Interview with Marie Still, author of We're All Lying
Today it gives the Indie Crime Scene great pleasure to interview Marie Still, whose first novel We're All Lying is published on March 14th.
We’re All Lying is your debut novel. What can you tell us about the gestation of the novel and its plot?
When writing We’re All Lying I constantly asked myself what if? What if your husband cheated on you? What if that mistress stalked you? What if she disappeared? And how would these situations impact the people closest to you? What would they do? I didn’t want the story to answer those questions in the obvious ways. It’s easy and human for us to process situations from the outside looking in and make assumptions on what we would or would never do. However, real life is often messier and much more nonlinear than that, especially in high emotion situations. When writing these characters’ stories, I explored what happens when emotions like jealousy and anger take over.
Is it fair to say that you are fascinated by dark themes and psychological thrillers?
Psychological thrillers and psychological horror are genres I’ve always been drawn to in books and TV/movies. I especially love when they are rooted in reality and put those fears so close to home you find yourself looking over your shoulder and checking the locks before heading to bed. Even in true crime, I’m fascinated by cases where this seemingly law-abiding, wonderful person does something unthinkable. You never really know what’s going on in someone’s head, and that can be a terrifying thought.
The protagonist of We’re All Lying has a seemingly-perfect life that starts to unravel when her husband’s mistress contacts her. Who is Cass and how does she find herself in this predicament?
Cass is a strong career-driven woman. She is a mom and advertising agency owner. Oftentimes showing vulnerability is out of the comfort zone for women in high power corporate roles. They build up walls and guard themselves from being seen as weak. Unfortunately, this can be perceived as being uncaring, cold, blunt. Sometimes it takes something big, like a cheating husband, for a person like this to step back and self-reflect and learn that vulnerable doesn’t equal weak. I’ve built a successful nineteen-year career as a marketing executive and channelled a lot of my own personal journey and flaws into her character. While her story is very much fictional, that part of her story—this struggle balancing being strong and independent with being vulnerable and asking for help—is very real and raw.
Is there a uniquely American horror that deals with the hidden world behind perfectly manicured lawns and white picket fences?
While not uniquely American, there is something to be said about horrors hidden amongst American suburbs. The quiet accountant next door who snaps and kills his entire family, the local T-ball coach who turns out to be a serial killer, the kind elderly woman who has a long line of dead husbands who all died under mysterious circumstances. “Keeping up with the Joneses” is a phrase that dates back to Arthur R. "Pop" Momand’s comic strip that ran from 1913 to 1940. The pressure to mold ourselves into society’s “perfect image” and model our lives based on our neighbors is deeply rooted in American suburban culture. So what you're left with is this Stepford Wives sameness. People use their material possessions, perfectly manicured lawn, and sanitized version of their true life to hide what’s really happening behind closed doors, which could be as simple as financial or marital troubles, or something more nefarious as murder. And sometimes the pressure to keep up with this ideal life and the carefully constructed image they’ve created for themselves is enough to cause them to snap.
Cass finds herself under threat from Emma, the mistress in question. What can you tell us about Emma?
Emma is a woman straddling the line between young and naive and finding herself. This is one of the reasons you see flashes of Cass feeling sorry for her, especially having a teen daughter herself. You see Cass struggling with the betrayal she feels but also putting herself in Emma’s mother’s shoes when she disappears. But there is another side of Emma, yes, she feels hurt and betrayed, but she channels those feelings into poor decisions. Leaving readers asking themselves, is she a young girl who foolishly got herself wrapped up in a situation way over her head? Or did she know what she was doing all along, and she’s simply an evil, manipulative person?
What made you want to tell this story and how does it challenge the readers’ preconceptions about who is the hero and who is the villain?
I really wanted to blur the lines between hero and villain with We’re All Lying, in doing so that means creating a cast of flawed characters who will keep you guessing on what they’ll do next. It also means that you have to dig a little deeper to see the good in them and become empathetic to their struggles.
Your second novel as Marie Still, My Darlings, is due to be published by Rising Action Press in 2024. What can you tell us about that novel and its heroine?
I had such a blast writing My Darlings. The story is about Eloise, an affluent stay-at-home mom who is also a serial killer (talking about what’s lurking behind those perfectly manicured lawns!). She is absolutely awful and embodies everything terrible about the ‘keeping up with the Joneses' culture. I loved every second of writing her.
Will there be a sequel to We’re All Lying or is it a stand-alone novel?
We’re All Lying is a stand-alone.
You also write under the name Kristen Seeley. Your debut novel under that name, Beverly Bonnefinche is Dead, is due to come out in September 2023. What is the difference between the two author names and the types of novel?
Under Marie Still my books are strictly thriller/suspense and crime fiction. Under Kristen Seeley my books are more character driven and emotional. While Beverly Bonnefinche is Dead is not a thriller, and leans more on the women’s fiction/book club fiction side of the fence, it does have darker themes. Preventative mental health care and normalizing our conversations around mental health are topics I feel passionate about, making Beverly Bonnefinche is Dead a project very special to me. Beverly’s untreated mental health issues have made her quite unlikable. The story follows her journey—one marked by many setbacks. It explores what happens when someone rejected by her peers and society, who found comfort in what some may consider unusual, steps outside their comfort zone and opens themselves to friendship and love.
Do you have a writing routine and how do you like to work best?
I’m not as disciplined as I probably should be. I write between one and two books a year and go through spurts. Some weeks I’m cranking out tens of thousands of words, then I’ll take a week off. Sometimes I write in the mornings, sometimes I hit snooze too long and write late at night. I’m a complete pantser, so I always start out with an idea of where the story will go. I haven’t had one book stick to that original plan yet.
On your website, you have a long list of works in progress. Is it usual for you to have several books on the go at once and how do you juggle the different works?
I always have a folder of rough ideas jotted down in a few paragraphs, oftentimes a first chapter, however I only focus on one main project at a time. I just finished the first draft of my fourth book, so while I work through editing, I’m also looking through those partially started books and deciding on which will be my next main project. I’ve narrowed it down to three, and one of these days it will come to me in the shower or driving or right when I’m about to fall asleep which one will be the winner.
Your bio says that you ‘grew up obsessed with words and the dark and complex characters authors bring to life with them.’ Are you thinking of any particular books or writers?
I’ve been an avid reader my whole life, but when I read Carrie by Stephen King I was hooked and never looked back. Shirley Jackson is another author I admire greatly; The Lottery is still one of my favorite stories. I fly through thrillers and constantly have two going (one audio one ebook), but I also love an unusual plot that is weird or twisted or disturbing—or all the above. Books like The Beauty by Aliya Whitley, Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica, Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson, Stefan Kiesbye, Mona Awad, Chuck Palahniuk, and Mo Hayder to name a few.
Is crime your favourite genre to write in or are there several?
I love crime fiction, and don’t foresee myself ever steering away from it completely, however I do have some ideas for books that blend horror with thriller and a few speculative fiction ideas. So in the future readers will see my work broaden into a few new territories!
What do you enjoy reading and are there any TV series you love to stream, or movies?
While thriller and horror are what I mostly read, I also enjoy sci-fi, historical fiction, and women’s fiction. I don’t spend a ton of time watching TV, but when I do I tend to lean toward horror, thrillers, or documentaries.
Preorder We're All Lying: Amazon | B&N
About Marie Still:
MARIE STILL grew up obsessed with words and the dark and complex characters authors bring to life with them. Now she creates her own while living in Tampa with her husband, four kids, two dogs, and a very grumpy hedgehog. Her debut novel, We’re All Lying, will be released March 14, 2023, from Rising Action Publishing. Beverly Bonnefinche is Dead and My Darlings will follow in late 2023 and 2024, respectively. She also writes under Kristen Seeley. Find out more about Marie at mariestill.com.
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