May 16, 2022·edited May 16, 2022Liked by Hayley J. Dunlop
Love this newsletter so much and so much to resonate with. Not least the pain/joy of editing my own 90,000 work-in-progress (work-in-v-slow-also-while-baby-sleeps-progress!). Also thank you for sharing your story Hayley, and your openness is inspiring.
In answer to your prompt at the end, I do think some books should come with warnings. I also suffered with birth trauma and post-natal anxiety disorder and both were severely triggered before I got help too by the opening to The New Wilderness, by Diane Cook---an otherwise brilliant novel but hard to read after that trigger! I also LOVED Maggie's I AM I AM I AM, but gladly read it before the birth, and would have found it hard after. Waiting a bit before reading it again... I loved reading about your reading habits now too. I often have a mix of books on the go and feel like I only just read someone else saying this week that our guilty pleasures, should just be "things we like which make us unique" :) I like that reframing.
I’m also so glad you found another genre and everything it unlocked—and that you are able to share this journey with us too. I love the idea of you hugging back your manuscript. On the point about one person’s comfort not being the same for another: what does that mean for your novel now?
Thanks, Hannah. My novel touches on the notion that everyone seeks comfort in different things. Where one sibling obsesses over Christmas movies, another is on the verge of tumbling down a rabbit hole of conspiracy theories. The story isn't without its darker moments as a result, but also has tons of lightness (and romance!). Will the publishing industry be willing to take a punt on a Christmas novel that isn't all shimmers and tinsel? Well, that I can't answer!
Love this newsletter so much and so much to resonate with. Not least the pain/joy of editing my own 90,000 work-in-progress (work-in-v-slow-also-while-baby-sleeps-progress!). Also thank you for sharing your story Hayley, and your openness is inspiring.
In answer to your prompt at the end, I do think some books should come with warnings. I also suffered with birth trauma and post-natal anxiety disorder and both were severely triggered before I got help too by the opening to The New Wilderness, by Diane Cook---an otherwise brilliant novel but hard to read after that trigger! I also LOVED Maggie's I AM I AM I AM, but gladly read it before the birth, and would have found it hard after. Waiting a bit before reading it again... I loved reading about your reading habits now too. I often have a mix of books on the go and feel like I only just read someone else saying this week that our guilty pleasures, should just be "things we like which make us unique" :) I like that reframing.
I’m also so glad you found another genre and everything it unlocked—and that you are able to share this journey with us too. I love the idea of you hugging back your manuscript. On the point about one person’s comfort not being the same for another: what does that mean for your novel now?
Thanks, Hannah. My novel touches on the notion that everyone seeks comfort in different things. Where one sibling obsesses over Christmas movies, another is on the verge of tumbling down a rabbit hole of conspiracy theories. The story isn't without its darker moments as a result, but also has tons of lightness (and romance!). Will the publishing industry be willing to take a punt on a Christmas novel that isn't all shimmers and tinsel? Well, that I can't answer!