"I remember checking email 1000 times a day..."
Daisy Florin on finding success at 50.
I love a good dark academia novel, and that is precisely what Daisy Florin delivers with her first novel, My Last Innocent Year, which just came out in paperback. Although Florin herself debuted in her 5th decade of life, the heroine of this first novel is in her 20s and she blazes off the page with her astute commentaries on sex, writing, and an affair with an “inappropriate” older man. Though it it set in 1998, which many of us remember for it the Monic Lewinsky scandal, the novel is “timely and relevant” (Town & Country) and full of “razor-sharp hindsight” and “searing self-examination” (Seattle Book Review).
Daisy and I have also had many overlaps in biographies and geographies, including grad degrees form Columbia and residences in Connecticut. It’s funny how the writing world can be so small in that way, and I was so thrilled when she agreed to participate in this interview series!
VITAL STATS:
Your age when your first novel published, and the title of that novel: 50, My Last Innocent Year
Your age now: 50
How many novels you published to date: one
What’s your next novel and its pub date if you have it: Still in progress!
INTERVIEW:
1. How many novels did you complete before the one that became your first published novel?
My Last Innocent Year is the first novel I wrote and completed.
2. What kinds of jobs did you have to support yourself while you wrote? Are you still doing one of them?
I was primarily a stay-at-home parent, but I also worked as a preschool teacher and a college essay tutor. I still work with kids on their college essays, and I also lead weekly online writing salons and work as a mentor in the BookEnds novel revision fellowship program.
3. What was the writing routine in which you wrote the novel that became your first published? How long did it take to write that book?
My routine was essentially to write when my kids were at school and around their schedule generally. It took me five years to write My Last Innocent Year.
4. What was your darkest moment before selling your first novel?
I found the period while I was querying agents very difficult - waiting for someone to read and get back to me and, hopefully, like what I had sent. I remember checking email 1000 times a day and feeling really dejected. I also couldn’t really work or focus on a new project while I was waiting so that made it especially hard.
5. What advice about writing helps you stick with it?
I have to write a lot to figure out what I’m trying to say, so I would say you can’t be afraid to “throw out” what you’ve written. Because it’s never wasted; I like to think of it existing in the white space of the finished work.
6. What is your favorite part about the writing life?
I love being part of a writing community and being able to connect with writers I admire. I also love to write and experiment with language and story structure. Becoming a novelist has also enhanced my reading life—I read with a different eye now and I love it!
Thank you so much, Daisy! I also enjoy reading like a writer, and completely agree that no word is ever wasted…
One of my favorite books last year!
Love this, Daisy! Nice interview, Kerri! Enjoyed!