Colleen Hoover, the world’s most successful author shakes her head, taken aback by her own success. “I cannot believe the turn my life has taken, it feels surreal,” she admits. The inception of her writing career wasn’t propelled by an ambition for fame. Being a Texan social worker and mother of three, her debut novel, Slammed, was her way of addressing domestic violence issues she’d seen in childhood with her mother.
“My mother is one of the most balanced and competent women I have ever known,” confesses Hoover, speaking through a Zoom call in New York. “And the fact that she was in a violent relationship puzzled me. We often stereotype victims of such situations but in reality, anyone can find themselves in these situations. Therefore, I wanted to understand, empathise and communicate that.”
Returning to the central theme of domestic violence, Hoover penned her incredibly popular 2016 novel, It Ends With Us. The narrative within the emerging ‘new-adult’ genre orbits around Lily Bloom, a gifted florist and Ryle, a charismatic neurosurgeon who develops a propensity for aggression, offsetting their love story. Their relationship characterised by gaslighting, but it isn’t until Lily is expecting a child that its facade fades. Hoover attests that writing this book was her most challenging feat.
As expected, this best-selling novel of 2022 (and future bestseller of 2023) has been adapted into a blockbuster film, casting Blake Lively as Lily and Justin Baldoni, who also helms the director’s position, as Ryle.
“I was completely drawn to Lily’s character,” said Lively. “I felt compelled to narrate her story as her emotional journey resonated with me. There are countless interpretations of her, but if I were to play her, I’d portray her as a strong, grounded woman, not a fragile being.”
It’s critical to witness someone who appears well-adjusted become disoriented, as this allows us to understand that we can’t always comprehend people’s struggles. All of us embark on chaotic voyages that lack a defined start, middle, & end. By showcasing Lily as both resilient & vulnerable, and able to both assemble & err, the aim was to reduce feelings of isolation amongst people.
The female-led film’s inaugural trailer made an impression, generating over 128 million views within a day of its online debut in May, marking it as the majorly viewed trailer since the onset of Covid-19.
Hoover finds the Hollywood adaptation enjoyable and views the movie in the cinema as a contributory therapeutic endeavour. Speaking from experience, she says, “The chance to watch it in the company of my mother and share this emotional journey proved cathartic and largely beneficial for both of us.”
However, not everyone approves. Cosmopolitan criticised the work’s optimistic overtone, with Shivani Dubey expressing concerns about the realistic consequences that may ensue from romanticising abuse and how the film, especially considering the prevalent streaming era, may potentially reach a wider audience than the books.
Supporters of “It Ends With Us” assert that it impeccably conveys the complex emotions involved in simultaneously loving an abusive partner and deciding to leave them. To quote Lily, “Your love for someone doesn’t necessarily cease when they inflict harm on you”.
Hoover points out, “This experience has resulted in cultivating some of the best friendships for me.” She appreciates the interaction with her readers, many of whom are friends. She took the contrarian route from the conventional advice to authors about interacting with their readers and replies to all the interactions she can. She credits her reader interactions and responses for contributing to her career growth and leading to transformative dialogues.
Hoover’s unlikely journey to publishing success is a tale that’s fast becoming legendary. Starting her writing career on her mother’s work laptop, since she did not own one herself, Hoover juggled family life in a trailer with her truck-driver husband. Initially, her romance novels gained popularity on Wattpad among female book bloggers. Her entry into self-publishing was motivated solely by the fact that her mother had recently purchased a Kindle. Within seven months, Hoover saw herself featured on the New York Times bestseller list.
Emerging as a driving force within romantasy—a blend of romance and fantasy, an arena also dominated by renowned author Sarah J Maas, known for A Court of Wings and Ruin—Hoover has torn apart traditional writing norms. Hoover admits that she had never picked up a romance novel before deciding to write one. Despite her preconceptions about the genre, it has now become her preferred genre. For her, the lack of preformed ideas and her playful approach to writing have been successful strategies.
CoHo, as her ardent fans—her ‘CoHort’—refer to her, skyrocketed into literary fame with her release of ‘It Ends With Us.’ In 2022, she outperformed sales of Dr Seuss, James Patterson, and even the Bible, in the US. The popularity of her name has multiplied billions of times on ‘BookTok,’ TikTok’s influential book-focused subsector.
In 2022, her BookTok audience played a significant role in six of her titles making it to the top ten on the New York Times paperback-fiction bestseller list. Another title, ‘Point of Retreat,’ was close behind. Sales of Hoover’s books reached a staggering 14.3 million in 2022— a 660 per cent increase from the 1.88 million she sold the previous year. After two and a half years, ‘It Ends With Us’ remains on the New York Times bestseller list, securing the top spot once again due to the anticipation of a new movie adaptation.
Unlike other BookTok hits like Jenny Han’s ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ and Taylor Jenkins Reid’s ‘The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo,’ which have fluctuated in popularity, Hoover’s success remains unwavering.
The author asserts that the pandemic sparked an alternative pursuit for us all, giving rise to the phenomenon known as BookTok. She shares that this has greatly altered her life, as she had been under the impression that her books had reached their peak performance. But BookTok unveiled an entirely new facet, previously unknown to her. She’s witnessed the transformative effect it’s had on her fellow authors as well, propelling unheard-of writers onto bestseller lists like the New York Times thanks to their books gaining traction on TikTok. The influence possessed by the readership, she highlights, is astonishing.
Emily Slapper’s Everyone I Know Is Dying is a novel that casts a great shadow [Opens in new window]. Hoover maintains a staunch dedication to her readership. A planned colouring book version of her work, It Ends With Us, was discontinued following opposition from fans. She’s maintained the reins over her works through collaborative contracts with three separate publishing houses, on occasion retaining the rights to the digital editions. While adapting It Ends With Us for the big screen, Hoover, Baldoni, and screenwriter Christy Hall collected a group of dedicated fans, often referred to as a “brains trust”, to give their thoughts on the early versions.
Hoover expresses immense gratitude to her readers, acknowledging, “Without their support, I wouldn’t be in my current position”. Her chief aim with this adaptation was to please her readers, bringing them into the process from the get-go. She wanted their input in augmenting the script and attended multiple screenings. Ensuring they captured the sentiments her readers wanted to see was key to doing the book justice.
Despite her global fan base, known as CoHort, being remarkably expansive and loyal, always receiving new foreign editions with different covers through the post still enthuses her. However, it means that writing just for herself is no longer an option for Hoover.
Acknowledging the burden of expectations, she admits, “The strain is indeed palpable.” She continues, “For a couple of years, I’ve not managed to complete a book. My schedule has been overwhelmed with the film and everything else, leaving me no opportunity to devote to writing. I genuinely believe readers can discern. They can differentiate between a tale penned for their amusement or for the author’s satisfaction. My aspiration is to re-enter the world of writing with the same spirit and shut out all distractions allowing me to concentrate and craft a narrative that brings me joy.” The general release of It Ends With Us is underway.