Lidija Hilje- Slanting Towards the Sea (Podcast Interview)

Lidija Hilje shares how her debut novel, Slanting Towards the Sea, and her own journey is shaped by second chances and the courage it required to begin again.

Lidija Hilje brings a rare and powerful perspective to her fiction. After a decade working in Croatian courts, she left the legal field to write in English as her second language and to coach other writers through their own stories. We discuss how that radical life change shaped both her novel and her coaching philosophy.

In today’s Book Gang episode, Lidija joins me for a profoundly moving and insightful conversation about her first novel, Slanting Towards the Sea. In this week’s warm and expansive episode, we discuss:

How writing in a second language and through a bicultural lens shaped the emotional and narrative depth of Slanting Towards the Sea
The novel’s quiet but powerful thread on broken governmental systems, and how we see the differences and parallels between our American and Croatian experiences
How Lidija’s former legal career informs her current work as a book coach, and how she helps authors clarify and complete the stories they feel called to tell

BONUS BOOK LIST: This week, you can set sail with these 34 sea books. From shipwreck survival stories to coastal mysteries, oceanic fantasies, and sweeping seaside romances- this book list has a little something for everyone!

Slanting Towards the Sea by Lidija Hilje

Slanting Towards the Sea Book Summary

Spanning twenty years and one life-altering summer in Croatia, Slanting Towards the Sea is at once an unforgettable love story and a powerful exploration of what it means to come of age in a country younger than oneself.

Ivona divorced the love of her life, Vlaho, a decade ago. They met as students at the turn of the millennium, when newly democratic Croatia was alive with hope and promise. But the challenges of living in a burgeoning country extinguished Ivona’s dreams one after another—and a devastating secret forced her to set him free.

Now Vlaho is remarried and a proud father of two, while Ivona’s life has taken a downward turn. In her thirties, she has returned to her childhood home to care for her ailing father. Bewildered by life’s disappointments, she finds solace in reconnecting with Vlaho and is welcomed into his family by his spirited wife, Marina. But when a new man enters Ivona’s life, the carefully cultivated dynamic between the three is disrupted, forcing a reckoning for all involved.

Set against the mesmerizing Croatian coastline, Slanting Towards the Sea is a cinematic, emotionally searing debut about the fragile nature of potential and the transcendence of love.

Meet Lidija Hilje

Lidija Hilje is a Croatian writer and certified book coach. After earning a law degree, she spent a decade practicing law in Croatian courts before transitioning to book coaching, and writing in English as her second language. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times and other outlets. She lives in Zadar, Croatia, with her husband and two daughters. SLANTING TOWARDS THE SEA is her first novel.

This Author Walked Away from Law—and Won Big

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BONUS BOOK LIST: 34 Sea Books

Slanting Towards the Sea by Lidija Hilje

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