1--What is the title of your latest release?
WILL END IN FIRE
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
Fires haunt Ellie Stone. At 14, a cigarette lighter scarred a frenemy’s face forever. And now, at 27, a blaze that erupted after she abandoned her brother in their childhood home, leaving him critically injured. Was it accident or arson? As she searches for answers, Ellie must be careful not to burn down her own life.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
I tend to place my novels in familiar places. We raised our children in Northern, NJ and I spent my 20s in NYC, in old apartments with various roommates. So, these settings made the most sense to me for this novel.
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
She is a lot younger than I am. I think of her more as a beloved niece or student, someone who has tackled trauma while young and come out of it with her life intact. I’m very proud of her.
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Driven, Shellshocked, Resilient.
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
I learned about burn victims (which was very tough to read about).
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I do edit while I write. I can’t really separate the two processes since I freelance edit for a living. I also share chapters with another writer friend and sections of the draft to a wonderful freelance editor.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Chocolate pastries.
9--Describe your writing space/office!
I write at home, at my desk. I use a lot of Post-it notes to markup pages where I want to return to an issue or question in the manuscript. But I don’t like a lot of clutter, so I tend to straighten out my desk every day.
10--Who is an author you admire?
Maggie O’Farrell.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle. I read it when I was ten-years old. That summer, I wrote my first 150 page “novel,” a science fiction/fantasy story, with L’Engle as my literary role model.
12--Then 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 had published with SWP once before. But, I had to submit 50 pages of this new manuscript for review. I was happy to hear that the publisher was enthusiastic about publishing my new book.
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
Literary fiction with an element of suspense. For me, style is as important as the genre, so I read all kind of novels and memoirs.
14--What’s your favorite movie?
That’s a tough one! One of my favorites is Moonstruck; another is My Cousin Vinny. Then there’s a few classics, The Philadelphia Story, Arsenic and Old Lace, and Casablanca.
15--What is your favorite season?
Spring
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
Lunch or dinner with my husband and my younger son (who works in Manhattan). I love to just walk around NYC; it never gets old.
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
The novel Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell. It’s masterful.
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Dessert!
19--What do you do when you have free time?
See friends for coffee, go on long walks, read, watch a good tv series (we love Nordic Noir), and, when we have the funds, travel. I love exploring new places, especially foreign cities. Learning the history and cultures of a new place energizes me.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
I’m working on a new novel, from three points of view. It involves a lost inheritance, an “accidental” death, and—one of my familiar themes—how siblings make sense of family.
For fans of Kate White suspense novels, Will End in Fire is a heart-racing domestic thriller about an alienated young woman who must find an arsonist before her own life goes up in smoke.
Twenty-seven-year-old climate journalist Ellie Stone has spent her life locked in an unending sibling rivalry with her brother, Josh—star athlete and golden boy–turned–drug addict. One night, after their parents have left her to “babysit” Josh, she and he have a blow-up and she abandons him. Soon after, the house is engulfed in fire—and Josh is burnt beyond recognition. Social media takes this on as a local cause célèbre, blaming Ellie since, years ago, she was involved in a blaze that scarred a teenage girl. Is history repeating itself?
In shock, Ellie can’t recall if she left a lit cigarette in her family home. But could this suspected arson have something to do with the unknown vehicle that was spotted nearby? The only people sympathetic to Ellie are her brother’s best pal—who quickly becomes her new romantic partner—and Josh’s girlfriend, who lets on that their relationship might not have been what it seemed. As she grows closer to her brother’s inner circle, Ellie discovers secrets that make her question whom to trust, how to stay out of danger, and how to save her future.
Thriller [She Writes Press, On Sale: October 1, 2024, Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9781647428044 / eISBN: 9781647428051]
NICOLE BOKAT has published three novels: Redeeming Eve (2000), What Matters Most (2006), and The Happiness Thief (2021). Redeeming Eve was nominated for both the Hemingway Foundation/PEN award and the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize for Fiction. Her latest novel — Will End in Fire — will be out October 2024.
Bokat is also the author of a book on novelist Margaret Drabble and has written essays for several publications, including The New York Times, Parents, and The Forward.
She lives in Montclair, New Jersey, with her husband and dog, Ruby, and has two sons.
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