A debut novel by Dubai-based author, Samantha Gregson, is celebrating the healing power of animals, in a tale of one woman’s road to recovery after escaping an abusive partner. Launched just ahead of the recent World Animal Welfare Day, Before You Loved Me is an uplifting tale that deftly tackles the emotive issues of coercive relationships and animal welfare, in a story of love and survival, told through the eyes of a rescue dog.
Samantha discusses her inspiration for the story and the novel writing process, which is a notable departure from her day job as Head of Corporate and a Director at Hanover Communications in Dubai.
Excerpts from an interview:
What was your inspiration for the book?
Before You Loved Me is inspired by the limited information provided by the shelter about the life of my rescue dog, Buddy, prior to his adoption in Qatar in 2016. The story is an extremely fleshed-out re-telling of the timeline of his life before we found each-other and how I imagine he felt during the happiest and darkest periods of those early years. I would often find myself looking at my little dog and feeling amazed at his resilience and zest for life following such a tough start. During a particularly hard few months in my life, I took inspiration from his story and decided to explore this further through writing.
Could you give us a snapshot of the story?
Before You Loved Me follows a young woman called Scarlett who has just left an abusive relationship. Fearing she will never love or trust again, she takes inspiration from her rescue, The Buddy Dog. The story is an uplifting tale of two journeys out of abuse and the profound impact of a dog’s unwavering love.
Who are your target readers?
The book was originally aimed at young readers from 16 onwards, and I think it’s really important to have a target reader in mind to maintain focus during the writing process. However, I believe that the story will resonate with anyone who has ever owned, and loved, a dog. I hope that readers will finish the story with an even deeper appreciation and compassion towards their own pet and the plight of rescue animals in the region. For that reason, I really hope that Before You Loved Me has universal appeal.
There are some emotive themes; how difficult was this to write about?
Before You Loved Me covers the topics of domestic abuse, animal neglect and cruelty, grief, depression, and the complexities around human relationships more generally. I found it especially difficult to write chapters involving abuse directed at Buddy and would find myself stopping frequently to give him extra long hugs or treats. However, it was quite therapeutic to write the human-centric chapters and especially Scarlett’s story.
For me, attempting to view situations from the pure, innocent and vulnerable perspective of a dog (which is the perspective from which the entire story is told) provided an odd sense of clarity to situations that may otherwise have appeared nuanced or confusing. I used the writing process to better understand the difficult situation that I was in personally at that time and it also provided me with focus and a sense of purpose.
If the book could convey one message to readers, what would it be?
That dogs are incredible and there is so much that we can learn from them. Their ability to love deeply, find joy in the smallest of things, and live in the moment are all extremely admirable qualities. I, for one, am in awe of my little dog and I hope the book encourages other readers to also celebrate the special relationship that they share with their own pet.
What made you start writing the story?
I was going through a transitional period in my own life where I was struggling to find purpose and focus. I decided to go back to basics and to begin to do the things that made me feel most like ‘me’ again. Writing had always been a part of my life (I was previously a journalist) and yet I hadn’t written regularly for a number of years. I decided to commit to writing for an hour or so a day. And yet I found that I fell completely in love with the craft again and would lose hours at a time to writing. I was also passionate about showing my love and appreciation to Buddy, whom had been a huge source of strength and support during that difficult time.
Before You Loved Me is a love letter to Buddy and my, perhaps, feeble attempt to immortalise him. I’m sure he would have preferred more chicken and steak to a novel (which you’ll be pleased to know he still receives in bulk) but I felt that I still wanted to do something bigger to pay homage to him and our relationship.
Did you always intend to turn it into a book?
I knew that I wanted to write a novel, but I had no idea how long the book would be, or if I had the discipline, or the ideas, to execute it. I am not a naturally organised person and so I began to write chapter by chapter with zero plan or story. I had no idea what would happen next or how the story would end. But based on how much I enjoyed the process, I knew that I would finish it eventually. My editor was horrified when she discovered that I had no chapter plans or character profiles! Whilst this certainly made the editing process a lot more challenging, it made for a very organic writing process for me.
Did you face any particular challenges in the writing process?
Discipline was the biggest challenge I encountered. Some days I would be incredibly motivated, whereas other days I would find every excuse not to write. I was worried that if too many days passed in succession without writing I would simply give up. There was no easy fix. I just tried my best to concentrate on the end goal and visualising a physical book in my hand. There were some chapters that I enjoyed writing significantly more than others; these sessions were much easier to finish than some others, but I knew I had to keep going.
You are your own worst critic, and if you can battle those demons, you’d be surprised what you can achieve.
Another key challenge was overcoming my own worries and insecurities. There were days when I would be really happy reading back a chapter and other days when I would cringe at every word I wrote. I worried far too much once the book was finished about what people would think, if readers would like it, whether it was absolutely terrible. However, rationally I know we are all our own worst critics. There will definitely be people who don’t like it, and that’s totally fine. I now try to concentrate on the sense of achievement I feel in finishing it and on the people that will hopefully be touched by the story. Additionally, I have such faith in The Dreamwork Collective, in Kira and the incredible editors there, and I know that they wouldn’t have taken the story on unless they believed in it, so I take comfort from that too!
How did you manage the writing process alongside your day job?
This was tough. I work in communications and so my job involves a lot of writing and staring at computer screens. Some days I felt too exhausted to write, and the ideas just simply wouldn’t come. On these days, I would commit to proofing or light editing. However, I also came to realise just how many hours you actually have available in the day when you have a goal in mind. Previously I couldn’t find 30 minutes to exercise (or at least that’s what I would tell myself). However, I suddenly found six hours a day – especially towards the end when I knew how close I was to having a completed book.
I’m very aware though of the privileged position that I was in at that time. I was a single woman with no children or dependents and so I had the luxury of being able to free up hours that others simply wouldn’t have been able to due to family or other commitments. It was tough at times, but I was also in a lucky position and perhaps a unique time in my life.
What lessons can you take from the novel writing/publishing process?
You are your own worst critic, and if you can battle those demons, you’d be surprised what you can achieve. I really wish that I could have completed this long-held ambition of mine, many years ago. Although perhaps I needed to experience certain situations to have been able to write authentically about these issues for the book. Additionally, I needed to grow in confidence to have enough belief to deal with having my work publicly available.
I have spoken to lots of friends and colleagues during the process who have expressed a desire to write. I can’t recommend it enough! It’s extremely therapeutic and the sense of fulfilment that you feel when you see the physical copy for the first time is second-to-none. I believe that everyone has a story to tell, you just have to commit to the process and the ups and downs that go with getting it down on paper. If you can – write a plan, it makes the editing process so much easier.
Do you have any plans for another book?
I would love to write another book. I think that I have improved considerably during the process and due to the fantastic support of my editors so, hopefully, the next one will be easier to execute. For the moment though I’m enjoying the downtime with my boyfriend, friends and family and having my weekends and evenings back.
I’m sure the urge to write again will find me soon enough. I don’t have any ideas just yet, but I feel that The Buddy Dog has more stories in him yet.
