Audrain recalls Jones telling her: “This is ready, send it out, it’s going to be on shelves, you’re going to get this book published.” Audrain was paired with the novelist Amy Jones and after Jones read the manuscript, they met for tea at the Gladstone Hotel in mid-March. She sought help from Toronto’s Flying Books – a bookstore and creative writing school that offers one-on-one mentorship.
It was hard to hear, but it was the right advice.Īudrain still wasn’t sure the book was ready to be sent out to agents. It was the most painful thing, more painful than childbirth,” Audrain says. “I deleted probably 75 per cent of the book. Over lunch with their toddler in tow – Audrain was pregnant at this point with her second – he gave her what turned out to be crucial feedback: he suggested the book keep its focus on the core issue of motherhood and not the other plotlines and twists, which seemed extraneous. “There’s such a huge connection between fear and motherhood it’s almost as hard to separate between love and motherhood,” Audrain says.Īfter about two years of writing in those small chunks, she felt ready to show her draft to her partner, who works in finance. The writing brought Audrain joy, even if in the book she ended up venturing into some extremely dark territory. “It still feels as surreal as you can imagine.” Film rights have been sold too – to a major producer. “It happened so quickly, which I know is insanely rare,” says Audrain, from her home in Toronto, where she lives with her partner and their two children, who are three and five.
Translation rights for what would ultimately be 32 markets swiftly followed. Audrain – former publicity director for Penguin Canada, who left her job to be a full-time stay-at-home mother – hoped she could at least find an agent to represent her.īy the end of that month – June, 2019 – Audrain not only had an agent, but a multimillion dollar deal that would see her debut novel published in Britain, Canada and the United States. She was nervous, but a trusted mentor assured her it was ready. She had been working on it, very part-time, for nearly four years.
Christopher Katsarov/The Globe and MailĪt the beginning of that June, Ashley Audrain felt ready, finally, to send out her manuscript. Author Ashley Audrain in Toronto, on Jan., 7, 2021.
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