Off The Shelf with Morgann Book

Off The Shelf with Morgann Book

#56: Victoria S. Walsh Reveals What Everyone Gets Wrong About Writing Plus Size Heroines

Jul 30, 2026 · 44 min · 17 segments

This week on Off The Shelf, Morgann sits down with Victoria S. Walsh to talk about turning a lifelong dream into reality with her debut fantasy novel, The Iron Hex. From manifesting and leaving her…

This week on Off The Shelf, Morgann sits down with Victoria S. Walsh to talk about turning a lifelong dream into reality with her debut fantasy novel, The Iron Hex. From manifesting and leaving her corporate job to building a fantasy trilogy, writing meaningful representation, and why book pre-orders matter more than you think, Victoria shares the story behind her journey to becoming a published author. Plus, she teases what's next for The Iron Hex series and beyond. **CHAPTERS:** 00:00 Intro & Welcome 03:49 Dreaming of Becoming an Author 05:08 Childhood Stories & Supportive Parents 07:01 Why Competitiveness Led to YouTube 09:54 Quitting Her Corporate Job 14:21 The Story Behind The Iron Hex 16:40 Landing Her Dream Literary Agent 17:33 What The Iron Hex Is About 18:41 Planning an Entire Trilogy 20:11 Writing a Plus-Size Fantasy Heroine 23:51 The Decade-Long Yearning Romance 26:26 Memory Loss, Romance & Fantasy Tropes 27:38 The High School That Changed Everything 30:37 A Childhood Photo That Says It All 35:11 Why Pre-Ordering Books Matters So Much 41:42 Book Two, The Iron Oath & What's Next **FOLLOW US:** Morgann Book TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@morgannbook?lang=en Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morgannbook/?hl=en YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MorgannBook Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/morgannbook Victoria S. Walsh Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victoriashaz TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@victoriashaz Find her books at Indigo: https://www.indigo.ca/pages/contributor/victoria-s-walsh?id=804750921 Find her books at Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/search?attributes.contributorId=32332325&contributorName=Victoria%20S.%20Walsh Off The Shelf Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/offtheshelf.podcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@offtheshelf.podcast?lang=en YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Off.TheShelfPodcast Hosted by: Morgann Book Created by: Bookish Media, Morgann Book, and Thomas Johnston Executive Producers: Morgann Book & Thomas Johnston Produced by: Stefanie Macchiusi Associate Post Producer and Editor: Ricki Biramontes * * * Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Off The Shelf, Morgann sits down with Victoria S. Walsh to talk about turning a lifelong dream into reality with her debut fantasy novel, The Iron Hex. From manifesting and leaving her…

Manifesting & Early Love of Storytelling2:05 – 6:01

Morgann BookHost

2:05

Um, before we get into anything-

Victoria S. WalshGuest

2:06

Yeah

Morgann BookHost

2:06

... you were someone who thought manifesting was bullshit at one point.

Victoria S. WalshGuest

2:10

Yeah.

Victoria S. WalshGuest

2:10

[laughs]

Morgann BookHost

2:10

Now you are someone who believes in it.

Victoria S. WalshGuest

2:12

Yeah.

Morgann BookHost

2:12

What is the secret sauce to manifesting and creating a vision board?

Victoria S. WalshGuest

2:16

Yeah.

Victoria S. WalshGuest

2:16

Okay.

Victoria S. WalshGuest

2:17

So I definitely, when I was, like, in my teens, I was like, [scoffs] "It's not real."

Morgann BookHost

2:23

[laughs]

Victoria S. WalshGuest

2:23

"It's not real, and everybody who says it's real is a liar." And then I just kind of started to realize, and it kind of happened through my self-love journey as well-

Morgann BookHost

2:32

Mm

Victoria S. WalshGuest

2:32

... where I was like, "Oh, like, when I say negative things to my brain, my brain believes it.

Victoria S. WalshGuest

2:37

And then when I say positive things to my brain, my brain believes it." And then I had this, like, through line where I was like, "Oh, so if I believe that the things I want to happen are going to happen, then what's gonna stop them from happening?" So for me, I, I do like a little ritual at the end of the year every year.

Morgann BookHost

2:58

Mm.

Victoria S. WalshGuest

2:59

Um, I go to a cafe, I write down, like, everything bad that happened to me, and then I literally burn it.

Morgann BookHost

3:07

[laughs]

Victoria S. WalshGuest

3:07

[laughs] Literally.

Morgann BookHost

3:08

Everything bad throughout the year?

Victoria S. WalshGuest

3:09

Everything bad throughout the year, everything that I wasn't happy about, everything that I wished could've done better-

Morgann BookHost

3:14

Mm

Victoria S. WalshGuest

3:14

... anything that didn't feel good, any conflict, anything.

Victoria S. WalshGuest

3:18

And, you know, there's, uh, I'm very witchy, and so there is, like, a l- there's something to, like, burning away things that you don't want anymore.

Manifesting & Early Love of Storytelling2:05 – 6:01

Morgann BookHost

2:05

Um, before we get into anything-

Victoria S. WalshGuest

2:06

Yeah

Morgann BookHost

2:06

... you were someone who thought manifesting was bullshit at one point.

Victoria S. WalshGuest

2:10

Yeah.

Victoria S. WalshGuest

2:10

[laughs]

Morgann BookHost

2:10

Now you are someone who believes in it.

Victoria S. WalshGuest

2:12

Yeah.

Morgann BookHost

2:12

What is the secret sauce to manifesting and creating a vision board?

Victoria S. WalshGuest

2:16

Yeah.

Victoria S. WalshGuest

2:16

Okay.

Victoria S. WalshGuest

2:17

So I definitely, when I was, like, in my teens, I was like, [scoffs] "It's not real."

Morgann BookHost

2:23

[laughs]

Victoria S. WalshGuest

2:23

"It's not real, and everybody who says it's real is a liar." And then I just kind of started to realize, and it kind of happened through my self-love journey as well-

Morgann BookHost

2:32

Mm

Victoria S. WalshGuest

2:32

... where I was like, "Oh, like, when I say negative things to my brain, my brain believes it.

Victoria S. WalshGuest

2:37

And then when I say positive things to my brain, my brain believes it." And then I had this, like, through line where I was like, "Oh, so if I believe that the things I want to happen are going to happen, then what's gonna stop them from happening?" So for me, I, I do like a little ritual at the end of the year every year.

Morgann BookHost

2:58

Mm.

Victoria S. WalshGuest

2:59

Um, I go to a cafe, I write down, like, everything bad that happened to me, and then I literally burn it.

Morgann BookHost

3:07

[laughs]

Victoria S. WalshGuest

3:07

[laughs] Literally.

Morgann BookHost

3:08

Everything bad throughout the year?

Victoria S. WalshGuest

3:09

Everything bad throughout the year, everything that I wasn't happy about, everything that I wished could've done better-

Morgann BookHost

3:14

Mm

Victoria S. WalshGuest

3:14

... anything that didn't feel good, any conflict, anything.

Victoria S. WalshGuest

3:18

And, you know, there's, uh, I'm very witchy, and so there is, like, a l- there's something to, like, burning away things that you don't want anymore.