1--What is the title of your latest release?
A TWISTED LOVE STORY
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
Wes and Ivy have been in a tumultuous, on-and-off relationship for ten years. Other people often get pulled into their drama…sometimes with deadly results. Now a detective is looking into their past and they need to do something they’ve never been able to do: Stay together.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
Every story has a certain feel to it, and that’s how I decide where it will take place. I’m originally from California, and that is where it felt like this book needed to be.
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
In this case, there are two protagonists: Wes and Ivy. I would hang out with both…but probably not for long!
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Wes and Ivy are dramatic, impulsive, and irresistible (to each other!)
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
This book is really a combination of genres; it has elements of both rom-coms and thrillers. It was interesting, and sometimes frustrating, to try and incorporate elements of both.
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I’m a pantser, so I never have an outline or plot to follow. That means I do a lot of editing and I tend to do it as I write. If I change something in chapter 10 that affects things in chapters 1-9, I go back and fix it. It feels too overwhelming to wait until I get to the end and then go back to fix everything.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Chocolate chip cookies.
9--Describe your writing space/office!
I have a small corner desk for my laptop. Sometimes I sit on the couch with my laptop, but mostly the desk.
10--Who is an author you admire?
There are so many! Gillian Flynn really set a new standard for domestic thrillers and she’s such an incredible writer. I love Alice Feeney’s books; she always manages to shock me. I also really love Catherine Ryan Howard. Everything she writes seems so creative, like she takes a standard trope and really twists it into something new. Jeneva Rose is a powerhouse, what she has achieved has been incredible to watch.
I could make a really long list of writers that I admire…Mary Kubica, Hannah Mary McKinnon, Caroline Kepnes, Ruth Ware, Lucy Foley. There are so many incredible writers out there!
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train. When I read those, I thought to myself “This is the kind of book I want to write.” And the next one I wrote ended up being my debut, My Lovely Wife.
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
I think I was in shock. I’ve been writing a long time, but I never thought my books were good enough to publish. It was completely shocking that someone thought one of them was.
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
Thrillers and mysteries. I’ve been reading them since I was a kid, so I guess you could say they are my first (book) love.
14--What’s your favorite movie?
Again, there are so many! Specifically in the thriller genre, I have to say Seven and Silence of the Lambs. Both not only had a lot of suspense and tension, but they also made you think. True psychological thrillers.
15--What is your favorite season?
Since I lived in New Orleans for a long time, I have to say Fall. The summers were always hot and miserable, so the cooler air and lower humidity felt amazing.
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
I don’t! Eventually I got to the point where I didn’t want to acknowledge any longer.
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
Succession. I’m always amazed at this show. From the writing to the acting, it’s just incredible.
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Italian.
19--What do you do when you have free time?
I’m obsessed with storytelling in general. How people tell stories, what perspective they use, where they choose to start the story. If ten people were given the exact same plot, we’d have ten different versions of the same idea. Storytelling comes in many forms – books, TV, movies, music, graphic arts. I love seeing, hearing, and watching everything. It’s endlessly fascinating.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
Another thriller!
From the bestselling author of My Lovely Wife comes a reckless, delicious thriller that gives a whole new meaning to the dangers of modern dating.
Wes and Ivy are madly in love. They've never felt anything like it. It's the type of romance people write stories about.
But what kind of story?
When it's good, it's great. Flowers. Grand gestures. Deep meaningful conversations where the whole world disappears.
When it's bad, it's really bad. Vengeful fights. Damaged property. Arrest warrants.
But their vicious cycle of catastrophic breakups and head-over-heels reconnections needs to end fast. Because suddenly, Wes and Ivy have a common enemy--and she's a detective.
There's something Wes and Ivy never talk about--in good times or bad. The night of their worst breakup, when one of them took things too far, and someone ended up dead.
If they can stick together, they can survive anything--even the tightening net of a police investigation.
Because one more breakup might just be their last…
Suspense Psychological [Berkley, On Sale: July 18, 2023, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9780593101001 / eISBN: 9780593101025]
Samantha Downing currently lives in New Orleans, where she is furiously typing away at her next thrilling stand-alone novel.
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