Hey there word nerds!
Today I have the pleasure of welcoming Ann Kidd Taylor to the show!
Ann first broke onto the literary scene in 2009 with the New York Times bestselling memoir Traveling with Pomegranates, co-written with her mother, Sue Monk Kidd. She returns this summer with her debut novel, The Shark Club, which has received glowing early praise and is available in bookstores now!
Listen in as Ann and I tease apart The Shark Club, and discuss both its unique characters and setting.
In this episode Ann and I discuss:
- How to write a character-driven novel with a plot that will keep readers turning pages.
- Why writing an abnormal protagonist not only makes a story unique but adds tension.
- How to craft multi-sensory scenes that bring to life a setting, that differs so much from your own experience, like when the protagonist Maeve is underwater.
- How to write realistic animal characters without attributing human qualities to them.
- How to prepare yourself to write something outside your area of expertise.
Plus, Ann’s #1 tip for writers.
About Ann Kidd Taylor
Ann Kidd Taylor is a graduate of Columbia College in South Carolina and the coauthor, along with her mother Sue Monk Kidd, of the New York Times bestselling memoir Traveling with Pomegranates.
Taylor’s debut novel, The Shark Club, is now available and comes with fantastic early praise from reviewers. In order to accurately portray her novel’s unique protagonist, Taylor volunteered on shark monitoring trips with a biologist from the Rookery Bay Reserve in Naples, Florida, and also interviewed a marine sheriff about marine law.
Ann lives with her husband and son in southwest Florida, the same place her novel’s protagonist calls home.
To connect more with Ann check out her website at www.annkiddtaylor.com.
The Shark Club
One summer day on the beach in Florida, two extraordinary things happen to Maeve Donnelly. First, she is kissed by Daniel, the boy of her dreams. Then, she is bitten by a blacktip shark.
Eighteen years later, Maeve has thrown herself into her work as a world-traveling marine biologist discovering more about the minds of misunderstood sharks. But when Maeve returns home to the legendarily charming and eccentric Hotel of the Muses where she was raised by her grandmother, she finds more than just the blood orange sunsets and key lime pies she’s missed waiting for her.
While Maeve has always been fearless in the water, on land she is indecisive. A chance meeting on the beach with a plucky, irresistible little girl who is just as fascinated by the ocean as Maeve was growing up leaves her at a crossroads: Should she rekindle her romance with Daniel, the first love she left behind when she dove into her work? Or indulge in a new romance with her colleague, Nicholas, who turns up in her hometown to investigate an illegal shark-finning operation?
Set against the intoxicating backdrop of palm trees, calypso bands, and perfect ocean views, The Shark Club is a story of the mysterious passions of one woman’s life: her first love and new love; the sea and sharks that inhabit it.
If you decide to check out the The Shark Club, we hope you’ll do so via this Amazon affiliate link, where if you choose to purchase DIY MFA makes a small commission at no cost to you. As always, thank you for supporting DIY MFA!
Link to Episode 155
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