Episode 32: Julie Carrick Dalton

Julie Carrick Dalton , debut author of one of the most anticipated books of 2021, Waiting for the Night Song

Key Topics: How the novel was in part inspired by “bad parenting” and blueberries (you’ll need to listen to understand why), what changed during editing, the new category of climate fiction, her writing advice and a favorite recent read.

Interview Notes

I’m so excited to share an interview with @juliecdalton whose much anticipated debut WAITING FOR THE NIGHT SONG, which just released this week, deserves every accolade it’s getting! (which includes Newsweek’s most highly anticipated new books and Library Journal choosing Julie as one of 4 important new women writers to follow!)

As I said in my own review, this is novel with such wonderful descriptions that you want to savor every page, but also with a mystery plot that draws you right in.

Julie shares how the novel was in part inspired by “bad parenting” and blueberries (you’ll need to listen to understand why).

We chat about the generosity of fellow mystery writer Kate Moretti, who was the first to blurb the book (before it had even found a publisher).

Julie shares what changed during editing – which involved cutting out the whole original middle of the book and she explains more about the new category of climate fiction.

She shares one of her very favorite books in the last year MIGRATIONS by Charlotte McConaghy which Julie loved and found “just beautiful”. A journey from Greenland set in the near future, tracking the last migration of the last Arctic terns, a book that Julie describes as “leaving me feeling hopeful”.

Her advice for writers centers around community (Julie found part of hers with Grub Street Writers in Boston where she went through the novel incubator program), how you can learn as much about writing through helping others with their work. And one more – trust in the easter eggs you didn’t know you planted!

We end with Julie sharing some essential thoughts on the interconnectedness of the climate world, and the importance of how our actions impact much more broadly than our own neighborhood.