Founder's Story - Phantom Wedding and Beyond: A.N. Porter on Writing, Creativity, and Bringing Stories to Life | S2:E68

Episode Date: October 10, 2024

In this episode, Daniel Robbins interviews A.N. Porter, debut author of the psychological thriller Phantom Wedding. A.N. shares her journey from the initial spark of inspiration to the creation of her novel, discussing the personal experiences and haunted flat incident in North London that led to the book’s concept. She explains how writing from a place of memory and experience allowed the story to flow naturally, helping her craft the gripping narrative that has captivated readers globally.A.N. also talks about the process of writing, the emotions involved, and the overwhelming response she’s received, especially from American audiences. She dives into her unique approach to launching the book with a red-carpet event, celebrities, and media coverage, which helped set it apart from a traditional release. Finally, she reveals her exciting plans to adapt Phantom Wedding for the screen and work on a sequel, leaving fans eagerly awaiting what comes next.Key Points Discussed: A.N. ’s journey to becoming a published author and her debut novel, Phantom Wedding.The real-life haunted flat incident in North London that inspired the story.How writing from personal experiences helped shape the book’s characters and plot.The challenges and emotions of writing a psychological thriller.The overwhelming global response to the book, especially in the U.S.Alison’s creative approach to the book launch, featuring a red-carpet event and media buzz.Plans to adapt Phantom Wedding for the screen and work on a sequel.The importance of creativity and thinking outside the box when marketing a book.Tips for aspiring writers on bringing their stories to life.How to connect with A.N Porter and learn more about her work.Relevant Links:https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/phantom-wedding-a-n-porter/1144975984http://www.alison-naomi.com/https://www.amazon.com/dp/1800947135Our Sponsors:* Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: www.rosettastone.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyOur Sponsors:* Check out Indeed: indeed.com/FOUNDERSSTORY* Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: www.rosettastone.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyOur Sponsors:* Check out PrizePicks and use my code FOUNDERS for a great deal: www.prizepicks.com* Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: www.rosettastone.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Hey everyone, welcome back to Founders Story. Today we have A.N. Porter, who is her debut author. The book is here, Phantom Wedding, and I'm really excited to dive in because I'm writing a book too, and I want to know all things about the experience, what you had, why you even wrote it. So why don't we start diving right there as to why did you even write this book well everybody's got a book inside of them everybody can write a book you know um so this is i've got a few books inside me bursting trying to burst out of me so this is my debut one um which is Phantom Wedding and um it is so some people think it's a true story it's not it's not a true story it is fiction it's a psychological thriller

socio-political horror um but it was inspired by an incident that happened in a haunted flat that I had in North London so because of that one incident everybody's freaking out flying from America to London trying to find this haunted flat doing they're doing treasure hunts and all sorts of things um but it's not all true it's it is fiction and um so what actually happened was I was sleeping. Then I woke up halfway through the night to turn over. And I opened my eyes to just, you know, adjust myself. And then when I opened my eyes, I saw two little ghosts, two little girls, they were sitting at my desk.

And one was drawing a picture. And the other one was playing a board game and I'd never seen a ghost before so I sort of rubbed my eyes and I was like like taking a closer look and I was like oh no no no they they really are there oh no so then I got the duvet put it over my head and I was frozen in time and I was just like and then I got the duvet and put it over my head. And I was frozen in time. And I was just like, and then I literally found I was holding my breath because I was so petrified. And then I just didn't want to look again. And then in the morning I opened my eyes and they were gone.

And then I just, yeah, absolutely freaked out. So, yeah. So that was the premise of that like you know the inspiration behind the book that really scares me but when you're writing this book do you feel like you put some things about you or maybe somebody you know into the character whether or not it's like totally based on a true story but when you're building this character up uh do you feel like you're putting things into the character or maybe characters within the book well the the protagonist patsy is some of it is loosely based on myself such as i did work in music pr when i

graduated from university in london so that was genuinely my first job. It was a voluntary job, so I worked for free. But because I did that for three months for free, I actually was offered a paid job as a celebrity PA. So that part of Patsy, who's a protagonist, is loosely based on reality. But on the whole, it is fiction, yeah. And also the character Rose, who's the mother of Patsy,

there's some elements to her that are loosely based on my mum, such as, you know, being an extraordinary entrepreneur in the beauty field that then went into religious being to religious leadership. So that part, so a couple of things, but on the whole, it is fiction. So walk me through the whole process of writing this book. How long did it take for you to write the book? And how was it working through the emotions of just writing a book? I feel like for me, writing just creates a lot of emotions. It's a lot of energy. It's a lot of like time and it's way, I think it's more energy than what people might think it is to write a book. But how was this

process for you? Sure. So, I mean, everybody's process is different um and in the background to my life I have a lot of other stuff going on so it was really finding the time in between um everything that I do so um on the whole took about a year um so I don't know some people take longer some people take shorter time so it just depends depends. Getting inspiration. I mean, because I was writing from some record. So the last few months I've been practicing how to learn Spanish because it is really a passion of mine. I've been using Rosetta Stone. Why? Because it immerses you in the language without having translation. So you can really learn to speak, listen, and think in that language. It starts naturally with words, then phrases, and soon you're forming sentences designed for long-term retention, which has always been my issue.

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to the show collection it made it a lot easier if i was writing off just out the blue uh with nothing to go on it would probably take me years but i can i can recollect the sounds the smells of feelings of everything of that moment and that evoked all kinds of feelings within me and then once you start writing it just starts flooding out and maybe that's what makes you know a great author or or an author in general to i don't think everyone has the skills and abilities to remember things like that. I think our heads are filled with so many things. We're very like 15 seconds,

we move on to the next thing. We have a very short attention span. So understanding how those details and then putting that down on a paper, I think is an art and a skill in itself. So how has it been now that the book has come out, now that people on a paper, I think is an art and a skill in itself. So how has it been now that the book has come out? Now that people are reading it? Now that you're talking about it? How's that feeling been? It's been amazing. To be honest with you, I didn't know what to expect. And it's

been overwhelming, the success and the reaction that the public globally has had to this book has actually been phenomenal. The amount of press it's had, especially America. America, they seem to really like it. Universities contacted me from around the world and Washington and all the arts info, the press and the copy of the book and all this kind of thing. I was featured in Marie Claire magazine for the book and for fashion

because I gave the book a slightly different book launch. I didn't just sort of have a glass of red wine in a bookshop. I produced a book launch with a red carpet, celebrities, champagne, canapes, and I a reading uh which was filmed and and so it's it's garnered a lot of press from that you see so it just feels the answer to your question is yeah it feels amazing can we see the book again and it's available hey everyone i'm not sure if you've heard but our show founder's story is now available on the iHeartRadio app so check that out iHeartRadio online or you grab the app it's super easy you can listen to all of our episodes

wherever you enjoy your podcast whether that's iHeartRadio iHeartRadio app apple podcast spotify and many more but check it out no that way it's available on amazon uh globally and um barnes and noble and all good bookshops libraries and what have you and this is the uh protagonist this is patsy that's her on her wedding day hence phantom wedding and then there's the back of that yeah why'd you bring that up yeah i mean i love the cover really stands out like it's it's not like too much some books i feel like there's too much on the cover but it's just enough it's modern it really catches the eye it's something if i saw it on the shelf i'd want to buy it but i'm glad you also brought the fact that you didn't just launch a book and

hope that it was successful that you talked about how you had to go out there you had to make it happen I love you had a red carpet event celebrity like you really went above and beyond you did something creative and unique and that's really exciting uh I'm curious, last question. What's your next book? Well, when you read this one, you'll see what I mean. All the fans of the book, they want to know where the Phantom comes from. So I'm trying to wrap my brains, place them into different, you know,

where he could have come from. So I'm just actually bringing this to life. I'm currently adapting this for the screen. So I'm working with a screenwriter to bring that hopefully to Netflix. And then I'm working on the sequel to Phantom Wedding. Well, I can't wait. A.N. Porter, thank you so much for joining us. And, you know, in a year from now, when the movie comes out on Netflix, I'm going to look back and say,

hey, I remember that. I know Phantom Wedding. I spoke to her. So thank you for joining us. We're always honored. I can't wait for the second book, third book, whatever you have coming out, movies, TV shows. I can tell that you have the passion,

the grit to really make it happen. And thank you for joining us today on Founders Story. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you for tuning in to Founders Story. Keep exploring, keep dreaming, and join us next time for more inspiring entrepreneurial journeys.