Daisy Alpert Florin, author of a book I truly adored, My Last Innocent Year, about a young woman in her last year of college, which is recently out in paperbook and–hot tip–would make an excellent book group pick.

My Last Innocent Year was a New York Times Book Reviews Editor's Choice and Good Morning America called it one of those stories that stays with you.

I've had the pleasure of being on a writing retreat with Daisy and getting to know her both in person and on the page.And I am very excited to plumb the depths of her personal through line with you here today.

In this episode on the practical matters that inform her writing, we cover:

How she doesn’t tick the boxes of a ‘typical’ novelist’s path–majored in history, didn’t get an MFA, etc.

How Daisy feels about publishing her first novel at age 50 (hint: The movie Daisy watched for fun that gave her ideas for her current book

How writing a novel is like riding a horse

How she stays in the world of the novel so that her subconscious can be working things out even when she’s sleeping, showering or driving her car

How she captures the ideas she has when she’s sleeping, showering, or driving her car

For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.

Big thanks to our sponsor, AquaTru.com. Use promo code KATE to save 20% off a reverse osmosis water filter and support this podcast!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices