Katie Delahanty | The Real Story Behind IN BLOOM
February 18, 2014
My debut novel IN BLOOM
was an accident. When I started writing it I wasn't trying to write a book; I
was trying to save my job. I never set out to be a writer—I was always a
reader, but writing my own stories never occurred to me. No, I wanted to be a
fashion designer, and that was the path I followed after college, landing a
position as an assistant designer for a new dress line being started by Diane
Samandi, an established lingerie designer. We were just beginning to have some
success—selling to stores like Anthropologie, Barney's, and
Nordstrom—when the economy collapsed. The dress line went under and the
lingerie line merged with a larger company. I was given a lingerie design
position at the new firm, but it soon became apparent that my design skills
weren't congruent with their more technical systems, and it was suggested that I
try something else entirely, like starting the ecommerce website for In Bloom
Intimates. Building an online business from scratch was completely new to me and I tried to
learn the ins and outs of SEO, PPC and Facebook fans, but again, I couldn't
quite meet expectations. The numbers weren't good enough and I felt like I was
failing. My self-worth was at an all time low and things got even worse when
Google accused me of selling mail order brides and banned me from advertising.
In a last effort to drive traffic to the website, I decided to start a blog. The
problem was, I wasn't an expert in lingerie, and I had no idea what to write
about. In Bloom is predominantly a bridal lingerie line and I knew I wanted to
use lots of wedding keywords, so my solution to my content problem was to write
the blog as a fictional serial about a girl who worked for In Bloom and was
engaged. The blog was to be her live wedding journal. As I started to write,
though, I realized I couldn't plan her wedding without knowing how she fell in
love with groom...who was this guy anyway? And it began. Relying heavily on my personal experiences for inspiration, I
started to tell Olivia Bloom's story. My real life leading man, my husband
Jason, was immersed in the Los Angeles music scene, and in the years post
college we'd had a backstage view as some of our friends' bands went on to
become world famous, while others, despite their success, couldn't keep it
together and broke up, and still others never got off the ground. Being a part
of this creative crew, but terribly shy, I was adept at hiding in corners at
celebrity parties, wondering how I got there. And that was the basis for my story. I started writing about recent college
grad, Liv, who moves to Los Angeles to pursue her dream of becoming a costume
designer, but ends up designing lingerie instead. Along the way she is spun into
an It girl by her Hollywood-insider neighbors and a chance meeting with her
favorite rock star, Berkeley Dalton, ignites a whirlwind romance. I put all of
the emotion that stemmed from my own dreams and recent feelings of inadequacy
onto the page and the story took over. It started waking me up at night,
demanding to be told, and as Olivia Bloom fell in love with Berkeley Dalton, I
fell in love with storytelling. For nine months I posted two chapters a week to "The Bloom Blog", live tweeted
in real time as eight of the characters, and eventually turned the whole thing
into a book with the intention of self-publishing it. But that was easier said
than done. I was having terrible bouts of self-loathing and I wasn't confident
in the story I'd written. I wanted another set of eyes on it before I sent it
into the world so I found an editor online that I wanted to work with me on it.
But I was scared. I was afraid she'd tell me I wasn't a good enough writer, and
I wasn't sure I could handle that, so I stalled—and made
excuses—until finally I decided enough was enough. Giving up fear, I took
a deep breath, and emailed her. I'm so glad I did—she changed my life. Because of her, some crazy magic
swirled, and I ended up with an agent and a three-book deal. My head is still
spinning. At its heart, IN BLOOM
is about following your dreams and never giving up, even when it feels like
you're failing. This experience has taught me that what seems like failure may
just be life nudging you toward the right path. Be brave. Keep going. Dreams can
come true...and in ways you never expected.
Comments
14 comments posted.
Re: Katie Delahanty | The Real Story Behind IN BLOOM
thanks so much for the giveaway the book sounds interesting thanks for sharing your story with us cant wait to get to read the book (Denise Smith 5:51am February 18, 2014)
This is definitely a book I'd love to read. Thanks for the great giveaway!!! (Bonnie Capuano 8:25am February 18, 2014)
What a sweet and fun story! Congrats on getting your three book deal. This story sounds fun. Mixing fashion and music...interesting concept! Can't wait to read it! (Sue Galuska 8:57am February 18, 2014)
As the saying goes - "Things happen for a reason." You are still young enough that you have a lot of stories in you to put pen to paper. You might even be able to branch out a bit, and go into different genres. I'm sure that you have different experiences, that would give you even more stories to tell besides design. Congratulations on your first book!! You have more guts than I do, and I'm really looking forward to reading your book!! It sounds like it'll be a fun and interesting read!! Very seductive cover, too!! They pulled out all the stops with the artwork. (Peggy Roberson 10:24am February 18, 2014)
I love hearing how authors get started. Thanks for sharing. (Denise Austin 1:16pm February 18, 2014)
Cool twists and turns to getting published. (Laura Gullickson 9:21pm February 18, 2014)
I would love to read this book, sounds interesting. Thanks for the giveaway. (Kathleen Beale 6:13pm February 19, 2014)
Thanks for sharing your story, it sounds like a great read. (Carol Woodruff 6:45pm February 19, 2014)
This does sound like a great read. (Mary Preston 8:35pm February 21, 2014)
It sounds like you followed the old adage, "Write what you know," and it has brought you so much success! Now that the economy is recovering, you may be able to follow your dreams and get back into your first love, fashion design. (Rachel Kerrinski 6:47pm February 24, 2014)
I've heard about writers who start with a blog, because they have something to say that turns into a book. It looks like the arc of failing was the stimulus to have you try to learn a new way to have a following with a blog. Congratulations on your success and hard work. (Alyson Widen 5:48pm February 25, 2014)
Looking forward to giveaway! (Kalynn Dresser 4:17pm March 1, 2014)
Sounds like you made lemonade out of lemons. Sounds like a good story. Thanks for the opportunity to win! (Kelly Powell 5:37pm March 2, 2014)
thank you for sharing this part of your life with us (Sarah Hansrote 4:41am March 6, 2014)
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