From being gifted ‘Little Golden Books’ as a child, to becoming a high school English teacher, and starting a podcast interviewing authors, it’s no secret that literature has always been a part of Dani Vee’s life. Now, she’s turning the tables and releasing a book of her own.
Ms Vee’s literary podcast, ‘Words and Nerds’, has put her in touch with some pretty impressive names. But she doesn’t deny it planted seeds of doubt when considering pursuing her own dream of writing.
“I’d always done writing, but sort of in the background. A part of it was, how could I ever compete with the people that I’ve interviewed? I’ve interviewed Jackie French, Trent Dalton, Matthew Reilly, and in the back of your head, you’re like, ‘Well, maybe I’ll just stay in my lane!’” she said.
But, by chance, it also connected her with Melbourne-based book publisher, Larrikin House.
Ms Vee pitched her idea for a book to be named EXTRAordinary Mum, exploring the idea that women and mothers can be extraordinary in their own individual ways.
“I was kind of sick of reading to my kids, and the way that women were portrayed, mothers particularly, in books,” she said.
“In fairytales, they’re dead, or they’re lost at sea, or they’re evil step-mothers trying to kill you with an apple. Or, they’re the sensible ones, the ones calming dad down, they’re the ones not having any fun.
“I thought, there’s a real loss of identity, even newspaper articles say, ‘mother of two’, it’s always got to do with you being a mother, which is obviously a really important part of your life, and I love being a mother, but I just didn’t think it represented all that women were.”
Though Ms Vee has secured a nine-book deal with Larrikin House, EXTRAordinary Mum is her very first to be published.
“I got the samples yesterday, and it’s kind of this really mixed emotion of fear, joy, disbelief, imposter syndrome, and all these weird things together,” Ms Vee said.
And there’s an international deal in the mix too.
“There’s actually EXTRAordinary Mum and EXTRAordinary Mom – the US have asked for 1000 copies to start. I’ve got the little copy of EXTRAordinary Mom and it’s so cute!”
EXTRAordinary Mum is set to release in August, and Ms Vee couldn’t be more excited to get the book into the hands of kids, and start a much-needed conversation.
Cassidy Pearce
Cassidy Pearce is a news and entertainment journalist with The Western Weekender. A graduate of the University of Technology Sydney, she has previously worked with Good Morning Macarthur and joined the Weekender in 2022.