Home » Blog » Mother and Daughter Writing Partnerships

Mother and Daughter Writing Partnerships

May 30, 2019
by Becky Ferrigno

Children mimic what they see their parents do. Our children pay a lot more attention to what we do than what we say. I frequently write while my daughter is around and often she joins me in her own creative pursuit. During one of our mother/daughter writing sessions, I found myself wondering how many mother/daughter author pairs existed. After a quick google search I found that many daughters of writers also became authors themselves. Three mother and daughter pairs even wrote books together!

Deck the Halls

Two of the mother/daughter author duos are names I recognized. The first is Mary Higgins Clark. Back in high school I was a huge fan. My mother read all of her books and so they were available for my sisters and I to read too. I loved the twists and turns in Mary Higgins Clark mysteries and just ate them up. Deck the Halls is written by Mary Higgins Clark and her daughter Carol Higgins Clark and my personal favorite of the 5 collaborations created by the duo.

What makes this mother/daughter partnership work so well is that both women are best selling authors with incredible writing chops. Also, I think it is so clever that the two main characters of Deck the Halls  come from their previous solo work. Regan Reilly, is featured in Carol Higgins Clark novels and Alvirah Meehan, appears in several of Mary Higgins Clark books.  If you like mysteries written by MHC, you will love this book! I read it a long time ago and enjoyed it just as much this go around.

Between the Lines

Many readers will recognize at least one of the names in the next mother and daughter pair. Between the Lines is a result of the partnership between Jodi Picoult and her daughter Samantha Vanleer. While it is written in Jodi Picoult’s emotional style, it is a young adult book, which is a departure for her. The main character Delilah loves to spend her time in the library reading one book. When the Prince in the novel begins to speak to Delilah she embarks on an adventure full of romance, turmoil and self-reflection. (Cue a common theme in Jodi Picoult books!)

Best Friends, Occasional Enemies

The final mother/daughter pair of Linda Sottoline and Francesca Serritella did not merge just to write a book. This duo has a weekly column in the Philadelphia Inquirer called “Chick Wit.” The book Best Friends, Occasional Enemies was inspired by this column. This book is a collection of their columns and is sure to make you laugh! I haven’t had a chance to read it yet but after viewing a few samples of their work, I am really looking forward to listening to the audio book!

All three mother/daughter pairs write in different styles and genres. As a writer, I would love to know their process. Writing is something that I do usually when I am completely alone. It is a process that involves a lot of scribbling on scraps of paper and writing while stretched out on the yoga mat in my office. I wonder, did the mother and daughter pairs pass the book back and forth? Did they write together? Were there times where they wish they could throw in the towel?

If you are a writer or ever collaborated on a book, how did you approach the work? Leave a comment below.

If you would like to learn about another incredible woman author, head over to our Kickstarter campaign and pre-order your copy of  Blazing A Trail: The Story of Minna Anthony Common