevent the very long and tedious editorial process that follows. I also probably would've wanted to know that before you write about something, it's a very good idea to research and make sure you have all the facts. For example if I'm writing about Leonardo Da Vinci and the Renaissance you need to have done a lot of research before you start writing, you can't just invent. At the end of the day however, these types of things you learn them as you go along. I found a great amount of progress in myself after years of writing. So again, these things you learn them from experience.
P: True, true. Do you have anything to say to those who don't like reading? Maybe those who haven't found their ideal book yet?
RB: Well, I think if someone says that they don't like reading then there's a bit of a problem that they need to solve. Generally it's usually because, like you said, they haven't found their 'ideal book' or maybe the author that speaks to them the most or maybe they haven't found that genre that applies to them. There are many reasons why but you ask me: oh is reading something someone must do? Well here's what I say: nothing is something you must do in life, however I think, and this is coming from a personal experience...When there was a period of time in my life when I stopped reading due to the birth of my child, I wouldn't read a thing. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I literally spent a year or two of my life not picking up a book. Honestly, it felt like living in a vacuum as I wasn't reading anything. So what was happening as a result of this, I realised that I wasn't able to really participate in discussions on certain subjects as I was long gone from the reading world. I didn't have that ability to speak about certain topics, I couldn't participate in the conversation. So at the end of the day, personally I think reading is kind of like having a bucket that you're constantly filling up with water, water which you can later on use in life. However, if you're not filling up that bucket you're going to end up with an empty one, therefore less knowledge about what is around you. Are you understanding what I'm trying to say? Reading is something you can live without though it makes your life a bit more difficult when you don't partake in it, as there are many benefits which you miss out on.
P: Yes, exactly. I couldn't agree more. Unfortunately here is where the interview ends. Again, thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions, I truly appreciate your input.
RB: Not at all, it was a pleasure answering them and getting to know you too.
END
Yours,
Pearl's Odyssey (2025) All rights reserved ©
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