Tori Scott—a Dallas novelist, start-up founder, former CEO, mom and fashion enthusiast—seems fearless, especially considering her most recent published work, a diversion from her young adult novels to a raw glimpse inside her own life in The Stories I Don’t Tell. But she’ll tell you there is one thing that does scare her: that she almost never became a mom.
Before Luci, Scott wasn’t sure motherhood was for her. Now, she likens their bond to pure Gilmore Girls magic—a duo who loves shopping and dining together, who butt heads quickly because they make up even faster, and who love each other with an intensity that feels rare and all-in. “It is terrifying that I almost didn’t do this,” she says, “because she’s her.”
We sat down with the Lake Highlands author, who publishes her books under her full name, Victoria Scott, as she works on her 10th novel to talk about the journey from business to books, the vulnerable stories she’s ready to share, and the way motherhood has reshaped her life in the most surprising ways.
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Interview with Novelist Tori Scott
DFWChild: Your background is in business. How did you get into writing?
Tori Scott: I wanted to be a writer even in college. I once dropped into a journalism class and then over the holidays and I told my dad, ‘I think I’m changing my career from marketing to English.’ And he immediately said, ‘Well, you’re never going to get a job with an English degree.’ That was the whole stigma. And being 19, I took him at his word, and I stuck with the business degree.
Then during the Great Recession, everyone in advertising lost their jobs. And I had this severance package, and time on my hands and then one day my husband asked me over cheese enchiladas at Mattito’s, ‘If you could do anything else, what would you do?’ And I was like, ‘Write a book…?’ So I started. I got job at The Dallas Morning News, and I kept writing—literally writing as fast as I could every day in the car during our commute.
I finished that book and it was horrible—but I didn’t know that yet. And I ended up getting an agent—not because of that book, but because she read it and she said, ‘I think you have potential, I see your voice, I see you can write, but this idea is not it.’ I had about 100 pages of another, The Collector, and when she read it, she said, ‘I love it.’ She signed me and sold the series.
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DFWChild: That must have been a pinch-me moment.
Scott: It was, but I think my bigger pinch-me moment was when my series Fire and Flood sold to Scholastic. That day when my husband came home I took out the Harry Potter series and the Hunger Games series and I put them front of him and I was like, ‘What do these books and my book have in common? We have the same publisher!’ I was screaming. Because you remember being a kid, going to the Scholastic book fair and picking out your books and I couldn’t believe that was going to be me. I’ll never get over that moment.
DFWChild: Everything you’ve written has been young adult, but now you’re working on your first adult novel. What inspired the shift?
Scott: When I started, I was in my 20s, no kids, and I just related to the stories of these strong, independent characters going off on adventures and all these big feelings. I still felt kind of like a kid—I was married but I missed that part of life where everything is still new and fresh and exciting. And young adult was just hitting at the time, everybody wanted to write that.
But now? I’ve had children, I’ve run a company [Scribbler, a subscription box service for aspiring authors which she sold last year], I’ve published books, lived more life. I just want to write about all the messiness of adulthood now.
DFWChild: Last year you published a deeply personal 50-page narrative essay, The Stories I Don’t Tell. That must have felt incredibly vulnerable.
Scott: It was the scariest thing I’ve ever written. With fiction, you’re still revealing parts of yourself, but it’s safe. Only people who know you really well can recognize that’s part of your life. But in this situation, I was baring all my stories. I was extremely invigorated by writing it, but then once it came time to publish, I was literally shaking.
My mom told me she wouldn’t read it—and she didn’t—and my dad doesn’t read anything I write, so I didn’t worry about that (laughs). My sister said, ‘I’m not going to read it, I promise,’ then read it the second it came out. She texted me right away, ‘It was amazing. The best thing you’ve ever written. And I love you.’ And I just balled. It felt like someone peeled back my skin, looked inside, and said, ‘It’s good.’ To have someone that close to me say, ‘I hear all your stories, I believe them and I love you’—it was everything.
DFWChild: How did becoming a mom surprise you?
Scott: Honestly we were really happy being without kids. For a while we thought we’d be DINKS [dual income, no kids] forever. Then we got pregnant and I fretted the entire time. I wasn’t not excited, but I was never, like, giddy. Everyone tells you how you’ll never sleep and you’ll be elbow-deep in diapers so I’m thinking, What if this is not what I want it to be?
“I want her to see me trying, failing, succeeding at times. And I want her to see me celebrating all the things that I do accomplish, even the small things.”
But it’s funny, maybe not the moment she came out, but within days or weeks of having Luci I remember thinking, Oh. Nobody told me about this part—the part where you fall completely in love. I think a lot of women get really excited by pregnancy and glamorize everything then get hit with how hard it is. I was the opposite—I hyper-focused on the hard part. And then she came and I saw there was all this fun stuff too! I was shocked by how much I loved it.
DFWChild: What do you hope Luci learns from you?
Scott: I think it is dangerous to tell our children that they can do and be anything if we are not doing that ourselves. And in no way do I mean we have to be succeeding, just trying. That’s what I want to her take from me—I want her to see me trying, failing, succeeding at times. And I want her to see me celebrating all the things that I do accomplish, even the small things. Have dreams, work toward them, try. You’re not always going to succeed in the beginning—that’s the whole point.
Tori’s Top Local Places for Little Luxuries
1. Go-To Dallas Restaurants
“We love our restaurants,” Scott says of her outings with her 11-year-old daughter, Luci. Among their go-to spots: Bazille inside Nordstrom at NorthPark Center—affectionately nicknamed “home” by the pair—and Café Pacific in Highland Park Village, where Scott insists the iconic ice cream pecan ball is “what dreams are made of.” When she’s in the mood for a more grown-up evening, Scott turns to Hillstone at Preston Center. “Their French 75—my favorite cocktail—is heavenly,” she says.
2. Gluten-Free Gems
With Luci’s celiac disease in mind, the family is always on the lookout for truly celiac-friendly dining. At the top of their list is Company Café where Scott swears by the cheeseburger and fries. “It feels less ‘stuffy restaurant burger’ and more backyard summer barbecue at your friend’s house,” she says.
They also count Unrefined Bakery among their standbys—a gluten-free, soy-free, vegan, organic haven with five locations across DFW that make treats feel worry-free.
3. Tea for Two
Afternoon tea at The Adolphus is “such an experience,” Scott says—an indulgence at $80 for adults and $30 for children but one she considers worth the splurge. It feels like a special-occasion outing tailor-made for making memories: a chance to dress up and savor the moment. Guests are treated to a beautifully presented three-course menu and an array of exquisite teas, making the afternoon feel every bit as enchanting as its setting in the hotel’s elegant restaurant, The French Room.
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4. The Fashion Fix
A self-described fashion enthusiast, Scott loves high-end boutiques—but the wardrobe staple she swears every mom needs is surprisingly simple: a $25 pair of cloth shorts from Target. Her trick is taking them to a tailor to achieve the perfect length. “Then it’s as easy as adding a blouse, a belt and a heel or flat,” she says. “If you have that high-end looking short—especially in Texas—you can put it with so many different tops and have so many different looks.”
5. A Good Read
Where does an author shop for books? For Scott, it’s Bird’s Bookstore, her favorite local spot that also has a cozy café. She’s currently reading Workhorse by Caroline Palmer, a coming-of-age novel about a young woman determined to climb the masthead at her magazine. “I keep calling it my dictionary,” Scott laughs. “It’s full of words I don’t know—and I’m a writer. Every few pages I have to ask Alexa, ‘What does this mean?’”
