R.J. Halbert on Trauma and “Caretaker”

Black-and-white photo of half a man's face and half a woman's face.
Husband-wife duo R.J. Halbert

Husband-wife duo Rhonda and Jason Halbert, also known as “R.J. Halbert,” discuss the origin story and creative process of their upcoming debut novel, Caretaker: The Goodpasture Chronicles.

The Strand Magazine: What inspired you to write [Caretaker: The Goodpasture Chronicles]?

R.J. Halbert: From the years of 2020 through 2023, we experienced a lot of loss and grief. Of course, we all endured Covid, but then I lost my mom to a horrible disease, followed by the loss of a few family members to cancer, a nephew to a random gunshot, about 10 people to Covid, and Jason [Halbert]’s mother to a brain tumor. Through all of that, we also lost our forever home to a flood and it became unlivable. Because the trauma was so intense for so long, a friend recommended a brain therapy called Cereset. Cereset helped to calm our brains and take us out of panic mode, and it reopened our creativity that was being smothered by trauma. Jason came home from his treatment and started to tell a story. I instantly knew something special was happening, so I grabbed my phone and voice memo’d the two of us bouncing ideas off each other until the entire trilogy was completely developed within about 3 hours.

TSM: You’ve both had experiences in the music industry; what led you to decide to write a novel?

RJH: After several years of intense trauma, we found ourselves unable to process our grief through our usual outlets—songwriting, journaling, or traditional therapy. We began imagining a tale based on our experience that opened up the door to telling our story through fantasy.

TSM: What advice do you have for beginning authors?

RJH:  If you have an idea, begin to write down your bursts of creativity as they come. It doesn’t have to make sense right now—just collect it all. Some people do better processing and creating verbally, so we recommend grabbing a recording device and just recording yourself telling the story out loud. Take your time, but continue to collect your thoughts until you think you have something worth developing. From there, start arranging your thoughts on paper in order of the storyline you want to tell. As you do that, you start to see the idea come together like a picture. Pretty soon, you’ve got the bones and structure to your story.

TSM: Who are some of the writers who have inspired you to write?

RJH: We have long been inspired by incredible writers and storytellers such as J.J. Abrams, Neal Stephenson, C.S. Lewis, Ted Dekker, and James Rubart. We are drawn to historical fiction and spiritual allegory and definitely drew inspiration from their style of telling complex yet timeless stories.

TSM: How important was the setting of New Hampshire for the book?

RJH: Jason and I knew exactly how the setting of the house would look, as it was so vivid in our minds. We also knew our story would start in Boston, so I did some research to find a small, quaint town within an easy drive from Boston. I came across Littleton, NH, and loved what I saw about it online. I made a trip in the fall to visit and found that it was exactly what we were looking for. It was the perfect setting for our story to unfold.

TSM: What are you working on now? Do you feel that once you complete a novel you miss all that wonderful creative turmoil and have to start something new?

RJH: Right now, we are working on Book Two of our Goodpasture Chronicles trilogy. We are excited to dive back into the story of the Keane family. We already know the overall story from beginning to end, but the fun part is getting to develop the adventures happening in the middle. The hardest part is finding time to write as we are still working to get Book One (Caretaker) out to the world.

R.J. Halbert is the husband and wife team behind Caretaker: Book One of The Goodpasture Chronicles, a supernatural tale about breaking generational curses to forge new bonds of hope. Jason Halbert, one half of R.J. Halbert, is an Emmy and Grammy Award-winning producer and songwriter. His songs have reached millions of listeners worldwide through multiple #1 and Platinum-selling records. In addition to his 20-year career as Music Director and Producer for Kelly Clarkson and several other notable artists, he has left his unique creative mark on numerous works in film and television. When not creating music, he loves bee-keeping, sci-fi, and is known to be quite a storyteller. After homeschooling their two children around the world on a tour bus, Rhonda Halbert, the second half of R.J. Halbert, has spent the past ten years as a successful music and television manager, guiding her clients’ relationships with labels, networks, and producers. She is also a published photographer, music supervisor, passionate cook, garden enthusiast, and spiritual practitioner. Together, Jason and Rhonda have woven their 30+ years of life together into a riveting story, based somewhat on truth and experience, but even more so, brimming with imagination.” —Google Books

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