No matter how out of control life feels, you can always pull it back together
As Dawn O’Porter releases her new novel and prepares for baby number two, she talks to HANNAH STEPHENSON about getting life back on track, not following the crowd and why she feels so closely linked to the women at the heart of her book
DAWN O’PORTER, novelist, columnist, broadcaster and vintage fashion buff, has never been one to follow the crowd. “As an adult I never think, ‘What’s everybody else doing? Let’s do that’,” states the 38-year-old.
“I follow my own instincts in life, and that’s how I’ve managed to carve out a career that’s my own.
“Instinctively, I’ve got a rebellious attitude. I would almost actively NOT follow what everybody else was doing...”
Indeed, Dawn – who a decade ago looked set for a career in TV, having made her mark in cuttingedge documentaries covering subjects like polygamy and extreme dieting – now lives in California, is a full-time author and mother, and is married to Irish actor – and Bridesmaids star – Chris O’Dowd.
She moved to Hollywood nine years ago to further her career, but is back in the UK promoting her latest novel, The Cows, a feisty, funny, contemporary tale following three women who make un-stereotypical life decisions.
Cam is a successful blogger, who doesn’t want children; Stella is an efficient PA to a photographer, who desperately does despite health worries; and Tara is a single mum whose high-flying TV career takes a turn for the worse when she indulges in a private sexual act on a train, thinking she is alone, only to be filmed by an onlooker who then posts it online.
As the story progresses, the women’s lives intertwine, as each deals with her own problems, judging each other and themselves along the way.
“None of them were supposed to have children, but when I had my little boy I thought I had to give one of them a child,” Dawn explains.
“Tara is me understanding what it feels like to be a mother; Cam is my alter ego, who I always thought I would be until I met my husband; and Stella is the tragedy and sadness and part of me that is deep inside.”
Stella, whose mother and twin sister died of cancer and who has the BRCA gene, giving her a higher risk of having breast or ovarian cancer, has evolved in part from Dawn’s own history. The author’s own mother died from breast cancer aged 36, two days before Dawn’s seventh birthday.
“I lost my mum to cancer, so it’s always in the back of my head. I didn’t have the BRCA gene and I don’t face what the character is facing, but I know how it feels to worry about that. And I made a documentary about breast cancer a few years ago and interviewed lots of women in Stella’s position.”
Dawn began writing the novel when she was pregnant with their first son, Art, who is now two. She has Love at first sight: Dawn with already handed over her husband Chris O’Dowd the manuscript for
the next novel, and is expecting her second child this summer.
But she wasn’t always intent on having children, she reveals.
“I wasn’t that bothered. I didn’t have this romantic dream about marriage and babies,” she admits.
“I always loved kids and loved my nieces and nephews; I just didn’t know I wanted to do it myself.
“Then I fell in love and it just all happened.
“I took to motherhood really naturally. I find it a complete pleasure being a mum,” she adds.
“There’s a lot of messages in the book – the main one is that no matter how out of control your life feels, you can always pull it back together. You are in control of your own life.”
She and Chris live a pretty regular family life in LA. They hardly ever go to red carpet events, aren’t so famous that they’re hounded by paparazzi or hoards of fans, and aren’t fazed by fame.
Dawn moved to Hollywood at 29 to make a series of documentaries for Channel 4, but when a second series was not commissioned, found herself floundering.
“I didn’t work for a couple of years, which is completely normal for someone who has a career in the media. It dented my confidence, but then it all turned out OK in the end.”
During this time she met Chris, who had seen her on TV and asked her out on Facebook.
“I invited him to my 30th birthday party and that was where we met – and that was it.
“I guess it was love at first sight. I definitely fancied him and I really wanted to pursue it.”
She bristles when asked if his high-profile status helped get her career back on track.
“I don’t think it’s helped my career, because I’ve worked really bloody hard, and when someone says that to me I instantly get defensive.”
She adds: “I like to think that if you are willing to sit down and write 100,000 words, then you are helping your own career.
“But I’m sure more people know who I am because of him.”
Born in Scotland, Dawn’s parents divorced when she was one and when her mother died, she was looked after by her grandparents and then by her aunt and uncle – whom she calls her parents – who took her to live in Guernsey.
She studied acting at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts and made a name for herself making documentaries in the UK, along with her various columns for women’s magazines.
Dawn has put her vintage fashion business, BOB, on ‘maternity leave’, to give her time with the imminent new arrival. Meanwhile, TV rights to The Cows have already been sold, but she’s realistic about her novel ever reaching the screen. “It doesn’t mean it’s going to be on TV – all it means is that I have to write a script and hopefully someone will buy it. But before the book was even published, a production company loved it enough to buy the rights, which was amazing.”
She has another three books to write within the next few years – and there’s seemingly no shortage of inspiration.
“I always knew I wanted to stand out and have a career in journalism,” says Dawn, “and to do that, you need to be willing to not follow the herd and write what you feel.”
The Cows by Dawn O’Porter is published by HarperCollins, priced £14.99.