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On The Table Read, “the best book magazine in the UK“, author Anne Callanan talks about her new book, Dominic’s Park, and what inspired her to write it.
Written by JJ Barnes
I interviewed author Anne Callanan about her life and career, what inspired her to start writing, and the story of her new book, Dominic’s Park.
Tell me a bit about who you are.
Prior to writing my first book ‘Dominic’s Park’ my professional background was in social work. Over the years I branched out into counseling, facilitation and teaching, but now the writing bug has truly grabbed me! I’ve always enjoyed a change and this experience is certainly that.
Mother to three boys, or should I say grown men who have flown the nest, myself and my partner are back to where we first began as a couple. Funnily enough though, I no-longer have the appetite for the hangovers of my youth… I must have matured at last. There are only two cats to watch over now who don’t object to me tapping away on my computer for hours on end, and their dinner doesn’t need cooking!
I’m hoping this new venture is going to go well because I’d like nothing better than to finish my second book in the knowledge my first was well received, so I’m keeping my fingers firmly crossed.
When did you first WANT to write a book?
A career in writing wasn’t something I considered as a younger person. In school English was one of my favorite subjects but it was not something I especially excelled in, consequently it never appeared on my radar as a possible career. In more recent years, having discovered the meaning of free time, I took the opportunity to complete some online courses, and the positive feedback I received from the Centre of Excellence novel writing course gave me the confidence required to give it a go.
That was followed by a series of Instagram/YouTube tutorials by the well-known Irish author Marian Keyes. Marian not only kept me entertained with her greatly appreciated free tutorials for budding writers but also kept me inspired. I’ve gone for it with gusto! I’ll only live once.
When did you take a step to start writing?
I did the online writing course in the autumn of 2020 during the Covid lockdowns. I’m so glad lockdowns are now a memory and not a daily reality. I completed the course by Christmas and over the holidays decided my new year challenge would be to attempt to write an entire book. I really committed myself to it.
How long did it take you to complete your first book from the first idea to release?
The short answer is one year, seven months and twenty-three days. The long answer is… Dominic’s Park was started in January 2021, but I had been playing around with ideas in my head while I was doing the writing course.
The initial draft took three months but that was only the bones of the story, there were two further rewrites to expand the storyline and explore the characters before I felt I could show my work to anyone. finished the writing at the end of June 2021. With some encouragement I began looking for a publisher in July and eventually secured my publishing deal with Cranthorpe Millner (Thank you again C&M) in October.
After that there were more revisions with the help of their editors and my final publication date is the 23rd of August 2022.
What made you want to write Dominic’s Park?
For my first book I was advised it was important to start with something I felt passionate about. At that time, I was aggravated about a conversation where this view was expressed, “any-one can make it if they try hard enough.”
This belief implies that if you don’t make it, then it is your own fault. Throughout my career it has been abundantly obvious to me that there are many societal barriers and personal circumstances which prevent individual’s hard work from materializing into success. Whatever success is… but that’s another whole debate!
Believing this adage to be true surely suggests that those who are not ‘successful’ (I use this term loosely) do not deserve empathy because they must not have tried hard enough.
It’s a strange starting point but I decided to create a story where nothing is that black and white and every character faces struggles that prevent them from being as successful as they might have wanted to be. In essence I tried to create an entertaining read while prompting some social awareness.
What were your biggest challenges with writing Dominic’s Park?
There were many challenges. Where do I start? Deciding on a final idea was the first challenge. There were so many ways the story could go. Then structuring the outline and deciding the best place to begin. That changed halfway through the book and again at the very end of writing. I wasn’t good at following my chapters template.
Continuing to write every day, even when I couldn’t get the words out properly was also very challenging. On those days I learned to just keep leaving my ideas in print. Inevitably after letting them rest for a while, I’d go back to flesh out the ideas or confidently discard them when I felt more inspired.
Writing a book was much harder work than I’d imagined but I’m hooked regardless and have started on my second. No doubt the same challenges will apply the second time around. I’m accepting it’s just part of the process.
Who or what inspired you when creating your Protagonist?
My protagonist was not inspired by a particular person, more by the want to create a character who shows humanity and all its foibles. She is a combination of lots of people who struggle with their circumstances. None of us are all good or all bad. We must respond to the situations that arise in our lives. Sometimes we make good decisions, other times bad. Either way we have to get on with it.
Who or what inspired you when creating your Antagonist?
In the same way my protagonist was based on a concept rather than a particular person. He’s definitely the ‘baddie’ in the story but I hope a baddie the reader can feel some empathy for. He has had to make life decisions to survive, bad ones mostly but what choice did he really have?
What is the inciting incident of Dominic’s Park?
The inciting incident is the disappearance of my antagonist’s eight-year-old son Harry. Harry has autism and he goes missing from his back garden one afternoon with this service dog Patrick. The story evolves from there, both forward and backward in time.
What is the main conflict of Dominic’s Park?
The main conflict of the book is about the fight to survive in an unequal society. The classic moral dilemma about empathy vs blame. In a society where such varied inequalities exist, is it even possible to level the playing field? It’s about putting yourself in someone else’s shoes and experiencing how much they hurt.
Did you plot Dominic’s Park in advance, or fly by the seat of your pants and write freely?
A bit of both. I plotted the chapters in advance to get me going on the story line but by halfway through, the plot and some of the characters had changed. After that, other than keeping regular notes on how the story was changing to keep on top of where I was heading, I played it very much by the seat of my pants. For me, that was one of the best bits of the writing experience, I really enjoyed having the freedom to change the story line as I went along according as to how the characters were developing.
Did you get support with editing, and how much editing did Dominic’s Park need?
Yes, I definitely got support with editing. Victoria and Michelle from Cranthorpe Millner were an invaluable support. Basically, they advised me on what needed to be put in and what needed to go. As a first-time writer there was lots to learn. I was expecting major structural changes to the story but thankfully I was spared. The editing process provided me with an outsiders eye and that can never be a bad thing, even if it felt like that sometimes!
What is the first piece of writing advice you would give to anyone inspired to write a story?
You must stop thinking and actually put something on a piece of paper or up onto a screen and save it! Once you’ve taken it out of your brain it’s easier to work on it. Then just write and write. You’ll write loads of stuff you’ll never use in your final book, poem or short story but that’s ok. It’s not a waste of time. To use an analogy, it’s like stirring a cake mixture for just the right amount of time to make the cake rise perfectly. That’s not wasted time.
For me completing the online writing course gave me the confidence, structure and inspiration to tap out my first words on the screen and press save. I know that’s what got me to commit. Giving myself a timeline also helped. It was the only way I was going to following through on finishing. Without it I would still be changing the story.
Oh, and for me what also helped was telling a few people that I was writing a book, regardless of the super surprised responses. Once I’d got that out there then I had to finish, even if I never published!
Can you give me a hint about any further books you are planning to write?
As I now have the bug! I’m in the early stages of a second book in the hope that it will be a further improvement on my first. I’m just at the point where I’m about to abandon my structure again and go by the seat of my pants. You can but try! It’s another mystery/ thriller but with a bit more emphasis on the thriller at the moment. I can’t guarantee how it will go so we’ll just have to wait and see.
And, finally, are you proud of your accomplishment?
Yes, I’m very proud but suffering from a bit of ‘imposter syndrome.’ I can’t quite believe I am the actual author of the new book on my shelf called Dominic’s Park. It’s all a bit surreal. I hope it’s an engaging read, I really do.
Pop all your book, website and social media links here so the readers can find you:
https://www.instagram.com/anne_callanan5/S
Anne Callanan – Dominic’s Park – Cranthorpe Millner
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