Claire van Ryn on How Faith, Family History, and Fiction Collide

What happens when the threads of family history, personal faith and the art of storytelling intertwine?

For Tasmanian author Claire van Ryn, the answer is Where the Birds Call Her Name, a follow up to her bestselling debut, The Secrets of the Huon Wren.

At the heart of Where the Birds Call Her Name is Saskia, a woman grappling with the death of her mother and the unexpected inheritance of a caravan. Overwhelmed and uncertain, she embarks on an uncharacteristic road trip with her nine-year-old daughter, Anouk.

What begins as a practical effort to prepare the caravan for sale evolves into a journey of self-discovery, one that forces Saskia to confront the weight of her past and reconsider the trajectory of her life.

96five’s Steff Willis sat down with Claire van Ryn to chat about releasing Where the Birds Call Her Name into the world.

“I actually really love that when I write… it touches people in ways that I could never ever have predicted.” Claire said.

“I think that speaks to God’s role in in the process as well. 

“It’s kind of full circle… I create and write and then it gets produced and sent out to into the into the world and then the reader is the final piece of the puzzle which is the most beautiful thing.” Claire van Ryn 

For Claire, this story is more than fiction—it’s a reflection of her own family history.

“When I was growing up, whenever I visited my grandparents, there was a wetland bird diorama that lived in their lounge room and I guess it’s a little bit of an unusual accoutrement to domestic life” Claire said.

“It turns out that it was created by my great grandfather who worked for the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) as a taxidermist and preparator. 

As she explored his legacy, Claire discovered that her great-grandfather was responsible for over 1,300 specimens in the museum’s collection. This discovery became the foundation for Greta, Saskia’s mother in her novel, who works as a taxidermist.

The road trip Saskia takes in the novel is also influenced by Claire’s family travels when they took the whole of 2022 to circumnavigate Australia in their caravan.

“It was the most epic, most wonderful adventure, and we’re so glad we did it” Claire said.

“It’s a journey of landscape but also of the heart” Claire van Ryn on Where the Birds Call Her Name

Claire describes her faith as a driving force in her writing process.

“When I’m in a writing phase, I make a point of starting my day with prayer” Claire said.

“Prayer is a way of acknowledging that God is the Creator, capital C, and He will use me. I’m His vessel to create whatever it is He wants to use me for.

“I found that to be a really freeing. It takes the weight off me and me performing… it’s a beautiful process.

Where the Birds Call Her Name is available now.

Listen to the full interview in the player above.

Feature Image: Author Claire van Ryn – Photo by Sarah Kirton, supplied.