An Interview with Annabel Youens

Annabel Youens originally studied creative writing at the University of Victoria before falling into ‘her own alternate dimension’—the world of tech. As employee number eleven at Abebooks.com and co-founder of two global startups, she spent twenty years building companies in New Zealand, California, and her home base of Victoria, BC, before returning to her first love: storytelling. At age forty-six, she resigned her chief marketing officer position to pursue her authorial dreams, founding Salt Line Press and completing her debut novel. Thread Traveller explores themes close to her heart: the possibility of reinvention at any age, the cost of putting everyone else first, and the radical act of choosing yourself.

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Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?

I fell in love with science fiction through my dad—The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was a constant audiobook on our family travels. As a teen, I discovered Anne McCaffrey; she was the first woman in science fiction I’d ever read. I didn’t know why at the time, but I was so drawn to her work—obviously, there were these incredibly deep worlds she built with dragons and egg hatchings. But now that I’ve learned more about Anne McCaffrey and her contemporaries like Asimov, I realize she was one of the first female science fiction writers to lean into emotion—and that’s what captivated me: incredible world-building paired with emotional depth.

Other authors I adore: Margaret Atwood and Emily St. John Mandel. Many Canadian authors in speculative fiction inspire me.

What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?

For twenty-five years, I was a co-founder of multiple tech companies. I lived in New Zealand and California, and I’m now back in Victoria, BC. I think the tech portal I traveled through really prepared me to be an indie author. All the skills I learned—like pitching and forecasting, building teams, communicating with contractors—those are the things I’ve relied upon to help me take the novel I’ve written and share it with readers.

Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

My book was called Beer Story for many drafts. I was inspired to write Thread Traveller by a trip I took to Britain’s oldest brewery, Shepherd Neame in Kent. After a tour, I discovered that the original brewers of beer were called ale-wives—they were women! I had no idea. Brewing ale was a household chore, so along with maybe milking the goat and baking bread that day, another thing women did was make ale. Any excess ale these women brewed could be sold to neighbors.

I was struck that here was another story where women and their traditional industry don’t exist anymore. The idea of ale-wives followed me around and would not let go. That was really the genesis for the book: What if you had a sip of ale and traveled to an alternate dimension where there were still ale-wives?

The finished title, Thread Traveller, didn’t come until I’d worked through several drafts. Eventually, I realized this book was the first of a trilogy, and I wondered how to weave the next stories together. And the title was born: Our heroine August is a thread traveller—a title given to select few families in an alternate world. These families can travel through the webs of time and space. August will truly uncover this power in books two and three. I’m excited to see where she takes me!

What part of publishing your book made it feel real for the first time?

Giving my beta manuscript to my husband and my close book friends was so terrifying—I was actually having nightmares about their feedback. I gave them the beta book and asked them to read it, and then I was lucky that four of them could physically come to my house to give feedback on my book.

It’s probably the most nervous I’ve ever been. My lovely friend Dwight said, “I started reading the first few pages of this book, and I thought, ‘Oh, thank goodness, she can actually write.’” I laughed and felt a huge sense of relief. Here were people in my life who, since I went to university for creative writing in the nineties, had been waiting for my book. And here it was, and they were reading it and giving me feedback. That’s a super special moment I’ll always remember. And a great lesson that the things that terrify us push us forward!

What’s one thing you hope sticks with readers after they finish your book?

I want to give people an escape. It’s important that we can all jump into an alternate universe sometimes. I also hope readers don’t feel quite as alone—we’re all going through sticky things. Perimenopause sucks and is awesome; it’s both things. It’s a complicated time to be living. I want people to have a break with my novel and come back feeling like they can tackle the hard things and ask their friends and family for help.

What was the most rewarding/meaningful part of publishing your book?

Honestly, getting a Kirkus star for my book was so meaningful. My imposter syndrome still whispers that it was a mistake, but I’m learning to celebrate the win. I put in a huge amount of effort to get here.

But being an independent author, I need recognition from trusted voices in the literary community. I got an amazing review from the Kirkus team, and then to get a star on top? I feel like I won an Oscar.

What creative projects are you currently working on?

I am roughly mapping out books two and three of August’s journey. I’m also a sewist, so it’s time for me to dig into my fabric stash, pull out my wools, and figure out what I want to sew this winter. I’m always dipping my hand into something creative. And fall cleanup in the garden? That’s definitely a creative process too.

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