Wonderful Women Interview with Novelist Celia Silvani

Wonderful Women Interview with Novelist Celia Silvani

Celia Silvani is a communications director, a self-professed reality TV superfan and freelance writer who has written for Stylist, The Telegraph and BBC Future on topics ranging from weddings to hurricanes. Her debut novel, BABY TEETH, is coming out on 6 February 2025 with Orion.

Inspired by interviews with midwives and obstetricians and much time lurking in the dark corners of internet chat rooms, BABY TEETH tells the story of how two women get sucked into an online community that advocates freebirthing and ‘natural pregnancy’, with alternately glorious and devastating consequences.

 

1. Describe a typical day for you?

Time moves very strangely every day: bursts of energy, rushes to get out of/ into the house with my toddler, then moments that are so sweet I have to force myself to slow down.

I work part-time and write when I can (naps, after bedtime, when I wake in the middle of the night with a flash of inspiration). On a typical employment day, I’ll drop my son at nursery, work until collection time at 5.30, parent until 7.30, and my husband will come home and either do bedtime or make dinner (he is more skilled at both sleep negotiations and cooking). I’ll get to my laptop sometime after eating and try my absolute utmost to be productive. I’m due another baby in early May and feeling increasingly sluggish!

 

2. What do you feel are your greatest achievements?

I found out I was pregnant with Robin, my son, the same week that Orion first expressed interest in Baby Teeth. It was unbelievable: I was so desperate for a child and a book deal, both felt so unreachable and out of my control, then they suddenly collided into reality. That week, although terrifying for various reasons, I just felt so happy and like everything I had ever wanted might finally happen.

Now, my pride centres on Robin himself. His achievements aren’t mine, but I just think he’s incredible. He’s so wholly his own person, so enchanted by the smallest things. He likes to decompress by listing everything we’ve done in a day – chopped mushrooms, made dens, talked about jungles – and it shows me that the smallest moments can feel monumental when shared with someone you love.

 

3. What’s in your handbag/ satchel?

I wish I could say something chic, but I’m more of a plastic bag under the pram kind of person. Every bag and coat I own has a lip balm stashed in it – I received no fewer than six for Christmas, including an extremely bougie Laneige one from my sister.

I’m never without my phone. I worry that I’m may be an addict so I’ve installed a social media blocker from 5pm – 6am. Sacred parenting, writing and sleep hours! I write on Google Docs so I can access my work from either my laptop or phone, anytime.

 

4. What are your ambitions in life?

Having a book published was once such a wild dream that it’s almost unfathomable to me that I can say, ‘I’m a published author’ as of 6 February.

My ambitions now are to be able to find a balance between it all. To be the best possible version of myself at my craft but also as a parent, a wife, a daughter, a sister, and a friend. I find myself spinning so many plates and often feeling like I’m letting everyone down.

 

5. What do you wish you’d known at the start of your career you now know?

I wish I’d known about the incredible community of writers out there. For too long, I agonised alone over questions I could have just… asked. Orion set up a debut writers’ academy, and it was the first time I felt genuinely connected to others who got it.

Since then, I’ve joined a WhatsApp group for 2025 debut authors – it’s been a lifeline.

Outside of publishing and in terms of my career as a whole, I’ve learned it’s such a small world, and that’s a good thing. If you work hard, are kind and authentic, that will pay dividends. People notice.

 

6. You’ve pivoted into different careers at various points in your life, particularly when you became a mother, can you share those periods, the impact they had and how you started writing?

I applied to every graduate scheme I could in my final year of university (I studied English at Nottingham). I ended up working for a technology PR agency where I was miserable but bonded for life with some of the brightest, best people I’ll ever meet. I left there when I realised it wasn’t normal to cry yourself to sleep on Sundays and then worked at a series of wonderful PR firms.

I joined a literacy charity just before lockdown. It was there, in those eerie, quiet months, that a story demanded to be written. A desperately lonely woman, battling infertility, falls deeper into alternative birthing forums – until something devastating happens to one of the group members. I used every spare second to write the first draft.

I sent an absolutely shocking (in hindsight) version of this to agents and received an instant reply from the phenomenal Hannah Schofield at LBA. I signed with her within a week of that email.

At this time, my husband and I started thinking about a family. Unlike the main character in my book, I didn’t experience infertility, but recurrent early loss. It shattered me, truly, and made me reevaluate my work and life, and how little time I had to give to loved ones.

I reconnected with someone from my first job who offered me a part-time position which meant I could balance everything a little more.

When Robin was born, I was still editing, often typing with him balanced on me. I submitted my final draft to Orion when he was six months old, and returned to my job after a year.

Book two has been stop-start, but I’m obsessed with my idea – it’s gossipy, juicy, and dives into two things that fascinate me: bridesmaid culture and what constitutes bullying.

 

7. Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?

With son number two due in May, it’s wild to think I’ll have (basically) two school-aged children in five years.

Professionally, I hope I’ll have several books out in the world, with readers who connect with my stories and characters. And I hope I’ll still have that same thrill of a new idea sparking to life in my head.

 

8. What advice would you give a budding novelist?

The best writers are readers. Read everything you can, especially the genre you want to write in.

When you read widely, you’ll start to see what makes stories tick. The endless motion of action and reaction, the beats, the twists. I never did a course or formal study of creative writing – I wish I had – but I’ve always been a huge reader.

A writing friend recently asked me what ties my favourite books together. I said, ‘Difficult, struggling women.’ She asked if that described Baby Teeth, and the answer was yes.

Write what you love, what you’d devour as a reader. The publishing journey is long, and before anyone else believes in your book, you have to really believe in it first.

 

9. What advice would you give to a new parent?

It truly, truly takes a village. It’s not a meaningless cliche. Some people have family nearby, some have friends, some have neither of these things. There are groups and support networks and communities and classes and no one cares that you’ve not washed your hair and your baby’s missing a sock, they’ve been there too. There’s a sense of solidarity linking us all. When I had Robin, I felt so connected to the people I passed in the streets, pushing bassinets, blinking through exhaustion. I would have done anything for those strangers.

The other thing I’d say is that yes, life changes completely, your priorities turn completely, but you really can still make time for things that matter to you.

 

10. Finally, happiness is…

Singing (screaming) my heart out at the Eras Tour, then waking up to my husband and son bringing me an oat latte in bed.

 

Pre order Celia’s book Baby Teeth here.