Based on real events surrounding a cult in rural Quebec, Hetherington's debut novel Mooncalves weaves a tale of present-day crime and a strange, dystopian future.
"The arrival of Hetherington’s unique narrative voice may announce the coming of a new genre. Call it Post Singularity Toronto Gothic, if you will. You may be tempted, if you are as impressed by this debut as this reviewer is, to see Hetherington as the millennial generation’s persuasive answer to Atwood."
- The Vancouver Sun
"Word started to spread in literary circles earlier this spring about a startling literary debut, a first novel called Mooncalves by Victoria Hetherington, published by a very small press in Vancouver. Such presses have no money for publicity, so the only way for a novel such as that to create some word of mouth is to be really, really good. Here is evidence, for the skeptical, that it sometimes does happen. Mooncalves is a stunning debut."
- The Globe and Mail
"With family resemblances to other Canadians, specifically the novels of Lynn Crosbie and the body-horror films of early David Cronenberg...Mooncalves forges its own path. A stylish puzzle of a story, Victoria Hetherington’s debut novel is prickly and demanding and a bit feral but both singular and absorbing."
- The Toronto Star
"From Netflix’s Wild Wild Country to a slew of books – including Claudia Dey’s Heartbreaker, Victoria Hetherington’s Mooncalves, and Emma Cline’s The Girls...explorations of cults are filling a particular, and dark, societal need."
- Quill and Quire
"A work of great thematic depth...[the central relationship] I completely loved and have had to restrain myself from writing paragraph after paragraph."
- The Puritan
"Mooncalves is capable of becoming The Handmaid’s Tale of our time not only because of how relevant it is to current discussions about climate change and patriarchy but also for some of the ways it goes further in its discussion of feminism... It is a book that is, in many ways, unlike anything that I have read before, and it is hard to imagine I will encounter anything quite like it again."
- The Town Crier
"Mooncalves is startling...A truly harrowing read that strips all of the glamor from the genre within which it operates."
- Broken Pencil Magazine
"Set against a backdrop of impending environmental catastrophe, Hetherington’s fresh and unconventional story is composed of deeply complex characters including cult devotees, time travellers, synthetic companions, and ghosts. Hetherington offers us a biting social critique in this stunning debut."
- Kathryn Mockler, author of Onion Man
" Hetherington is a beautiful writer. In the depraved and terrifying future she creates, her sentences dance nimbly, brightly across the page, like the palest of flowers left on decomposing bodies."
- Diana Wagman, author of Extraordinary October
" Anchored by survivalist women’s voices, this dystopic story catapults the Millennial perspective into the visionary position. In this cultish, futuristic landscape, I was reassured by this mysterious talent women have, to absorb ancestrally, survivalist tricks fit for any era.”
- Alisha Piercy, author of Bunny and Shark
"Hetherington holds nothing back, whether it’s sexual, violent, or emotionally toxic.You will have trouble putting Mooncalves down, because as protagonist Erica says, “transgression can be unbearably sexy.”
- Myna Wallin, author of Confessions of a Reluctant Cougar
"A ganglion of masterfully structured insights and anxieties reminiscent of Jean Rhys and Renata Adler. Mooncalves speaks closer than most to our contemporary moment."
- Michael Turner, author of Hard Core Logo
Under the banner of Unearthly Communications, I am a seasoned ghostwriter with multiple book projects completed to date. I am so proud to have brought the stories of my clients to life.
My passion for storytelling underpins everything that I do. From the thrill of crafting a unique brand voice to bring them to the next level, to drafting a speech that will flow off the page for a client, I have spent fourteen years telling stories for prominent individuals and businesses in a variety of sectors including healthcare, education, finance and real estate. Seven years ago, I started helping clients tell stories one on one. These projects include two polished business books with ideas that sparkle off the page and two unforgettable memoirs.
There is not a single person alive who doesn’t have a story to tell. Yours just happens to be an extraordinary story, and one that deserves to be told in book form, reaching your wide audience and developing the readership that you deserve.
Working with my clients, I’ve assisted in storytelling that cements their legacies for future generations to know about their life and work. With my help, clients have written books that tell extraordinary life stories, as well as books that impart business wisdom and other career expertise, bringing their philosophies to new, highly receptive audiences.
Here’s how it works.
On our first meeting, we will perform an intense but exciting process of memory retrieval. Over coffee you’ll describe to me everything that will be immortalized in your memoir. You’ll be amazed at how that process flows. Clients have come to profound realizations and retrieved life-changing memories through this step. Don’t worry about the form that this process takes, or how long it will take – we can spread this out to fit your schedule. We can also meet digitally to suit the rhythm and flow of your week.
At this stage, your job is to get all of the puzzle pieces out of the box, so that I can begin to fit them all together. As I assemble these pieces into a polished memoir you’ll be proud of forever, I encourage ongoing, open communications – we can have as many check-ins as you like. It’s crucial that we meet every objective perfectly, from locating your narrative voice to bringing it all together with a publication plan.
Here are some essential points to know if you hire me as your ghostwriter:
1. Your name, and only your name, will appear on the book. You will own 100% of the rights to your book and your story. All sales proceeds, all future film rights – everything is yours. As my job title suggests, I’m a “ghost” who brings your ideas to paper (but a friendly one, of course!)
2. Our interviews are 100% confidential. I am a compassionate, close listener, and my intuitive sense will help capture the specific “emotion-memories” and ideas crucial for your book, and provide a snapshot of your intellect. But after we have put all of the puzzle pieces together, I delete every interview. If you would like, you don’t need to tell anyone that you had a ghostwriter. The entire process is confidential.
3. My fee varies based on the needs of my client, but it is ALWAYS all-inclusive. It will not change if the process takes longer than expected, and will include a cover letter to publishers and agents, as well as detailed guidance on taking the next step toward either traditional publishing or self-publishing. As an expert on the workings of the publishing world, I am here to help you every step of the way.
And that’s it! If this sounds good to you, do get in touch via the contact form below with quick message about who you are, and a sentence or two about your story. I will reply to you personally within two business days.