Emily Habeck discusses her widely imaginative debut novel, Shark Heart, and how this writing project transformed her life and the lives of her readers.
It’s no secret that Shark Heart was my favorite debut of the year, and today’s meaningful author conversation only solidified this moving reading experience.
We discuss the unusual overlap to our love stories and the other surprising emotional connections readers have made to this imagined world.
Emily’s success in literary fiction was a surprise, but the reason for her jump from screenplay writing to a novel may surprise you with how she ended up here.
Drawing from her theatrical background, Habeck shares more about her unique story structure and how magical realism can still offer the reader a grounded experience.
Discover today’s BONUS BOOK LIST with 29 magical realism books for your book stack this month.
Emily joins our patron space to discuss the Shark Heart ending with surprising candidness on some of this story’s more unusual paths she chose, but even more so, the ways she DIDN’T decide to go to get to this book’s ending.
You will receive this episode AND today’s book list as a thank you for supporting my show.
Meet Emily Habeck
Emily Habeck has a BFA in Theater from Southern Methodist University’s Meadows School of the Arts as well as master’s degrees from Vanderbilt Divinity School and Vanderbilt’s Peabody College.
Her debut novel Shark Heart was a Book of the Month selection, a New York Times book review editor’s choice, and the #1 Indie Next pick for August 2023.
She is from Ardmore, Oklahoma and currently lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Discover Shark Heart by Emily Habeck
A shocking discovery unfolds in Lewis and Wren’s first year of marriage, a time that should be rooted in great happiness. Lewis is diagnosed with a rare condition that gradually turns him into a shark in this story’s wildly imaginative plot.
As he struggles with his diagnosis and evolving transformation, Wren rises to meet these daily challenges in moving ways. She is no stranger to genetic mutations and how quickly her world can evolve and readers uncover a stunning backstory to Wren’s journey.
But as Lewis’s new shark existence takes over, readers are taken on an equally meaningful adventure with an unlikely accomplice that the reader will never expect.
How Shark Heart Transformed Emily Habeck and Her Readers
Listen to the Book Gang Podcast:
Listen below or listen on your favorite podcast listening platform!
Mentioned in this episode:
Join the Book Gang Patreon
Meet the NEW 2024 MomAdvice Book Club Books
Banyan Moon by Thao Thai
The Best Debut Novels of 2023
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
Shark Heart by Emily Habeck
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
The Candy House by Jennifer Egan
The Vegetarian by Han Kang
Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder
Connect With Us:
Subscribe to my FREE Happy List Newsletter
Connect With Emily on Instagram or her Website
Connect with Amy on Instagram, on TikTok, or MomAdvice
Buy Me a Coffee (for a one-time donation)
Bookshop.org pays a 10% commission on every sale and matches 10% to independent bookstores