Classic romance novels were yesterday. There are also butterflies in the stomach in Jette Menger’s stories, but today it’s about more, says the 23-year-old writer. In addition to fast-paced relationship stories with many ups and downs, their “New Adult Series” also examines topics such as queerness, climate change and veganism.
The Potsdam author also confidently questions the traditional relationship constellations in our society. Why is it that a man and a woman are usually mentioned when describing a relationship? Or, in the meantime socially more and more free of taboos: of a same-sex partnership?
Why not a woman with two men or a relationship with three? The latter construct is the common thread in her latest book “Know our Love”, which she says is her most important work to date. It is the third book in a row.
social issues
“I want to tell love stories that are different from the usual heteronormative ones,” says Menger. Your protagonists are between 20 and 26 years old. “They live in a completely normal world, they do an apprenticeship, they study and find themselves in the process of finding their own identity,” says Menger, who emphasizes that her stories are fictional. “I don’t write about myself or my surroundings,” she says. But they do talk about issues that move their generation. Bullying is another issue. And of course fear of the future.
I want to tell love stories that are different from the usual heteronormative ones.
Jette Mengerwriter
The fact that the 23-year-old from Potsdam obviously hits a nerve with this is confirmed by the fact that three of her books are now on the market and already have a small fan base. A fourth is in the making, as she reveals with a smile.
The protagonists often live in a flat share instead of in a villa
“Know me again”, “Know you again”, “Know our love” are the names of the 300 to 400-page works and they build on each other. “But each book also works as a story in its own right,” says the writer. She does not describe a glossy world, no idealized, stereotyped network of relationships. Her characters often live in shared flats and not in a castle or villa.
With them, light and shadow are often close together. Her characters are full of self-doubt, they carry secrets with them, are vulnerable and quarrel, but they can also trust and at some point allow something like love. There must be so much in common with the classic genre. But like Menger himself, they can laugh at their own imperfections. And that’s refreshing.
The author has a movie in mind while writing
The fact that the titles are in English not only follows a current trend, it’s a nod to the choice of locations, such as British Barth or the Australian capital Sydney. She took a very close look at those cities using Google Maps. “In my mind, I walked the streets with my characters,” she says. Does she have a movie in mind when she writes? Menger nods. Their stories are almost entirely characterized by dialogues.
In the meantime, she hears more often that older people – meaning those over 50 – read her books. “Then they tell me that they have learned a lot, for example about terms such as polyamory or pan-sexuality. “Many people only live the way they think they have to live,” says Menger.
Their stories open up new worlds. That makes her confident. “Of course there is still sexism or queer hostility,” says Menger. But they also show new life or partnership models.
Of course there is still sexism or queer hostility. But I describe new life or partnership models.
Jette Mengerwriter
“Writing makes you happy,” says Menger, who has been inventing stories since she was 13 and writing them down wherever she is. At home, on the train, in the café, she always has a notepad in her pocket. Even on a walk in nature. There is always an idea how to proceed.
Didn’t she ever think about doing something completely different? Menger shakes his head. “I’m doing exactly what I always wanted to do,” she says. She graduated from high school in 2019, since then she has devoted herself exclusively to writing. And now she can even make a living from it.
