Hermit by Susan Blood | Reinvention, Solitude & Starting Over
- Sea Crow Press
- 11 hours ago
- 3 min read
What if changing your life meant leaving almost everything familiar behind? In Susan Blood's Hermit (Sea Crow Press, September 2, 2026) Holly retreats from the world expecting solitude, space to write, and a chance to reinvent herself. Instead, she becomes a garden hermit, and discovers that starting over is rarely as simple as it sounds.
Susan Blood is an Arts Foundation of Cape Cod Written Word Fellowship recipient whose work has appeared in The Christian Science Monitor, The Magazine of Yoga, Bachtrack, and other publications. She is the author of How Not to Do Things, creator of the long-running WOMR radio show Opera Betty: opera for people who hate opera, and a former Provincetown dune shack resident, where Hermit was first drafted.
We talked with Susan about Hermit, reinvention, solitude, and what happens when a retreat from the world takes an unexpected turn.
Where did the idea for Hermit come from?
Hermit started as the idea for a collection of essays around the trials and tribulations of self-improvement, as a follow-up to How Not to Do Things. It was still in an amorphous state when I came across an article about 18th-century hermits, which claimed they were the origin of the modern garden gnome.
I thought, If this were a novel, I'd make the protagonist a garden gnome. As a novel, the idea then became: if you needed to change your life, what would you do?
Who is Holly, and what is she looking for?
Holly is a young professional who needs stability. When the book opens, she second-guesses whether her housing situation may be in jeopardy, and she is led to believe it may be because of her.
Her tendency is to quit things before she is forced to make a decision or change.
What she is looking for is a different version of herself, someone on more solid ground, and she goes to great lengths to discover that.
Why does Holly choose solitude?
Holly chooses what she envisions as a retreat, where she can work on herself, do some yoga, and write.The solitude, and its impact, come as something of a surprise. Holly doesn't always think things through....
What does the garden hermit job actually involve?
Apparently, it varied.
In my sleuthing, people had hermits live on their estates as a reminder of mortality, or to be a sort of sage. Some weren't allowed to bathe or cut their nails. Many were silent.
In Holly's case, it's not clear what is expected of her, and she works it out herself, creating her own boundaries based on what she believes her benefactor has in mind.
Is Hermit a funny book or a suspenseful one?
Hermit is funny.
Holly's decisions are questionable and she's extraordinarily impulsive, which puts her in situations that are funny if it's not you that's in them.
When I started writing, I saw it as a comedy of errors, where she botches everything she touches. It became more thoughtful, with some real substance to the journey as Holly's character developed, but there is humor throughout.
What is the novel really saying about reinvention?
Holly sets out to make significant changes to the kind of person she is and, while it does not go as planned, things do change.
Was she successful in her quest? Can we reinvent ourselves?
I'd say that's up to the reader to decide.
What role does the winter setting play in the story?
In nature, winter is the ultimate catalyst for change.
This also applies to Holly's experience. She hits a lot of obstacles, but nothing prepares her for winter. Winter strips away every comfort she has and leaves her at her most vulnerable.
This can go one of two ways for her: giving up or staying the course. And the choice she makes changes everything.
What do you hope readers take away from Hermit?
I always hope readers leave my work a little lighter.
In this case, it's a sense of infinite possibility.
As we send Hermit out into the world, that is my hope for what it brings.
Discover Hermit
Funny, unexpected, and ultimately hopeful, Hermit asks a deceptively simple question: Can we really reinvent ourselves?
Holly's answer may not be what she expected—and neither may yours.
Hermit is available from Sea Crow Press. Discover the novel and add it to your reading list.
