It is a memoir. The people in it are from my life.
Fyeo Hale – 7 November 2026
The Back Flap
Memoir. Childhood trauma. Addiction and recovery. Emotional abuse. Leaving a relationship of nearly two decades.
I had a lock on a bedroom door. I drank until it stopped working. I moved cities. I said yes to men who felt like rescue. Then a twin mattress, my sons, and the apps after the door. I did not have one disaster. I had a pattern. Funny and unbearable in the same paragraph. Not a self-help book. Not a healing arc.
About the book
When did you start writing the book?
After I left. I did not wait for a clean start date. I wrote when I could, then I published it on 2 September 2026.
How long did it take you to write it?
Long enough that I stopped explaining it to myself on the page. I do not have a neat hour-count. The book is 212 pages.
Where did you get the idea from?
I lived it. I did not invent a concept. The idea was that I kept repeating a pattern and calling it a new life. I wrote the rooms. I did not write a lesson plan.
Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?
The parts where I wanted to translate myself for the reader. I cut a lot of that. The book is better when I stop explaining and leave what happened.
Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?
It is a memoir. The people in it are from my life. Some names are changed. I will not confirm who is who, and I will not identify anyone in an interview. If you need a character to be a type, read the book. I am not mapping it in public.
We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?
I did not write this to sound like anyone. I read messy first-person work and I kept my own sentences. Influence, for me, was permission not to tidy the ending.
Do you have a target reader?
Someone looking for a messy women’s memoir. Childhood trauma. Addiction and recovery. Emotional abuse. Leaving a relationship of nearly two decades. If they want a guidebook or a healing arc, this is not their book.
About Writing
Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?
First person. What happened, in the order I could stand to put it down, then dates so a reader wouldn’t get lost. I do not outline a redemption schedule. If a paragraph starts teaching, I cut it.
Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?
No binder. I wrote the rooms, then I stamped time on the ones that jumped. Chapter headings came after the scenes, not before.
Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?
Both. I cut a lot after I thought I was done. I took out the talking-to-the-reader. I left the ugly chronology.
Did you hire a professional editor?
No
Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?
No playlist I would put in an interview. The book already has enough noise.
About Publishing
Did you submit your work to Agents?
No
What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?
I published it myself. Kindle and Kindle Unlimited. I did not wait for permission, and I did not send it out to be made nicer.
Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?
I did not hire a cover designer I can name. The cover on the Amazon page is the cover.
Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?
Written only. I pitch clubs, lists, and reviewers who already look for books. I do written Q&A. I do not do podcast guest slots, Zoom, TV, or radio. I have a page with a discussion guide, an X account, and an audio journal on Spotify under the same title. The buy link is the last line, not the point. I do not drop it under other people’s trauma posts.
Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?
Write the book. Put it where people are already looking for books. Stay in the first person if that is how you tell the truth. Do not tidy the ending because a listing template asked you to. Do not invent readers.
About You
What would you like readers to know about you?
I write in the first person and I do not tidy the ending. How Wildflowers Grow is my first book.
What are you working on now?
The audio journal, same title, on Spotify. I keep going there.
End of Interview:
For more from Fyeo Hale visit her website and follow her on Twitter.
Get your copy of How Wildflowers Grow from Amazon US or Amazon UK.
