There are questions every writer dreads, and for me, it isn’t “How long did it take you to write?” or even “Where did you get the idea?” The question that stops me in my tracks every time is:
“What genre is your book?”
You’d think it would be easy. After all, there are more than seventy book genres to choose from. But Threads of Passage doesn’t fit neatly into any one of them. And truthfully, I’ve stopped trying to make it. This story—like the Irish coast it’s set on—is wild, layered, and refuses to be tamed.
Here’s where it lives, at the crossroads:
- Upmarket Women’s Fiction – Character-driven, lyrical, and emotional, it follows Maeve’s journey of grief, belonging, and renewal. Upmarket fiction blends strong writing and universal themes with accessibility. Threads of Passage definitely has a home here.
- Literary Fiction with Commercial Appeal – The prose carries atmosphere, metaphor, and Irish storytelling cadence, while the plot drives forward with community stakes. Is it literary with commercial appeal? Yes—but it’s also more than that. (I’d personally love to see this baby of mine grow into an HBO series.)
- Small-Town Community Fiction – If you loved Chocolat or The Lost Bookshop, you’ll recognize the heartbeat here: a struggling town, revived by hope, community, and second chances.
- Irish / Historical-Contemporary Hybrid – Though set in modern Ireland, the story is steeped in folklore, tradition, and echoes of the past, giving it a timeless, almost mythic feel.
And then comes the other big question:
“Who did you write this book for?”
That one is easier. I wrote Threads of Passage for the 37.6 million Irish Americans who long to return to the land of their ancestors. For anyone who grew up Irish in America, these characters, families, and turns of phrase will feel familiar—like an aunt, a cousin, or a grandmother you already know.
So maybe the real answer isn’t about squeezing Threads of Passage into a tidy box, but about recognizing where it intersects: women’s fiction, literary storytelling, small-town revival, Irish tradition.
At its heart, it’s the story of a woman, a community, and the threads that weave them back together.
I’d love to know what you think:
📚 Where would you shelve Threads of Passage?
Because maybe the truest genre is simply this—
A story that finds its readers.