‘How motherhood inspired my writing’
As a mother to two daughters, I teach my girls that anything is possible and encourage them to reach for the stars. But it got me thinking, am I doing the same?
I’d dreamed of being an author ever since I was in primary school. But it wasn’t until I was approaching my 40th birthday that I finally took the plunge and wrote my first novel. It’s no coincidence that the inspiration came soon after I became a mother myself.
Parenting is a shock to the system. Life as you know it changes immeasurably and it also evokes a range of conflicting emotions. Pride. Overwhelm. Joy. Exhaustion. Love. Anxiety. I would do anything for my children, but I still wondered if that was enough. If I was enough. Being the perfect mother is like finding a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. It doesn’t exist. And yet we still torment ourselves in our quest to achieve this goal.
When I had my girls, I felt like I was drowning in thoughts and feelings, and I struggled to navigate this tidal wave. But gradually, over time, I realised two things. One, that millions of other parents felt the same way. And two, that I should channel them into my writing.
As I was signing my girls up to drama club and piano lessons, I enrolled as a student myself, on a writing course. As a former journalist and editor, writing had been my career for twenty years, but fiction was a new path and I finally had the determination to walk down it.
My debut novel, The Missing Husband, explored the myths of a so-called perfect marriage, and the fixation on being a perfect mother. Since then, most of my novels have explored the theme of parenting because it is such a huge, life-changing experience.
In The Fortune Teller my main character, Simone, has everything she’s ever wanted. A lovely husband, two beautiful children. And yet she spirals into uncontrollable anxiety. But will Simone get her happy ending? You’ll have to read it to find out!
I’ve learned a few things since becoming a parent. One is that it’s okay to not be okay sometimes. And the other is that you’re never too old to chase your dream. So, if you’ve got one you haven’t realised yet – go after it with everything you’ve got. You won’t regret it.
Pick up Natasha’s brand new, totally gripping thriller today: https://mybook.to/fortunetellersocial