Interview with Maggie Giles, author of Twisted

Today it gives the Indie Crime Scene great pleasure to interview Maggie Giles, whose novel Twisted has its debut on September 19.

Twisted is described as your Sophomore novel. What does that mean, and more precisely what does it mean to you?

Twisted is my second novel, my debut came out last year, that is what we mean by sophomore. It’s a strange term to apply to this novel, only because I wrote it before The Things We Lost (my debut). I am so stoked this is my second novel, however, as I think it will be a hit with my previous readers. 

Twisted is a new departure for you, a crime thriller and mystery. Was that a deliberate decision on your part, or did the underlying theme come first?

I have dabbled in a variety of genres and thriller/suspense ended up being a favourite of mine. I found in most of the pieces I wrote, there would be some underlying mystery. While my debut was a women’s fiction novel, it still had the underlying suspense that I love. Making Twisted a thriller was definitely deliberate. I always knew there would be a mystery involved, especially when Ryan came into play. 

Would you say your novels are character-driven or plot-driven?

I would say my novels are character-driven but there is definitely a lot of plot. I have found that readers are connecting with the characters and their decisions. 

Twisted has two main protagonists: Detective Ryan Boone, investigating a jewellery heist, and Mel Parker, who manages a “high-end escort service.” What can you tell us about these two very different individuals?

There are actually three main protagonists in Twisted! Ryan, Mel and a final POV – Brielle Jeffries. Brielle is an heiress and her storyline is a bit separate from what Ryan and Mel experience. I have a hard time picking a favourite between the three of them as I find them all so unique and intriguing. Ryan is a hard-working, widowed detective who has a knack for cheesy dad jokes. I loved whenever he’d crack something ridiculous at the most inopportune time. Mel is a rough-around-the-edges woman who is hardheaded and determined. Though she has a soft spot for Blaine and her working woman, she keeps a rigid exterior to keep her investments safe. And finally, Brielle is an heiress to a prestigious home-building company who has been through a lot of mental health issues. She has spent time away at a psychiatric clinic and is constantly medicated. She is incredibly lonely as well. 

What brings Ryan and Mel together is the discovery of a mystery substance, an unknown drug that may be linked to other murders. How much can you tell us about this substance?

I can’t say much about the mysterious drug they find as it ties into the mystery. They both come across it in different places, Mel finds it for the first time on one of her girls and Ryan stumbles across it at the scene of a jewelry theft.  It is a new-to-the-market medication that Ryan starts to see popping up everywhere. 

The title Twisted refers amongst other things to the twists and turns of the plot. How much did you know at the outset or did surprises occur as you went along?

Twisted definitely evolved as the story developed. I knew at the beginning what I wanted the twist to be but as more and more of the story came to me it started morphing and changing the way I saw how the story would be executed. I always run into a few surprises when I write a new novel. 

Are you a plotter or a pantser? Most writers seem to conform to one model or the other, from those who obsessively plan the story in every detail to those who make it up as they go along.

I like to call myself a plotster. A neat little combination of the two. I’d say at this point in my writing career I am leaning more towards the plotting side of writing as it’s much easier to write a first, concise draft when you plan things out ahead of time. That said, sometimes while I’m writing my characters take me on tangents I didn’t expect, which is where the pantsing comes in! 

Your debut novel The Things We Lost was released by Rising Action Publishing Collective April 2022. What can you tell us about that and how different was the experience from writing Twisted?

The Things We Lost was a bit of a therapy project for me when it first started. I wanted to explore the idea of “what if” while I was going through some of my own grieving and wondering what if. Whereas Twisted I started as a fun project, an idea that I’d had in my head for years and wanted to see if I could get it on paper in an interesting and entertaining way. The process of publication was also a bit different between the two as when The Things We Lost came out, Rising Action was just beginning and now, over a year and a half later, the company has grown so much and the experience has changed. 

In your bio, you mention backpacking through Europe, which inspired you to write fiction set in Tudor England. What inspired you to write about that place and time?

I absolutely love English history, in particular, the Tudor time. My best friend and I were Showtime’s The Tudors fanatics and both fans of Philippa Gregory’s Cousins War and Tudor Series. We’ve always admired Anne Boleyn and had an interest in her story, so when we were immersed in the history, I was drawn into writing something from that point of view. 

Will you return to writing historical fiction or historical crime fiction in future?

I never say never! Often I think I don’t have another book in me and wonder if that means the end of my writing, but a new character always starts talking to me. I have a love of historical fiction and would love to see my Anne Boleyn story out in the world, so maybe one day! 

Is Twisted the first in a series? What can your readers expect?

Twisted is the first in a series. The sequel – Wicked – comes out October 2024 and picks up where Twisted left off. Some readers have called it a cliffhanger, and in a way, I suppose it is, but Wicked explores a different side of the story than Twisted did. While the mystery in Twisted is solved, there are still unanswered questions that I hope Wicked will provide satisfying answers to. 

Twisted is described as exploring the question: “How much are we responsible for when we aren’t fully in our right mind?” Did you or the novel come to any conclusion?

There is certainly a conclusion in the novel and Ryan finds himself wondering the same thing as it comes to a close. Mental health is such an important topic these days that I hope the research and information around it continues to grow and help those who may suffer. 

In your bio it says you “dabbled in thrillers, science fiction, and fantasy”. Tell us about that.

I’m not sure I’d recommend my Sci-Fi attempts to anyone! But I’ve written a bit here and there in a young adult fantasy world that I’d love to continue one day. My focus for now is on thrillers/suspense as those seem to be the stories that stay at the forefront of my mind. 

What do you love to read, when you have time?

I love to read most things! My preferred genre is thriller/suspense as I’m always dying to know the answer and tend to devour them quickly. I love a good historical mystery or romance but lean more towards royalty-based history than otherwise. My least preferred genre is probably scifi, not because I don’t enjoy it (I’ve read some great sci fi!) but because some of the hard scifi and the technical parts go over my head. So when I read sci fi it’s a bit more on the fantasy side. 

Some recent titles I’ve loved are:

1. Watch Out for Her by Samantha M. Bailey

2. The Invisible Life of Addie LeRue by V.E. Schwab

3. 50 Ways to Win Back Your Lover by Kelly Siskind

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About Maggie Giles:

Maggie Giles is a positive, outgoing person who enjoys creating new connections and experiencing new opportunities. She is a Canadian author whose debut novel will be published April 2022. When backpacking through Europe, she developed an interest in writing and began writing historical fictions from the Tudor era in England, as with most first novels, it was a passion project but ultimately a dud. Since then her writing interests span larger. She has dabbled in thrillers, science fiction, and fantasy. She is currently working on a women’s fiction suspense novel.

Maggie is an avid participant of Scribophile, an online writing community for serious writers, as well as a member of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association where she has worked as their Social Media Coordinator since June 2014. She’s slightly addicted to social media. If she’s not writing, Maggie is usually bogged down with some other creative project. She has a love for knitting and sewing as well as cooking up a storm. If you venture outside, you’ll find her at the barn cuddling the horses (and probably riding them too) or hiking up the hill. If she had the money, she’d spend the rest of her life travelling the world, staying in Airbnbs and writing about her adventures (always with a twist!). She also has an irrational obsession with Shawn Spencer.

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