Uncovering Secrets: A Family Cape Cod Vacation Unraveled with Author Tess Callahan

My guest today on the Online for Authors podcast is Tess Callahan, author of the book Dawnland. Tess Callahan is also the author of the novel April & Oliver. A dual citizen of the United States and Ireland, she lives in Cape Cod and Northern New Jersey with her family and number one life coach, her dog.

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I recently had the pleasure of chatting with author Tess Callahan about her compelling novel Dawnland. Set on Cape Cod, this literary family drama centers around the tumultuous reunion of a family as long-held secrets finally come to light.

What I loved most about this book was the complex, flawed yet relatable characters. As Tess said in our discussion, "I relate to [main character April] bumbling through life and living a large part of her early life sort of on autopilot... It takes her a lot, including connection with others and confrontation with Oliver, to kind of jar her out of those patterns and decide to take agency in her life."

While parts of the story were frustrating as characters struggled to break free of unhealthy patterns, it felt realistic. As Tess wisely noted, "I personally see humans as generally repeating patterns and not taking opportunity of moments to step out of those patterns... Life gives us lots of opportunities to [change], and we can say no and we can keep saying no, but eventually if we keep saying no, the door comes to us and it might come in not a very nice way. It's better if we, through our own volition, decide to embrace whatever it is we need to confront."

Some of my favorite elements of Dawnland:

• The unfiltered character Beryl, who rips the lid off the family's pretense
• The lush Cape Cod setting that Tess describes so evocatively
• The unconventional love story woven throughout
• The underlying themes of resilience, redemption, and reclaiming one's power

If you enjoy multi-layered, character-driven stories that don't fit neatly into genre boxes, I highly recommend checking out Tess Callahan's work. Dawnland is actually a standalone sequel to her earlier novel April & Oliver, but you don't need to read them in order.

I also asked Tess what guidance she would offer other authors. Her top tips:

• Figure out if you're more of a "plotter" who plans everything out, or a "pantser" who flies by the seat of your pants. Tess considers herself a "flapper" - having an intuitive sense of where the story is headed without knowing every detail in advance, like a migrating bird following an inner compass.
• In addition to reading widely in your genre, watch movies and TV shows to absorb lessons about story structure, character development, pacing, and dialogue. Scripts have to be tightly written to keep the story moving.

Tess is currently putting the finishing touches on her third novel, which will also feature an unconventional love story against a historical backdrop. I can't wait to read it when it comes out!

Let me know, have you read Dawnland or April & Oliver? If so, what did you think? Comment and share your thoughts!

Happy reading!

P.S. Want a chance to win a signed copy of Dawnland? Head over to Novels & Latte book club on Facebook to enter!

Purchase Dawnland on Amazon:

Paperback: https://amzn.to/3BlPJJG

Ebook: https://amzn.to/4e8MfZR

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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