Today we’d like to introduce you to Norah Lally
Hi Norah, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I was born in Greenwich Village, New York City and my family moved around a lot when I was a child. Because of this, I struggled to fit in and make new friends in all the different schools I attended. Throughout all that, one of the places I always felt comfortable, happy, and at home was my grandmother’s block on Bainbridge Avenue in the Bronx. That’s why I decided to set my first novel, Back to Bainbridge, there. In writing it, I drew from my experiences as a young person seeking stability, acceptance and belonging.
Back to Bainbridge was published on December 10, 2024 by Abbey Glen Press, and it is currently the #1 best selling new release on Amazon in the category “books about being a teen”. It has also been long listed for the Gertrude Warner Prize, an annual recognition of outstanding middle grade fiction.
I have always had a passion for storytelling. I studied journalism at New York University, and have professional experience as a screenwriter for film and television. Although I am from New York, I have also lived in Dublin, Ireland, Chicago, Illinois, San Francisco, California, and New Haven and Stratford, Connecticut. I moved to Los Angeles in 2002, am married and have three children.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not always been a smooth road. For starters, I had my son Harley when I was still a teenager. Becoming a mom so young came with extraordinary challenges and rewards. Although I was a single parent for most of Harley’s early life, when he was ten I met my husband Jason, and we married soon after. Unfortunately, Harley’s father Ed struggled with substance abuse disorder and he died in 2013. However, we are blessed to have a wonderful support network in my extended family, Jason’s, and Ed’s. So my kids have three sets of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins – which is special. Graduating from NYU Magna Cum Laude was a huge accomplishment for me, because I had to balance single parenting, part time employment, and academics. After my graduation from college, I wanted more than anything to pursue creative work, but because I was responsible for providing stability for my son, I had to prioritize reliable day jobs with health benefits. Despite any sacrifices I may have made, I feel fortunate that I have held down steady jobs over the years working for some amazing people. I have become very resourceful, learned valuable skills, and also have had the chance to tackle some creative projects along the way. It’s been a windy road with lots of plate spinning, but I wouldn’t trade my path for anything.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My first professional screenwriting job was Celebrity Deathmatch on MTV. My best friend Meg and I were a writing team, and we were the first women writers hired on that show (which is very cancel-able by today’s standards). When Meg and I moved to Los Angeles to pursue screenwriting full time, we sort of naturally fell into the animation world, because that first MTV gig we had was claymation. So I guess you could say — not necessarily by choice, but by chance — my specialty became writing for youth audiences, since most animated programming is for young audiences. My screenwriting credits include two Bratz movies, the PBS Kids show It’s a Big, Big, World, and a live action short film titled Danger Jane that was originally a Nickelodeon pilot and won the KidsFirst Film Festival’s Audience Choice Award. I think writing for young people comes naturally to me, because it’s easy for me to access that part of myself that still feels the way I did as a child. In writing Back to Bainbridge, I put myself back in the position of being the new kid who has to learn new customs, styles, lingo and norms in each new neighborhood I moved to. It was important to me in telling this story not to water down any of the emotions or observations of the 14-year-old protagonist, Vicki. She is very perceptive, very sensitive, and very curious. Sometimes young people are even more tuned in than adults are, and we can learn a lot from them. I’m proud that I was able to create a young character that resonates with readers of all ages. The BookLife by Publishers Weekly review called Back to Bainbridge “a moving, empathetic must-read of growing up and discovering what matters,” saying: “Vicki is a convincing and relatable heroine, one who makes mistakes and sees the world through a sometimes hurt, vulnerable lens. Her mother is an imperfect woman who tries her best even though she frequently falls short, and the supporting cast is complex, lively, and endearing. This is a moving, empathetic read that will resonate with young readers who have ever felt alone, misunderstood, or that if one thing were somehow different the world might finally make sense.”
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
Since this is my first novel and I’m new to the publishing world, it’s hard for me to make any predictions about where the sector is headed. But I am encouraged that people are still reading books, even with all the high tech distractions we face! I guess one thing I can say is that when I finished my manuscript, I shopped it around to literary agents, thinking I would probably go the traditional publishing route. I received some genuine interest and could have pursued that avenue; but ultimately I decided to go with a small, independent press, for the simple reason that I can have more control over the creative decisions and the intellectual property, and I get to keep a greater percentage of the profits from sales. My next goal is to sell an option for Back to Bainbridge to the right production company. Because of my screenwriting background, this novel is written in a very cinematic style, and it would make a phenomenal movie. I think more and more authors, even established ones, will pursue the independent publishing route over the traditional big publishing houses for the same reasons I did.
Pricing:
- Paperback: $10.99
- Hardcover: $19.99
- eBook: $4.99
Contact Info:
- Website: https://norahlally.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/norahlallywrites/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BacktoBainbridge
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/norah-lally-2764157/
- Twitter: https://x.com/n_lally45197
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@norahlally3457
