Interviewing Thriller Writer Mary Kubica
Last month I was able to interview one of my all time favourite Thriller authors, if you’ve seen my previous reviews then you’d know I’m a lover of Kubica and her brilliant brain. I feel incredibly privileged to have gotten a look into how she works as a writer and to share that with any of you who read these posts! As always, I will link her latest novel JUST THE NICEST COUPLE at the end for anyone who wants to give her a read, you won’t regret it!
What inspired you to be an author?
I was always a reader and I loved to write from an early age, but it wasn’t until much later that I decided to try and get my books published. I think what drew me to writing was the idea of creating characters and story worlds of my own, and getting to live vicariously through my characters.
What genre do you enjoy writing the most?
I look for inspiration everywhere, from watching or reading the news to listening to true crime podcasts. Most of the time, the ideas don’t come fully fleshed out, but instead I look for a tiny seed of an idea that can grow throughout the writing process.
Do you know how your books will end when you start writing them?
I usually don’t! I have a starting point in mind – generally a mystery that needs to be solved – but I don’t have the ending figure out. I like to get to know my characters and let their story develop organically before I start thinking about how it will end, and more often than not, a twist naturally develops. There have been a couple times (THE OTHER MRS., for example) that I did know the ending first and built a story around the twist.
What is your writing process?
I’m an early riser and love writing first thing in the morning. I aim for about a thousand words a day, though I know some days the words will flow and other days they will be more difficult to achieve. I almost always write at home because I need it to be quiet and free of distractions.
What should we expect next?
I’ve just turned in a draft of my next book! Look for it in 2024!
Any book signing events on the horizon?
I have a few events coming up. You can find them on my website at www.MaryKubica.com !
What made you want to become an author?
I’ve been writing from a young age, but initially I had no interest in trying to get published. For me, writing was very private and was a pastime, but not anything I thought I’d want to pursue professionally. I worked as a teacher for a while, and it was only when I took some time off teaching to start my family that I wrote THE GOOD GIRL and decided to try and find a literary agent and get it published.
Can you tell us 3 of your favourite authors?
There are so many it’s hard to pick 3! But in the suspense genre, a few favourites are Alice Feeney, Ruth Ware and Jennifer Hillier.
Who is your favourite character you have written?
It’s a toss-up between Colin Thatcher in THE GOOD GIRL or Willow in PRETTY BABY. I tend to root for the underdogs! They’re also the characters who really spoke to me on an emotional level and made me feel many things!
Which of your novels was the hardest to write?
JUST THE NICEST COUPLE was one of the hardest, not necessarily for the book itself but for the time that I was writing it. I started working on a draft in April of 2020, right after COVID began, and with all the terrible things happening in the world, plus two kids and a husband working and attending school remotely, it was hard to find the time, the solitude or the creative energy to work.
Do you think you’ll branch out and do more than thrillers, or have you found your genre?
I used to be a high school history teacher and every now and then I think I’d like to try my hand at historical fiction, but I’m intimated by all the research it involves. As a thriller writer, I have the advantage of making most everything up! I might give it a try one day, but there will definitely be some suspenseful elements involved too.
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