Sophie Littlefield on Writing, Emotions, and an Amazing Cast of Characters

Sophie Littlefield sits down with Fresh Fiction reviewer Lynn Cunningham to talk about writing, emotions, and an amazing cast!

Lynn: Hi, Sophie. Thank for joining us at Fresh Fiction. You are probably asked this all the time, but was there a particular point in your life where you knew that you wanted to be a writer?

Sophie: I remember being about seven years old, already an enthusiastic reader, lying sideways in a papasan chair in the living room while my brother dangled his G.I. Joe figures from our fourth-floor apartment window in a daring escape attempt, turning the pages in whatever book I’d checked out of the library. Suddenly it dawned on me that the books didn’t write themselves—that it was someone’s job to create them. In that moment I became determined that someday the job would be mine.

Lynn: You seem to have tackled a variety of genres. Do you have a favorite one or do you just write what you are draw to more at the moment?

Sophie: I’ve loved every genre I’ve ever attempted, though some seem, on reflection, better suited to me. I’m very happy writing these emotionally dense domestic thrillers at the moment, because I’m exploring themes relevant to my own circumstances (and here I’m referring not to murder, just to clarify, but to women’s friendships and parenting grown children and divorce and so forth).

Lynn: In THE GUILTY ONE, you totally nailed the emotions of the characters. Each one seemed to deal with the pain of events in different ways, which is exactly what happens in life. I could actually empathize with each of the characters. Did you have any personal experience that helped you to get inside Maris, Ron, and Deb?

Sophie: Oh gracious, you couldn’t have given me a nicer compliment! Getting the emotional landscape right is my greatest ambition.

Now that I’ve hit the half century mark, it’s safe to say I’ve dealt with my share of ups and downs in life: losing a parent, ending a marriage, dealing with children’s illnesses and poor decisions as well as the great joy they bring. There are many small details and some larger plot events in THE GUILTY ONE that evolved from personal experience, but overall I would say that I have tried to imagine my way into circumstances different from my own.

And, of course, like so many of my fellow authors, I am an emotional voyeur. I get very caught up in imagining the inner lives of perfect strangers as well as those I know best!

Lynn: I love the way that you kept some of the more startling secrets in THE GUILTY ONE hidden until close to the end of the book! I really had no idea what was coming and that is one of the things that make a book great. Did you know ahead of time exactly how you were going to do that or did the book sort of write itself in that regard?

Sophie: Yet again I must thank you for your kind words! In this case, it’s because that sort of suspense building and plot twisting is something I had to learn very deliberately. It doesn’t come naturally to me, so yes, I have to plan for it and often try a few different places in the story before I find the proper time to reveal a secret or an unexpected development. I had the help of my very gifted editor, Abby Zidle, who actually did some major rearranging of the first draft and made it a much better read.

Lynn: The character of Pet is rather unique and someone I would like to hang out with! Was there someone in your life that you based her on or was she just someone who popped into your head for this book?

Sophie: I’m so very glad you like Pet. She is dear to me. She is a composite of many wonderful people I’ve met since moving to Oakland, and perhaps most closely resembles a lovely young woman I met in a class I took several years ago. Though I did not know her well, she made an impression on me and gave me a starting point for my character.

Lynn: THE GUILTY ONE deals with one of the hardest and more tragic events that many parents have been forced to endure. You did not make this book like a fairy tale. Rather, you didn't pull any punches with the pain involved as well as the frustration at everyone who wants to "fix" the situation. I applaud the way that you pointed out that what works for some will not work for others. Did you visit any support groups or therapists in researching for this book?

Sophie: Without delving too deeply into the personal matters of others, I will say that I’ve known some very brave people who have endured the unimaginable with grace and courage. I myself attend a support group where I have learned an entirely new way of thinking about many challenges that I may have judged or dismissed in the past. I hope that, as a result, my tolerance and compassion have grown.

I’m also blessed with some incredible friends who have shown me over and over that there are as many ways to be in this world as there are souls afloat among us. I hope I live to be one hundred so I’ll end up twice as wise as I am now!

Lynn: While reading THE GUILTY ONE, I kept finding myself thinking what a terrific movie this story would make. If this book were to become a movie someday, what actors do you see as Maris, Ron, Deb and Pet?

Sophie: I ADORE that you thought “movie!” From your lips to the directors’ ears…

Hmmm. Well, I am a huge Ashley Judd fan. Perhaps they could convince her to play Maris? And then, how about Kyle Chandler as Ron (he’s a bit too young for me or I’d drive over to his house right now and seduce him). Deb would be someone lovely and bit fraught, like Julie Benz (from Dexter). As for Pet – I’ve no idea! Wouldn’t it be marvelous if they tried someone new and unknown?

Thank you so much for inviting me to chat!

About Sophie Littlefield

Sophie grew up in central Missouri, daughter of a history professor father and an artist mother. She earned a degree in computer science and made very little use of it. After living in Chicago for ten years, she and her husband packed up the kids and moved to Northern California in 1998.

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About THE GUILTY ONE

From the award-winning author of The Missing Place—in which “Littlefield’s writing shines" (The Boston Globe)—another gripping exploration of the damage people can do to each other, and the resilience they find in themselves.

A man stands on the Golden Gate Bridge, poised to jump…if a woman on the other end of the phone tells him to.

Maris’s safe suburban world was shattered the day her daughter was found murdered, presumably at the hands of the young woman’s boyfriend. Her marriage crumbling, her routine shattered, Maris walks away from her pampered life as a Bay Area mom the day she receives a call from Ron, father of her daughter’s killer. Wracked with guilt over his son’s actions (and his own possible contribution to them), he asks Maris a single question: should he jump?

With a man’s life in her hands, Maris must decide, perhaps for the first time, what she truly wants. Retribution? Forgiveness? Or something more? Having lost everything, she’s finally free to recreate herself without the confining labels of “wife,” “mother,” or “mourner.” But will this shocking offer free her, or destroy her?