Anna Sansom's book, Desire Lines, was published by The Unbound Press last September. Part of our experience as UNBOUND Writers is to discover that our books have an energy of their own.
They often make their arrival known to the author, the writing experience is transformational, and on completion even more magic is activated (for more on that, listen to this podcast on the UNBOUND Writer's Club).
In this post, we hear from Anna about her experiences of writing Desire Lines, and check in with what has been happening for both her and the book since it was released into the world.
Anna shares with us: "When Desire Lines was released I talked about being a custodian for the book and escorting her in her ‘toddler’ stage out into the world. In some ways, I feel she is more grown-up and independent of me now.
The book has been featured in magazine articles and that means people are hearing about Desire Lines indirectly, as well as directly from me. I hope there is also word-of-mouth sharing about Desire Lines (because my aim was always to create space for people to have their own conversations about desire).

Desire Lines is a collection of my experiences and what I’d learned up to that point in my life.
But, of course, my life has continued and I have new experiences and new learning that is absent from the book.
I guess this is par for the course for any memoirist – there’s always a cut-off point in the story. Even though it’s only been a year, Desire Lines feels like it stopped at the end of one stage of my life and I have now entered a new stage.
The overall theme – choosing our own paths – remains the same whatever my life stage, but being peri-menopausal in a global pandemic has certainly impacted on me and those paths! It is possible that what I’m learning now will go into a second book but, for now, I’m very much in the process of simply living it. I’ve had some deeply-affirming messages from people who have read Desire Lines.
They tell me they feel that my writing has given them permission, made them feel more empowered to make their own choices, and to feel more ownership of their own stories.

Every time I hear from a reader I am awed by their courage and commitment to their own truths and I feel a big “yes!” inside of me – this is why I write. I’ve been enjoying writing some very short pieces to share on Instagram and Facebook.
I feel, having already covered such a breadth of ideas in Desire Lines, I can now use social media to share what is most pertinent and resonant for me on any given day.
It feels like the book is my foundation, and I get to add different accessories and accents depending on my mood.
If Desire Lines was the work, trying out new things on social media is the play.
I really hadn’t expected that! I thought I would plunge straight into writing another novel or longer prose but, in fact, I’m using this time to play with words and feelings – continuing to develop my craft and my voice – on social media, my blog, and through stories published on other websites. Desire Lines isn’t my first book and I’ve had lots of my writing published over the years on different platforms, but I do feel more at home in my role as a writer now.
Writing and sharing Desire Lines shifted something in me that has led to me standing more strongly in my power, more confident about saying “this is me, this is what I believe, this is my truth”.
I acknowledge the courage it took for me to do that, and I am proud of myself for my commitment to the whole (ongoing) process.
When I say I am a desire line walker, I remember who I truly am."
We are so excited to witness what magic Desire Lines is making in the world, and can't wait to see what Anna brings to life as the next part of her journey.

To start your own unbound writing experience, check out The UNBOUND Writer's Mastermind here.
(Yoni Oracle deck featured here by Georgina Catling)
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