Samantha Baines

Samantha Baines is an award-winning comedian, actress, broadcaster and a bestselling author of non-fiction, and children’s fiction. She is a deaf activist and wears hearing aids, and often creates deaf protagonists, such as in Harriet Versus the Galaxy, and The Night the Moon Went Out. In 2023, she published Living With Hearing Loss and Deafness, a guide to owning hearing loss and deafness and loving it.

When she’s not writing, she’s appearing in popular shows including The Crown, Call the Midwife, and Silent Witness, and appearing on Loose Women and Sky News. She has performed at sell-out shows at Edinburgh’s famous Fringe Festival, and now sticks to being funny on social media, on the radio, and in her books.

She has her own podcast, The Divorce Social, which was named The Times Podcast of the Week, and won the bronze award for the Best Sex and Relationship podcast at the 2022 British Podcast Awards. If that wasn’t enough, she is the founder of the social media marketing company, Penguin in the Room; they have managed social media output for the likes of Helen George, Susan Calman, Lucy Porter, and Ruby Wax’s charity Frazzled Café.

Meet Samantha Baines

Questions on Writing

What is the hardest part of your writing experience?
Sometimes finishing writing the book can be really hard, when you’ve already finished it in your head. I have ADHD so my brain moves quickly and likes to move onto the next thing. Admitting when a storyline or project isn’t working can also be hard especially when you have fallen in love with the characters.

What have you learned about yourself when writing?
I have learnt that too much planning ruins the fun of the experience for me. I need to go on a journey with each book and finding new moments in the story as I write makes me love the process. I’ve also learnt that I am great at ideas and not always at finishing those ideas, which can be an issue if I want to have anymore books published! I need to have several projects running at once that I can dip in and out of as that fuels my creativity. Overall, I think I have learnt that there is no one way to be a writer, and you need to work out the best way for you!

Do you make yourself write everyday/regularly, or only when inspiration strikes?
I only write everyday if I have a deadline and need to get things moving! For my latest non-fiction I was writing 2,000 words a day at one point to get the first draft finished on time. Usually I write when inspiration strikes me and I find this the most satisfying way to write. If inspiration hasn’t reared its head for a while I spend more time reading other people’s books and usually this gets my creative juices flowing.

What does literary success look like to you?
An interesting question! To the outside world I think literary success can be bestsellers and awards and they are lovely but they are not as fulfilling as receiving a letter from a child telling you how much they enjoyed your book, or saw themself reflected in your characters. Having a room full of children giggle at one of my jokes or getting an Instagram message from someone who read my latest book and said they finally felt ‘seen’ is the most meaningful thing to me.

How much planning/world building do you do before writing, and how much comes along as you write?
I am allergic to planning, much to the disappointment of many editors and agents haha! I have a ‘book notes’ page on my phone where initial ideas and titles go. Then ideas tend to ruminate in my mind for a while until I am ready to write the first chapter and get something on paper, that’s when the main character or sense of place fleshes itself out. Once I have some words down, a storyline tends to develop in my mind and I might make some bullet point notes to remind myself. I like writing in chronological order and as I write I find new moments to fit into the overall storyline. I always get stuck at the halfway point and need some more ruminating before finishing. Because of my background as a comedian I tend to overedit myself too so my first drafts are always too short and then I can go back and add some more fun into the story and descriptions on the second take. 

You’ve written in both children’s fiction and adult non-fiction, what do you like about each genre, and do you have a preference?  
Adult non-fiction was hard work haha! I think I underestimated how much time all of the research/interviews/fact-finding would take and the pressure of getting everything ‘right’ and accurate was intense. I enjoyed writing as me, in my own voice and my own experiences but it felt like a huge huge undertaking so I think I will definitely need a break before considering doing another one. 

I absolutely love writing children’s fiction and I think that’s my real passion. Creating new worlds, characters and wild storylines is like fuel to me and I really enjoy how creative the writing process is. There are definitely hard times when you get stuck and don’t know where to go next or time constraints but I generally love the process and watching the story develop as the words flow out of me is so fun. Sometimes I get lost in the story and forget that I am writing it, if that makes sense, I feel like a reader thinking where will this go next? It’s funny to realise each time that it is up to me where we go next! 

How do you celebrate when a book is published? 
I buy myself a fancy handbag! Genuinely, it is my ‘I am proud of myself’ fancy purchase and then I wear the handbag non-stop to remind myself that I did it! 

Questions on Books and About You

Firstly, the most important question, what books are currently ‘on your bedside table’? 
My book pile is huge!! I read a mixture of adult and children’s non-fiction generally. I currently have A Flash of Fireflies by Aisha Bushby, True Biz by Sara Novic (which I am re-reading), Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (which my Mum lent me) and two Sophie Anderson books in the pile. 

What children’s book would you suggest every adult read? 
Mine of course. 

What does your writing space look like? 
I write anywhere. I love writing on trains, I don’t know why but it gets my creativity going. I write on my sofa with a knitted blanket on my knees or in bed when the inspiration strikes me. If I need to buckle down and finish something though I have a desk and large screen in my spare room and that’s my ‘I need to do some proper work now’ writing space. 

How many books do you think you own? 
I would say at least 100. I loan lots out to family and friends and I try to take piles to charity shops too as I am lucky to get sent books by other authors. I have a huge bookcase in my office, one in the living room and one in my bedroom so there are lots of books floating around my house. 

Who is your literary icon? 
I would love to meet/interview Jacqueline Wilson as I read all of her books growing up. 

Is there an author who you always read? 
I love Sarah Addison Allen, Sarah Painter, Sophie Anderson, Michelle Harrison and Charlie N Holmberg. 

And finally, are there any plans for any new books? If so, what teasers can you give us? 
Yes, in true me style I am currently writing three different children’s books, all with deaf main characters of course! 

Thank you Samantha 😊 I’m so glad I’m not the only person who has loads of ideas but struggles with finishing them

Samantha Baines’ Books