The Truth About Surrogacy, Cover Design Drama & Writing Through Chaos | Jaqueline Friedland

Jaqueline Friedland never planned to become a novelist—she was on track to be an English professor, then a lawyer, then a mom of four. But somewhere between labor stories, epidural mishaps, and her kids heading off to kindergarten, she started writing. Now she's celebrating the release of her third book—a novel about surrogacy that hit #1 new release in LGBTQ and family life fiction.

In this raw, unfiltered conversation with Dara Levan, Jaqueline opens up about: the cover design drama that almost derailed her book, why she writes to bagpipes (yes, really), how she channels personal heartbreak into fiction, and the uncomfortable truth about asking friends for reviews. She also shares why she believes fiction builds empathy—and how her mom's career as a professor shaped her own definition of making a difference.

Keywords: Jaqueline Friedland author, surrogacy fiction, historical fiction writer, mother of four author, writing process, book cover design, Every Soul Has a Story podcast, former attorney turned author

0:00 - Intro & Technical Difficulties
2:23 - Welcoming Jaqueline Friedland
3:28 - Childbirth Stories & Epidural Mishaps
6:23 - Practicing Law While Raising Kids
8:27 - Book Cover Design Drama
13:00 - Writing Schedule with 4 Kids
14:57 - Research Rabbit Holes
17:46 - Outlining vs. Pantsing
20:28 - Writing Through Pain
22:20 - From Law to Literature
25:54 - The Reality of Author Marketing
28:30 - Personal Details in Fiction
30:11 - Why Fiction Builds Empathy
33:07 - Outro

• https://www.instagram.com/dara.levan/
• Website: daralevan.com

QUOTES:

"When it hurts me to write something, there's like a part of me that likes that. It means I'm doing it right."
– Jaqueline Friedland

"I feel like our world… we’re so connected and high tech, and, yet, I feel like so many people are more disconnected than ever."
– Dara Levan