Set in Scotland in 1695, this is the story of Malie, a young woman struggling with grief, oppression, her relationship with nature and her own inherent wildness within during Europe’s ‘little ice age’.
Malie grew up hearing tales of selkies: shape-shifting women who shed their seal skins to seduce fishermen on the Orkney shores. That’s the story of how her parents met, and it must be true because one day her mother slipped into the sea and was never seen again.
Raised by her father, Malie has always done what she’s been told, and now she’s married and expecting her first baby. Life on land is predictable and safe, and her future is all mapped out for her. But, just like the seals in the sea, there’s a wildness in Malie’s soul – one that cannot be tamed and deeply yearns for the sea.
Q&A
Congratulations on the publication of The Woman In The Seal Skin! In addition to being an author, you are a practicing psychologist. What are your strategies for making time for writing in your day?
Thank you! My schedule looks different from week to week, especially when I’m in the middle of a book launch. In the past, I’ve squeezed in writing time around my life but after my first book was published in 2024, I began to set aside 1-2 days per week that is dedicated writing time. If I’m working on a first draft, I try to work on it most days of the week.
As clinicians, we’re meant to minimise personal disclosure. Being a published author in the age of social media seems to ask for the opposite. How do you balance the two?
It is a weird contrast. I try my best to keep the two worlds separate but of course there’s some overlap. My socials are for my ‘writing life’ which means I do share snippets of personal information which is almost always related to writing, reading or themes that I write about. I don’t share private information, and I avoid sharing photos of my children. It can be a tricky balance, trying to share a little of who I am in the public domain, without giving up my privacy.
One of the main themes of The Woman In the Seal Skin is motherhood. How does your work as a perinatal psychologist influence your approach to Malie’s story?
It influenced it greatly. I’ve worked with expectant and new mothers for the past fifteen years, as well as being a parent myself. When I first came across the selkie myths, it was the push-pull between domestic obligation and longing that spoke to me. In my work, I often see mothers who are feeling torn between their former selves/ identity and/ or career and being available and spending time with their children. There can be a lot of guilt associated with that too. I think this is something many women can relate to. I wanted to capture this feeling in Malie’s character, because even though we live centuries apart, the issues are just as relevant today.
When I first started reading the book, I wondered if this was going to be a fantasy story. There are moments in the plot, particularly with the character of Bessie, where magic or the supernatural does play a role. Were you ever interested in taking this story fully into the fantasy genre?
Ooh good question! In the past, stories (which we now think of as folklore or myths) helped people make sense of the world; to explain the unexplainable. Having a science background, I wanted to explore some of the other explanations for the challenges experienced by people in the northern isles during that time. While I think science can explain a lot of things, it cannot explain everything. I wanted there to be space in between science and the magic for readers to make up their own minds about what they think might’ve been real and what wasn’t. I really wanted the story to remain grounded in the real world.
One part of the story that I found really compelling was the role of the selkie mythology in Malie’s family lore and how it shapes the family dynamic. As the lore gets thrown into question, Malie seems to remember more and more of the more complicated aspects of her childhood. Can you tell us a bit on your approach to writing this?
In my perinatal work, I’ve found that expectant and new parents tend to think about their own childhoods; the things they liked and the things they didn’t. They think about what traditions they may like to pass on and the things they’d like to do differently. For Malie, her pregnancy is a catalyst to call into question what she has been told and what she has tolerated but now with a baby to consider and protect, she starts to push back. She is a daughter and a sister but now she will also be a mother and so the family dynamics are shifting.
I really loved Bessie as a character, and the contrast between her as someone who’s leaned into her differences and Malie who’s trying to suppress hers. Can you tell us a bit about your perspective on Bessie’s role in the story?
I love Bessie too! Bessie is an outcast in the community but she’s also okay with that. She is a protector and friend to Malie, and I suppose she offers Malie a glimpse into what it might be like to embrace the magic- the wildness- and to step outside her familial expectations. People go to Bessie for help and yet her knowledge is feared and even shunned. The community do not understand her, and this makes her a threat.
Priscilla and Elise, thank you so much for having me! x
Thank you for kindly answering our questions, Lauren!
The Woman in the Seal Skin is out now through Simon & Schuster.
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We record our podcast on Wurundjeri Land, which is home to both of us in Naarm/Melbourne. We also acknowledge the role of storytelling in First Nations communities. Always was, always will be Aboriginal Land.