June 24, 2024
ENCORE EPISODE: Queen of the Beach Read, Author Hannah McKinnon
Hannah McKinnon is an award-winning author of eight women's fiction and beach read novels with Simon & Schuster. Her notable titles include The Summer Club, (July 23rd), Message in the Sand, The View from Here, Sailing Lessons, The Summer House, Mystic Summer, and The Lake Season. Her latest release, The Darlings, came out on May 2nd. Previously, she published two YA novels, Franny Parker and The Properties of Water, with FSG Macmillan. Hannah resides in Fairfield County, Connecticut, with her family, where she enjoys spending time in her backyard, chasing chickens, wrangling rescue dogs, or at the lake. Follow her on Instagram at Hannah McKinnon Writes and Twitter at Hannah McKinnon.
Key Discussion Points:
- Introduction and New Book Announcement:
- Introduction of Hannah McKinnon and her new book The Summer Club, releasing on July 23rd.
- Overview of her career and previous titles.
- Family Dynamics and Character Development:
- Discussion on Hannah’s approach to exploring complex family relationships in her books.
- Insights into the themes of family stress points and creating relatable characters.
- Writing Process and Settings:
- Hannah’s approach to incorporating settings as integral parts of her stories.
- Research and personal experiences influencing her New England settings.
- Publishing Journey and Challenges:
- Hannah’s transition from middle grade books to contemporary women's fiction.
- Overcoming challenges in the publishing industry, including dealing with rejection and maintaining a balance with social media.
- Advice for Aspiring Writers:
- Importance of perseverance and doing thorough research on the marketplace.
- Using acknowledgements in books to find potential agents and publishers.
Conclusion: Hannah McKinnon shared valuable insights into her writing process, the importance of setting in her novels, and advice for aspiring writers. Her candid discussion about the challenges of the publishing industry and maintaining authenticity in social media presence provided a relatable perspective for both new and seasoned writers.
Mentioned Links:
- Hannah McKinnon’s website: www.hannahmckinnon.com
- Instagram: Hannah McKinnon Writes
- Twitter: Hannah McKinnon
Subscribe for updates, cheat sheets, news
Visit the Website
Twitter: @BethandLisaPod
Insta: @WritersWithWrinkles
Writers with Wrinkles Link Tree for more!
Threads: @WritersWithWrinkles
Insta: @WritersWithWrinkles
Bluesky: @bethandlisapod.bsky.social
Twitter: @BethandLisaPod
Support Writers With Wrinkles - become a subscriber
Email: Beth@BethMcMullenBooks.com
Writers with Wrinkles Link Tree for more!
Chapters
00:00 - Family Dynamics in Author Interviews
13:52 - Reinventing Yourself as a Writer
18:14 - Navigating the Social Media Balancing Act
24:49 - Advice for Aspiring Women's Fiction Writers
Transcript
WEBVTT
00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:00.782
Hi everyone.
00:00:01.443 --> 00:00:15.132
This is our last of three Encore episodes and because it is literally summer now, we thought why not bring back the queen of the summer beach read, hannah McKinnon, and has a new book coming out July 23rd titled the Summer Club.
00:00:15.132 --> 00:00:29.609
It is a fresh beach read about a group of outsiders threatening the status quo at an exclusive New England beach club, which is plenty for me to just go pre-order it right now and you should too and enjoy the episode.
00:00:29.609 --> 00:00:38.345
Welcome back to Writers with Wrinkles friends.
00:00:38.345 --> 00:00:40.731
Thank you for joining us for episode 30.
00:00:40.731 --> 00:00:46.033
Today we are excited to welcome author Hannah McKinnon to the podcast 30.
00:00:46.033 --> 00:00:48.238
Today we are excited to welcome author Hannah McKinnon to the podcast.
00:00:49.979 --> 00:00:52.104
Hannah is the award-winning author of eight women's fiction and beach read novels with Simon Schuster.
00:00:52.104 --> 00:01:04.253
Her titles include Message in the Sand, the View from here, sailing Lessons, the Summer House, mystic Summer and the Lake Season, and recently released the Darlings, which came out on May 2nd and is doing great.
00:01:04.253 --> 00:01:11.393
She previously published two YA novels, franny Parker and the Properties of Water, with FSG Macmillan.
00:01:11.393 --> 00:01:14.706
Hannah lives in Fairfield County, connecticut, with her family.
00:01:14.706 --> 00:01:23.968
When not spending time with family and friends or writing in her home office, she can be found in her backyard chasing chickens, wrangling rescue dogs or at the lake.
00:01:23.968 --> 00:01:33.813
Visit her author website at wwwhannahmckinnoncom, or on Instagram at Hannah McKinnon Writes, and on Twitter at Hannah McKinnon.
00:01:34.540 --> 00:01:36.807
Thank you so much for joining us, hannah.
00:01:36.807 --> 00:01:38.230
We are very excited to have you here.
00:01:38.230 --> 00:01:40.183
Oh, thank you for having me.
00:01:40.183 --> 00:01:41.248
Ladies, this is a treat.
00:01:41.248 --> 00:01:43.805
So full disclosure.
00:01:43.805 --> 00:01:46.340
Hannah and I have known each other for a long time.
00:01:46.340 --> 00:01:56.349
We met because Hannah lives down the street from my parents and our mothers are good friends, and I know that my mother listens to the show, so she will appreciate the shout out.
00:01:56.881 --> 00:01:58.507
Oh, that's great, Hi Eva.
00:02:01.680 --> 00:02:13.771
So what's funny, though, is that we met kind of randomly and we were both trying to be writers and we both sold our first books pretty much at the same time.
00:02:14.259 --> 00:02:15.423
We did, we did.
00:02:15.423 --> 00:02:16.365
That was so crazy.
00:02:16.365 --> 00:02:20.883
We had had our first children and we're selling our first books around the same time.
00:02:21.304 --> 00:02:34.731
Right, and I have this very distinct memory of you coming over to my mother's house when we were visiting from California and the kids are like crawling around on the floor, you know, eating whatever's on the floor, because they were really little and you had your.
00:02:34.731 --> 00:02:41.241
You had your past pages and you were like I don't know what to do with these, what am I supposed to do with these?
00:02:41.241 --> 00:02:54.081
And we were sitting on the couch looking at the past pages and we were just cracking up because we were like we're such posers, nobody knows what we're doing and the editors treat you like you're supposed to know all this stuff and the kids are like eating dirt.
00:02:54.081 --> 00:02:58.570
I have that memory just so embedded in my head.
00:02:58.570 --> 00:02:59.552
It was so funny.
00:02:59.552 --> 00:03:00.961
That's hysterical.
00:03:01.002 --> 00:03:01.543
You remember that.
00:03:01.543 --> 00:03:04.551
I totally forgot about that, but now it's all roaring back.
00:03:05.259 --> 00:03:07.348
Those same kids are now graduating from high school.
00:03:08.039 --> 00:03:11.127
And going to prom and heading off to college.
00:03:11.127 --> 00:03:12.129
It's unbelievable.
00:03:12.129 --> 00:03:14.502
It means that you and I are getting old Beth.
00:03:15.003 --> 00:03:20.362
Yes, oh well, yeah, I mean, every morning I'm like yep, that noise you hear, that's my knees.
00:03:20.743 --> 00:03:21.604
You know what it is?
00:03:21.604 --> 00:03:23.527
It's just another wrinkle forming knees.
00:03:23.527 --> 00:03:24.209
You know what it is?
00:03:24.229 --> 00:03:25.631
It's just another wrinkle forming.
00:03:25.631 --> 00:03:27.454
Absolutely, it's so funny.
00:03:27.454 --> 00:03:35.623
Well, we have you here because we have some hot off the presses questions for you.
00:03:35.623 --> 00:03:36.325
Oh, you know what I want to do.
00:03:36.325 --> 00:03:45.894
First, I want you to tell us a little bit about the darlings, which just came out on May 2nd so very recent release and just give us a little elevator pitch for that.
00:03:46.379 --> 00:03:46.539
Yes.
00:03:46.539 --> 00:04:01.362
So the Darlings is a multi-generational family story and it focuses on three women and the setting is in Chatham, cape Cod, and it's in the house called Riptide, which has been in the family for over 60 years.
00:04:01.362 --> 00:04:03.063
And we open with Andy Darling, who is the youngest, over 60 years.
00:04:03.063 --> 00:04:05.045
And we open with Andy Darling, who is the youngest.
00:04:05.045 --> 00:04:17.357
She is in her forties, recently divorced, heading back to the beach house Riptide for her younger sister's wedding, the absolute last place she wants to be, being fresh off of a divorce with a teenage daughter.
00:04:17.357 --> 00:04:30.303
Then we have Cora Darling, who is the mother of Andy and the daughter-in-law of Tish Darling.
00:04:30.303 --> 00:04:31.526
Tish is the matriarch and it's with Tish that Riptide began.
00:04:31.526 --> 00:04:36.547
And although she's technically still owns the summer house, she has not been there in 50 years.
00:04:36.547 --> 00:04:39.194
She and Cora do not get along at all.
00:04:39.194 --> 00:04:48.786
There is a longstanding family secret that has been kept between the two women and it's about to be unleashed this summer, just in time for the family wedding.
00:04:49.247 --> 00:05:05.432
Your books are great at the family stress points and creating the perfect storm of all the things that are coming together to create family chaos.
00:05:05.432 --> 00:05:18.442
Which leads very nicely to our first question, which is that you explore complex family dynamics and relationships in all of your adult books and your YA books as well.
00:05:18.442 --> 00:05:30.192
So what draws you to these themes and how do you approach them so that they're fresh every time, so that you're getting sort of new insights into human dynamics?
00:05:30.793 --> 00:05:32.158
Welcome to therapy, hannah.
00:05:32.158 --> 00:05:33.322
Welcome to therapy.
00:05:33.382 --> 00:05:35.766
Well, you know that that might be it.
00:05:35.766 --> 00:05:36.588
I perhaps it's.
00:05:36.588 --> 00:05:39.081
It's cathartic, honestly, I don't.
00:05:39.081 --> 00:05:42.819
I never know how to answer that question, cause it's not like it's a conscious decision for me.
00:05:43.281 --> 00:05:53.187
I think, when I really am honest, I look back to my sophomore year in high school and I was in a psychology class and it was the first class besides creative writing that really clicked for me.
00:05:53.187 --> 00:06:05.336
And I remember my teacher in creative writing saying that there are only three themes in literature there's man or woman versus themselves, man versus man or man versus nature.
00:06:05.336 --> 00:06:10.370
And I just remember thinking what does he mean by man versus man or woman versus woman?
00:06:10.370 --> 00:06:11.692
What does that even mean?
00:06:11.692 --> 00:06:26.389
And then I took the psych class the same year and I was like, oh okay, there's a lot of inner workings that go on here, and I think that's just true in my novels, because they're character driven more than they are plot driven really.
00:06:26.389 --> 00:06:53.165
And so when you're dealing with a character driven story, you're kind of on that external journey they're taking through the pages with the plot, but you're really also on an internal journey with them, and with that comes their history and what brought them to this day, and that comes through their family, their relationships, their friendships, their love lives, and it's just something that has always fascinated me and it just ends up coming through in my stories.
00:06:53.466 --> 00:06:54.307
Each one I write.
00:06:54.307 --> 00:06:56.012
I hope it's fresh.
00:06:56.012 --> 00:07:10.009
I don't know, I think it gets harder with each book that comes out to keep it fresh, but my hope is just that I'm creating characters that are relatable and situations that people might be going through in their own personal lives.
00:07:10.009 --> 00:07:21.584
And you know, at the end of the day, let's face it any family holiday or reunion is ripe for the picking with material, so it's endless, right?
00:07:21.584 --> 00:07:23.947
Yes, absolutely.
00:07:24.608 --> 00:07:36.173
I like, too, that you manage to cover different generations, so it's not all 30 somethings or early 20s.
00:07:36.173 --> 00:07:46.182
You're hitting people that represent different generations, so you get a slightly different view onto the same situation, which I think you do really well.
00:07:46.182 --> 00:07:49.603
It makes it interesting for an array of readers.
00:07:49.603 --> 00:07:59.869
So you can come in and be relating to this 30 something character and then 10 years go by, you read a different one and you're like oh, now I relate to this character over here.
00:07:59.869 --> 00:08:00.709
That's a.
00:08:00.709 --> 00:08:04.651
It's a great way to keep those readers coming back over and over again.
00:08:05.071 --> 00:08:06.451
Well, I think also, beth.
00:08:06.451 --> 00:08:09.593
I'm aging, so I started writing in my 30s.
00:08:09.593 --> 00:08:17.255
Now I'm in my early 50s, so I think my character, their bottom baseline age, is moving up along with my own.
00:08:17.255 --> 00:08:18.677
I've got my readers on now.
00:08:19.377 --> 00:08:20.658
No, I know we all do.
00:08:20.658 --> 00:08:21.557
Just, you know.
00:08:21.557 --> 00:08:24.822
Point of reference Everybody's got their readers on.
00:08:24.822 --> 00:08:26.024
I have like within an arm's reach of me.
00:08:26.024 --> 00:08:28.692
I have like 20 pairs because I'm always losing them.
00:08:28.939 --> 00:08:29.841
Oh, it's so funny.
00:08:29.841 --> 00:08:33.951
Right before we came on I couldn't find my read my my glasses.
00:08:33.951 --> 00:08:37.467
I put them down and I was like one and Beth called and I'm wandering around.
00:08:37.467 --> 00:08:39.120
I'm like, oh my god, where are my glasses?
00:08:39.120 --> 00:08:42.708
I have like a million pairs and they were where I always put them.
00:08:42.708 --> 00:08:52.254
They were in the exact same spot I always put my glasses and yet I wandered around like a crazy woman in the room and the room's not that big.
00:08:53.921 --> 00:08:58.672
No, these were on my head right before our Zoom and I spent 15 minutes looking for them.
00:08:58.672 --> 00:09:00.124
My husband's like um.
00:09:00.124 --> 00:09:01.528
She's like.
00:09:01.589 --> 00:09:09.530
I'm not telling her, I know, let her, let her stumble into a reflective surface and then she'll be like oh yeah, there they are on top of my head.
00:09:09.530 --> 00:09:19.769
Oh boy, that is true, though it becomes a different experience when you're when you yourself are, are are changing, and then you're writing younger characters.
00:09:19.769 --> 00:09:21.315
Suddenly it's a different.
00:09:21.315 --> 00:09:34.783
You have to take a different approach because you're needing to make sure that it is true to what a young person now would be, as opposed to somebody when we were actually young, all those you know eras ago 150 years ago.
00:09:34.943 --> 00:09:36.929
Yeah, it's a stretch.
00:09:37.381 --> 00:09:42.169
You know what you guys have grown up during the Taylor Swift eras.
00:09:42.871 --> 00:09:43.192
Yes.
00:09:43.701 --> 00:09:45.587
I'm like obsessed with Taylor Swift right now.
00:09:47.461 --> 00:09:52.273
Lisa is bringing every single thing in the universe back to Taylor Swift.
00:09:52.273 --> 00:09:53.466
Oh, I love that.
00:09:53.759 --> 00:09:55.066
I love her so much.
00:09:55.740 --> 00:09:57.085
Oh, my teenage daughters.
00:09:57.085 --> 00:10:02.971
We are all about T-Swift Anytime we're in the car, even if it's for two minutes, we squeeze in part of a song.
00:10:03.759 --> 00:10:04.865
Well, did you see?
00:10:04.865 --> 00:10:12.073
Sorry we're, I'm totally digressing, but did you see any of the clips from the show last night in Nashville?
00:10:12.073 --> 00:10:13.621
No, I didn't.
00:10:13.621 --> 00:10:15.287
You haven't because you're a grownup.
00:10:15.287 --> 00:10:17.091
So I will tell you.
00:10:17.091 --> 00:10:35.926
It was a pouring rain and she performed for three hours in the pouring rain and there's like one scene where she's singing and in the background there is like a bolt of lightning and I'm just like, oh, she's amazing.
00:10:37.221 --> 00:10:39.029
He is literal rock star.
00:10:40.615 --> 00:10:47.803
Anyway, well, this is actually a perfect question, because your book the Darling centers around Riptide, the beach house.
00:10:47.803 --> 00:11:06.535
So tell us how you research and incorporate your settings into your writing and how they impact the story and the characters look for settings as characters.
00:11:06.556 --> 00:11:15.181
When I start out writing, I don't write with a plot in mind and I don't plot ahead of time, so for me it's usually starting with a character in a place, so the setting takes on its own personality.
00:11:15.280 --> 00:11:51.736
For certain, I think when I first started writing women's fiction, I ended up writing a lot of New England locales, because that's where I grew up, that's where we spent family vacations, and I've done a lot of traveling too, and in the beginning I would research, I would set up shop, I would go up to westerly Rhode Island or I would camp out for a little while on the Cape and I would just go up there and take notes and get a sense of town and the kind of people that not only live there but the people who also traveled there, because they're very, very different and I don't have to do that as much anymore Now.
00:11:51.817 --> 00:12:23.462
I think that either I've been to some of those places enough and know them well enough, intimately Some of them like the Cape or I imagine you know what I don't actually have is fact, and I fill in because a lot of them do share a lot of character traits, but for me I think Beth was talking about family dynamics and messy, complicated family relationships, and so I always like to think of the setting as being something that can absorb all of the aftershocks, if you will.
00:12:23.903 --> 00:12:37.522
You're in this beautiful, luxurious resort area on the Cape or you're up in the lush mountains of New Hampshire and everything is so idyllic and you're immersed in nature, and I think that that's very healing.
00:12:37.522 --> 00:12:52.097
And for me, we have all these family members coming together who are all such good people at their core, but they have done some bad things to each other over the years or they've disappointed each other or or even disappointed themselves.
00:12:52.097 --> 00:13:06.136
And the setting is so important because I feel like it can absorb a lot of that emotion and provide, ultimately, a place of healing for a lot of these characters and a place where they can come together and work through all of their crap together.
00:13:06.177 --> 00:13:22.179
Really, I think that you have done a really good job carving out that New England, setting space as your own, because all of your adult books take place in that general geography, yes, and I think it.
00:13:22.179 --> 00:13:40.238
I always think of like that them as like the Nantucket books even though they haven't all taken place, obviously, in Nantucket but that sort of feeling of that kind of you know, preppy New England thing that I think really resonates for a lot of people, especially if they've never spent time there.
00:13:40.238 --> 00:13:47.679
It's like this introduction to this area that you hear a lot about, you see on TV, so that, I think, is marketing wise.
00:13:47.679 --> 00:13:52.320
I think that's you know, whether you did that on purpose or not has turned out to be a great benefit.
00:13:52.320 --> 00:13:53.101
Oh good.
00:13:53.403 --> 00:13:53.823
I'm glad.
00:13:53.823 --> 00:13:59.221
I think for me it's just it's what I know, it's what I love and it just it's in my back pocket.
00:13:59.221 --> 00:14:01.664
So it comes in handy for sure.
00:14:01.664 --> 00:14:02.826
But it is fun.
00:14:02.826 --> 00:14:10.240
Like you were just saying, beth, you know people who live on the West Coast or the Midwest who haven't perhaps been out to this area.
00:14:10.240 --> 00:14:20.465
Some of the comments or messages I get from readers will say I can't wait to travel now to the Cape, or oh my gosh, we've got to get the family out there to New Hampshire and Maine.
00:14:20.465 --> 00:14:31.849
And it's funny because I'm like, oh, maybe I have like a little travel thing going on inside that I didn't intend, but it's really I think you should do the tours, the book tours.
00:14:32.235 --> 00:14:35.125
I'm going to have to set up some nice little beach town shops.
00:14:35.125 --> 00:14:36.057
Yeah, I love that.
00:14:36.136 --> 00:14:36.778
That is so.
00:14:36.778 --> 00:14:42.217
That's so great, and it's because I am familiar, having grown up in that area myself.
00:14:42.217 --> 00:14:54.326
It's fun to revisit it and to go back and to feel immersed in that, in that geography, so I think that works really well in your novels.
00:14:54.326 --> 00:15:06.364
So I think we said this earlier I have known Hannah for a long time and we published our first books right around the same time, so she's been on this publishing journey for a bunch of years.
00:15:06.364 --> 00:15:09.649
We ask this of a lot of our authors who come on the show.
00:15:09.649 --> 00:15:20.302
But what are some of the challenges that you faced in your publishing journey and how did you overcome them, go around them, kick them to the curb?
00:15:20.302 --> 00:15:25.104
What are the things that stand out for you as the hurdles that you needed to jump over?
00:15:25.434 --> 00:15:26.817
Yes, there are so many.
00:15:26.817 --> 00:15:28.422
Where do you start?
00:15:28.422 --> 00:15:31.316
You know, look, we're all so lucky to do what we do, right?
00:15:31.316 --> 00:15:39.302
I mean, I love coming in the office every day and writing in my pajamas, with the dogs under feet, you know, after I get the kids out the door to school.
00:15:39.302 --> 00:15:40.726
We really are fortunate.
00:15:41.235 --> 00:15:48.720
But I think one of the biggest myths for me when I started in this industry was once I was published, that would be it.
00:15:48.720 --> 00:15:59.009
It was like this moment, you have now been crowned and you shall publish forevermore, and I think for me that was a pretty rude awakening.
00:15:59.009 --> 00:16:10.441
I did two middle grade books with FSG Macmillan and I wanted to segue into contemporary women's fiction and I was terrified to do that.
00:16:10.441 --> 00:16:12.024
I didn't know how to do that.
00:16:12.024 --> 00:16:14.559
I didn't know if I needed an agent first.
00:16:14.559 --> 00:16:16.885
I didn't know if I needed to look at a publishing house first.
00:16:16.885 --> 00:16:20.825
I had published two previous novels, but they were not the same genre.
00:16:20.825 --> 00:16:33.256
So for me, I think, learning that you are constantly reinventing yourself and that's just the way it is being a writer was a big lesson, and it's something I'm still learning.
00:16:33.336 --> 00:16:39.655
The biggest and most obvious, I think, thing that writers, or aspiring writers, need to keep in mind is.
00:16:39.655 --> 00:16:52.486
It's an industry laden with rejection, and even though I did transition to women's fiction and I'm writing about a book a year and still going, you never know if that's going to keep going.
00:16:52.486 --> 00:17:00.986
And I have a drawer full of books I mean that could be another podcast in itself books in a drawer.
00:17:00.986 --> 00:17:10.404
I have a number of books from my early years where I wrote some YA and picture books never got published, probably never will come out of those drawers either.
00:17:10.404 --> 00:17:12.996
And even now you know writing.
00:17:12.996 --> 00:17:22.425
I'm working on a new book for next year and I'm on, I think, my third draft and I'm only like 50 pages in and I've been working on this for several months.
00:17:22.425 --> 00:17:39.683
So you really have to be prepared that you really have to be prepared that you are going to constantly be pushing yourself to produce new material, to segue into a new genre and know that rejection is just part of the process and not get too bogged down by it or too worried about it, that you just have to keep writing.
00:17:39.683 --> 00:17:44.099
I think that would be one piece of advice I would give to any aspiring writer.
00:17:44.480 --> 00:17:50.961
The other thing that I still struggle with that for me is a big hurdle is the balance now of social media.
00:17:50.961 --> 00:17:56.186
Because I know, beth, when we first started, I was still snail mailing manuscripts in.
00:17:56.186 --> 00:18:00.086
I was just starting to email them to potential agents and editors.
00:18:00.086 --> 00:18:03.526
And now here we are we've got Facebook and Insta and Twitter.
00:18:03.526 --> 00:18:08.459
And now here we are, we've got Facebook and Insta and Twitter.
00:18:08.480 --> 00:18:17.320
And I look around and I'm in awe of how many authors, especially in my genre and women's fiction, who just seem to be branding themselves and doing so very successfully.
00:18:17.320 --> 00:18:21.869
And it's interesting because I aspire to do that.
00:18:21.869 --> 00:18:25.265
And yet I'm completely terrified by it at times too.
00:18:25.265 --> 00:18:30.521
Because I'm looking at some of these authors, I'm like, all right, here's their book tour and here's their latest release.
00:18:30.521 --> 00:18:33.123
Oh, and there's their daughter in her senior prom dress.
00:18:33.123 --> 00:18:33.984
That's a great dress.
00:18:34.455 --> 00:18:41.045
Or here they are making cookies and challah bread for the holidays and I'm like, oh gosh, do I need to bake cookies?
00:18:41.045 --> 00:18:43.338
Do I need to get my kid in a prom dress?
00:18:43.338 --> 00:18:47.468
Should I put on a sundress and go outside and walk the dog with my book?
00:18:47.468 --> 00:18:53.883
And it's just, it's so hard because it's not who I am personally and it's exhausting.
00:18:53.883 --> 00:19:01.643
And if I honestly, if I did that, you would see me walking the dog coming out of the woods like, excuse the dirt and the leaves.
00:19:01.643 --> 00:19:02.586
We saw a squirrel.
00:19:02.586 --> 00:19:38.096
There's nothing pretty about it going on here and I keep thinking, hannah, you need to really push the social media more, and it's something that I need to get comfortable with, because it is a fine line between inviting people completely into your personal life and creating this sense of reality star a little bit versus, you know, doing the work of writing in your office and getting through those pages and getting a manuscript in on time in its best shape every year, and striking that balance to me is daunting at times.
00:19:38.096 --> 00:19:39.480
It's brutal.
00:19:39.701 --> 00:19:45.117
I feel like a lot of the times when you see like I see people what you're, you know what you're talking about.
00:19:45.117 --> 00:19:46.560
What you're talking about, you know authors.
00:19:46.580 --> 00:20:09.000
I know friends I know are just are making these reels for you know TikTok and you know I'm not on TikTok you know whatever on Instagram and I just sit there, like honestly, in my bed in my pajamas with my readers just going, wow, that seems like a lot of work to me and I'm like I'm just going to go back to my Taylor Swift reels.
00:20:09.000 --> 00:20:10.727
This is like too much.
00:20:10.727 --> 00:20:15.980
I need to feel good about myself again, so I'm going to go watch some Tay-Tay.
00:20:15.980 --> 00:20:18.044
I am so with you.
00:20:18.044 --> 00:20:20.587
It's just a lot.
00:20:21.028 --> 00:20:24.742
It just feels inauthentic for me because I'm never.
00:20:24.742 --> 00:20:32.215
I don't have a dog, first of all, but it would be crazy if I was out walking the dog in a sundress, because I don't have one of those either.
00:20:32.836 --> 00:20:51.472
So, but no, there's definitely, there's definitely this feeling of their lives are clearly curated and presented to you in this package that goes with their brand and, at the same time, you're supposed to accept that this is the way that they really live and function.
00:20:51.472 --> 00:20:52.214
And I don't know.
00:20:52.214 --> 00:20:54.381
I find I'm totally with you, I find it.
00:20:54.381 --> 00:20:56.967
I don't know how to, how to do the puzzle.
00:20:56.967 --> 00:20:58.196
I don't know how to untangle it.
00:20:58.196 --> 00:20:59.560
I don't know if it's worth it.
00:20:59.560 --> 00:21:02.615
I have always struggled a lot with social media.
00:21:02.615 --> 00:21:03.778
I'm not that person.
00:21:04.098 --> 00:21:04.961
I think we should.
00:21:04.961 --> 00:21:10.479
I should just take a picture of myself like this and just to cross it right hot mess, please buy my books.
00:21:10.479 --> 00:21:13.807
That's my new brand.
00:21:15.875 --> 00:21:18.703
You know, I would buy your book, lisa, just for that.
00:21:18.703 --> 00:21:23.176
I really would, because I applaud the writers who do this.
00:21:23.176 --> 00:21:31.445
But I just I feel like where I'm at right now with family life balance and work life which, let's be honest, there's no balance.
00:21:31.445 --> 00:21:39.616
To begin with, it seems exhausting to me to be putting myself out there that much, and yet I also feel like I kind of need to do that.
00:21:39.616 --> 00:21:52.784
I was watching a reel on Instagram and scrolling through my feed the other day and then I was just looking at posts and Lisa Jewell, uk author, popped up and she was on tour and I loved her post.
00:21:52.784 --> 00:22:02.060
She said something about what a fabulous, busy day she'd had with all of these fellow fellow authors she's touring with and all the readers they met, and then she said it was such a great day.
00:22:02.060 --> 00:22:05.861
If I knew how to make a reel, I would, but I don't, so here's a photo.
00:22:06.121 --> 00:22:07.564
That is awesome.
00:22:08.305 --> 00:22:10.930
Oh, I love that Keeping it real.
00:22:12.438 --> 00:22:20.303
Yeah, we have to push ourselves, but at the same time, for me, the social media stuff is something I'm still really trying to learn and figure out.
00:22:20.303 --> 00:22:21.747
What's the balance here?
00:22:22.236 --> 00:22:29.255
Yeah, and I think in some regard, we are not obviously digital natives.
00:22:29.255 --> 00:22:31.018
Our kids have grown up with it.
00:22:31.018 --> 00:22:35.213
It's like a second language and for us we're always trying to overcome.
00:22:35.213 --> 00:22:37.419
How do you speak this language?
00:22:37.419 --> 00:22:39.751
What is the point of speaking this language?
00:22:39.751 --> 00:22:41.336
It's definitely challenging.
00:22:41.336 --> 00:22:44.990
We've had a lot of authors who come on say the same thing.
00:22:44.990 --> 00:22:54.355
It is trying to find your comfort level and the balance and getting something for your book, because a lot of the stuff we do on social media does not sell books.
00:22:54.895 --> 00:22:56.097
So what does it get you?
00:22:56.097 --> 00:22:59.070
Yeah, it's an it's a.
00:22:59.353 --> 00:23:00.076
It's a quagmire.
00:23:00.719 --> 00:23:13.872
I feel like the authors that do it, and especially authors that are kind of um writers with wrinkles, that that they enjoy it, like I feel, like you know I can, as I'm watching them, I'm like you know what they look like.
00:23:13.872 --> 00:23:21.980
They're having fun I think they do too, and so I think it's like you know more power to them for doing it and wanting to do it.
00:23:21.980 --> 00:23:26.482
I think it's a matter of picking things that you enjoy doing and are having fun doing.
00:23:26.482 --> 00:23:28.250
Then it comes off as authentic.
00:23:28.250 --> 00:23:36.291
But if you're doing something and you're doing it just because you feel like you have to, then it looks like you're doing it because you have to and it comes off as like you know.
00:23:36.291 --> 00:23:37.595
Oh my God, please stop.
00:23:38.356 --> 00:23:38.738
You do.
00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:00.782
00:00:01.443 --> 00:00:15.132
00:00:15.132 --> 00:00:29.609
00:00:29.609 --> 00:00:38.345
00:00:38.345 --> 00:00:40.731
00:00:40.731 --> 00:00:46.033
00:00:46.033 --> 00:00:48.238
00:00:49.979 --> 00:00:52.104
00:00:52.104 --> 00:01:04.253
00:01:04.253 --> 00:01:11.393
00:01:11.393 --> 00:01:14.706
00:01:14.706 --> 00:01:23.968
00:01:23.968 --> 00:01:33.813
00:01:34.540 --> 00:01:36.807
00:01:36.807 --> 00:01:38.230
00:01:38.230 --> 00:01:40.183
00:01:40.183 --> 00:01:41.248
00:01:41.248 --> 00:01:43.805
00:01:43.805 --> 00:01:46.340
00:01:46.340 --> 00:01:56.349
00:01:56.881 --> 00:01:58.507
00:02:01.680 --> 00:02:13.771
00:02:14.259 --> 00:02:15.423
00:02:15.423 --> 00:02:16.365
00:02:16.365 --> 00:02:20.883
00:02:21.304 --> 00:02:34.731
00:02:34.731 --> 00:02:41.241
00:02:41.241 --> 00:02:54.081
00:02:54.081 --> 00:02:58.570
00:02:58.570 --> 00:02:59.552
00:02:59.552 --> 00:03:00.961
00:03:01.002 --> 00:03:01.543
00:03:01.543 --> 00:03:04.551
00:03:05.259 --> 00:03:07.348
00:03:08.039 --> 00:03:11.127
00:03:11.127 --> 00:03:12.129
00:03:12.129 --> 00:03:14.502
00:03:15.003 --> 00:03:20.362
00:03:20.743 --> 00:03:21.604
00:03:21.604 --> 00:03:23.527
00:03:23.527 --> 00:03:24.209
00:03:24.229 --> 00:03:25.631
00:03:25.631 --> 00:03:27.454
00:03:27.454 --> 00:03:35.623
00:03:35.623 --> 00:03:36.325
00:03:36.325 --> 00:03:45.894
00:03:46.379 --> 00:03:46.539
00:03:46.539 --> 00:04:01.362
00:04:01.362 --> 00:04:03.063
00:04:03.063 --> 00:04:05.045
00:04:05.045 --> 00:04:17.357
00:04:17.357 --> 00:04:30.303
00:04:30.303 --> 00:04:31.526
00:04:31.526 --> 00:04:36.547
00:04:36.547 --> 00:04:39.194
00:04:39.194 --> 00:04:48.786
00:04:49.247 --> 00:05:05.432
00:05:05.432 --> 00:05:18.442
00:05:18.442 --> 00:05:30.192
00:05:30.793 --> 00:05:32.158
00:05:32.158 --> 00:05:33.322
00:05:33.382 --> 00:05:35.766
00:05:35.766 --> 00:05:36.588
00:05:36.588 --> 00:05:39.081
00:05:39.081 --> 00:05:42.819
00:05:43.281 --> 00:05:53.187
00:05:53.187 --> 00:06:05.336
00:06:05.336 --> 00:06:10.370
00:06:10.370 --> 00:06:11.692
00:06:11.692 --> 00:06:26.389
00:06:26.389 --> 00:06:53.165
00:06:53.466 --> 00:06:54.307
00:06:54.307 --> 00:06:56.012
00:06:56.012 --> 00:07:10.009
00:07:10.009 --> 00:07:21.584
00:07:21.584 --> 00:07:23.947
00:07:24.608 --> 00:07:36.173
00:07:36.173 --> 00:07:46.182
00:07:46.182 --> 00:07:49.603
00:07:49.603 --> 00:07:59.869
00:07:59.869 --> 00:08:00.709
00:08:00.709 --> 00:08:04.651
00:08:05.071 --> 00:08:06.451
00:08:06.451 --> 00:08:09.593
00:08:09.593 --> 00:08:17.255
00:08:17.255 --> 00:08:18.677
00:08:19.377 --> 00:08:20.658
00:08:20.658 --> 00:08:21.557
00:08:21.557 --> 00:08:24.822
00:08:24.822 --> 00:08:26.024
00:08:26.024 --> 00:08:28.692
00:08:28.939 --> 00:08:29.841
00:08:29.841 --> 00:08:33.951
00:08:33.951 --> 00:08:37.467
00:08:37.467 --> 00:08:39.120
00:08:39.120 --> 00:08:42.708
00:08:42.708 --> 00:08:52.254
00:08:53.921 --> 00:08:58.672
00:08:58.672 --> 00:09:00.124
00:09:00.124 --> 00:09:01.528
00:09:01.589 --> 00:09:09.530
00:09:09.530 --> 00:09:19.769
00:09:19.769 --> 00:09:21.315
00:09:21.315 --> 00:09:34.783
00:09:34.943 --> 00:09:36.929
00:09:37.381 --> 00:09:42.169
00:09:42.871 --> 00:09:43.192
00:09:43.701 --> 00:09:45.587
00:09:47.461 --> 00:09:52.273
00:09:52.273 --> 00:09:53.466
00:09:53.759 --> 00:09:55.066
00:09:55.740 --> 00:09:57.085
00:09:57.085 --> 00:10:02.971
00:10:03.759 --> 00:10:04.865
00:10:04.865 --> 00:10:12.073
00:10:12.073 --> 00:10:13.621
00:10:13.621 --> 00:10:15.287
00:10:15.287 --> 00:10:17.091
00:10:17.091 --> 00:10:35.926
00:10:37.221 --> 00:10:39.029
00:10:40.615 --> 00:10:47.803
00:10:47.803 --> 00:11:06.535
00:11:06.556 --> 00:11:15.181
00:11:15.280 --> 00:11:51.736
00:11:51.817 --> 00:12:23.462
00:12:23.903 --> 00:12:37.522
00:12:37.522 --> 00:12:52.097
00:12:52.097 --> 00:13:06.136
00:13:06.177 --> 00:13:22.179
00:13:22.179 --> 00:13:40.238
00:13:40.238 --> 00:13:47.679
00:13:47.679 --> 00:13:52.320
00:13:52.320 --> 00:13:53.101
00:13:53.403 --> 00:13:53.823
00:13:53.823 --> 00:13:59.221
00:13:59.221 --> 00:14:01.664
00:14:01.664 --> 00:14:02.826
00:14:02.826 --> 00:14:10.240
00:14:10.240 --> 00:14:20.465
00:14:20.465 --> 00:14:31.849
00:14:32.235 --> 00:14:35.125
00:14:35.125 --> 00:14:36.057
00:14:36.136 --> 00:14:36.778
00:14:36.778 --> 00:14:42.217
00:14:42.217 --> 00:14:54.326
00:14:54.326 --> 00:15:06.364
00:15:06.364 --> 00:15:09.649
00:15:09.649 --> 00:15:20.302
00:15:20.302 --> 00:15:25.104
00:15:25.434 --> 00:15:26.817
00:15:26.817 --> 00:15:28.422
00:15:28.422 --> 00:15:31.316
00:15:31.316 --> 00:15:39.302
00:15:39.302 --> 00:15:40.726
00:15:41.235 --> 00:15:48.720
00:15:48.720 --> 00:15:59.009
00:15:59.009 --> 00:16:10.441
00:16:10.441 --> 00:16:12.024
00:16:12.024 --> 00:16:14.559
00:16:14.559 --> 00:16:16.885
00:16:16.885 --> 00:16:20.825
00:16:20.825 --> 00:16:33.256
00:16:33.336 --> 00:16:39.655
00:16:39.655 --> 00:16:52.486
00:16:52.486 --> 00:17:00.986
00:17:00.986 --> 00:17:10.404
00:17:10.404 --> 00:17:12.996
00:17:12.996 --> 00:17:22.425
00:17:22.425 --> 00:17:39.683
00:17:39.683 --> 00:17:44.099
00:17:44.480 --> 00:17:50.961
00:17:50.961 --> 00:17:56.186
00:17:56.186 --> 00:18:00.086
00:18:00.086 --> 00:18:03.526
00:18:03.526 --> 00:18:08.459
00:18:08.480 --> 00:18:17.320
00:18:17.320 --> 00:18:21.869
00:18:21.869 --> 00:18:25.265
00:18:25.265 --> 00:18:30.521
00:18:30.521 --> 00:18:33.123
00:18:33.123 --> 00:18:33.984
00:18:34.455 --> 00:18:41.045
00:18:41.045 --> 00:18:43.338
00:18:43.338 --> 00:18:47.468
00:18:47.468 --> 00:18:53.883
00:18:53.883 --> 00:19:01.643
00:19:01.643 --> 00:19:02.586
00:19:02.586 --> 00:19:38.096
00:19:38.096 --> 00:19:39.480
00:19:39.701 --> 00:19:45.117
00:19:45.117 --> 00:19:46.560
00:19:46.580 --> 00:20:09.000
00:20:09.000 --> 00:20:10.727
00:20:10.727 --> 00:20:15.980
00:20:15.980 --> 00:20:18.044
00:20:18.044 --> 00:20:20.587
00:20:21.028 --> 00:20:24.742
00:20:24.742 --> 00:20:32.215
00:20:32.836 --> 00:20:51.472
00:20:51.472 --> 00:20:52.214
00:20:52.214 --> 00:20:54.381
00:20:54.381 --> 00:20:56.967
00:20:56.967 --> 00:20:58.196
00:20:58.196 --> 00:20:59.560
00:20:59.560 --> 00:21:02.615
00:21:02.615 --> 00:21:03.778
00:21:04.098 --> 00:21:04.961
00:21:04.961 --> 00:21:10.479
00:21:10.479 --> 00:21:13.807
00:21:15.875 --> 00:21:18.703
00:21:18.703 --> 00:21:23.176
00:21:23.176 --> 00:21:31.445
00:21:31.445 --> 00:21:39.616
00:21:39.616 --> 00:21:52.784
00:21:52.784 --> 00:22:02.060
00:22:02.060 --> 00:22:05.861
00:22:06.121 --> 00:22:07.564
00:22:08.305 --> 00:22:10.930
00:22:12.438 --> 00:22:20.303
00:22:20.303 --> 00:22:21.747
00:22:22.236 --> 00:22:29.255
00:22:29.255 --> 00:22:31.018
00:22:31.018 --> 00:22:35.213
00:22:35.213 --> 00:22:37.419
00:22:37.419 --> 00:22:39.751
00:22:39.751 --> 00:22:41.336
00:22:41.336 --> 00:22:44.990
00:22:44.990 --> 00:22:54.355
00:22:54.895 --> 00:22:56.097
00:22:56.097 --> 00:22:59.070
00:22:59.353 --> 00:23:00.076
00:23:00.719 --> 00:23:13.872
00:23:13.872 --> 00:23:21.980
00:23:21.980 --> 00:23:26.482
00:23:26.482 --> 00:23:28.250
00:23:28.250 --> 00:23:36.291
00:23:36.291 --> 00:23:37.595
00:23:38.356 --> 00:23:38.738