Colette Dartford, author of 'The Mortification of Grace Wheeler' - Kindle bestseller talks about quiet spaces, character summaries, and self-publishing
Author Colette Dartford chose self-publishing for creative control and marketing strategies.
Novel 'The Mortification of Grace Wheeler' explores mid-life challenges and forbidden affairs.
Deep dives
Author's Self-Publishing Decision
The author, Colette Dartford, known for her successful traditional publishing experiences, made a bold decision to self-publish her latest book, 'The Mortification of Grace Wheeler'. Dissatisfied with the lack of creative control in traditional publishing, she opted for a publishing services agency to ensure the book's quality and marketing. This move allowed her to set book prices, control book cover designs, and retain rights over her work.
Character-Driven Storytelling Approach
In 'The Mortification of Grace Wheeler', the protagonist, Grace, faces emptiness after her son leaves for university and a disconnect in her marriage to an older man. Dartford's narrative explores mid-life challenges, loneliness, and a forbidden affair, revealing Grace's journey of self-discovery and the consequences of her choices.
Inspiration from Newspaper Reading
The idea for the novel stemmed from a newspaper article about the challenges of empty nest syndrome. Dartford was inspired to depict a character like Grace, dealing with loneliness, disconnection in a marriage, and embarking on a transformative affair. The story reflects mid-life dilemmas and the complexities of long-term relationships.
Writing Process and Character Development
Dartford's writing process involves exploring relatable yet flawed characters facing obstacles and making controversial choices. Through deep character development, she aims to make readers empathize with characters' decisions, even in morally gray situations. Dartford's storytelling delves into the complexities of relationships and human behavior, resonating with readers, especially women over forty-five.
Colette Dartford's debut, 'Learning to Speak American', was shortlisted for an Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. She followed up this success with her second, 'An Unsuitable Marriage', was a Kindle bestseller for 18 months.
For her new novel she's made an interesting decision. In August, she'll self-publish, 'The Mortification of Grace Wheeler'. She's done this to have more creative control over publishing, marketing and pricing, and is almost doing it as a one-book experiment. She gets deep into the reasons why she has done this, and there's some fantastic advice to help you make a similar choice.
The novel is about Grace, in a marriage with a much older man, whose son leaves for University. She becomes an empty-nester, and in a bid for excitement, is drawn into an affair with terrible consequences.
We talk about why she has stopped doing detailed summaries of characters, why all she needs to write is a quiet space and a laptop, and how much expert help she gets before sending the work off.