There is a certain irony of a thriller book coming out on Halloween. In the midst of spooky season, it makes the most sense to release a thrilling novel. I personally find it so much fun that I will immediately be drawn to it. Luckily, this year, there was a great thriller coming out on October 31st.
Jess Kitching, a British author living in Australia, released her debut novel on Halloween, and it is a wonderful thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end!
I was lucky enough to interview Jess following the release of her novel.
Can you tell us what your book is about?
The Girl She Was Before is a thriller with a wild, shocking ending! But more than that, it’s a look at the lasting legacy of a trauma like bullying and the pressure society places on women to be ‘perfect’.
Nat lives a picture-perfect life, but it wasn’t always this way. A victim of horrific bullying when she was a teenager, Nat will do anything to keep distance between the girl she was before and the woman she is now. But when her best friend is murdered and people begin to point their finger at her, Nat’s new life quickly unravels. To Nat, it’s no surprise the crime happened at the same time as the return of her biggest tormentor, Chrissy Summers. A woman with a violent streak who destroyed lives when she was younger and isn’t afraid to do it again. Face to face with the past she so firmly keeps behind her, Nat’s sanity wavers as her determination to reveal Chrissy as the monster she knows her as rises to dangerous heights. The question is, can Nat prove Chrissy is a killer, or will Chrissy get to Nat and her family before she has the chance?
How long have you had this idea for? How did it come to you?
This idea was one I worked on on-and-off for about eighteen months. There are so many themes in it that I am passionate about, and so many things I wanted to talk about in this book, particularly around the idea of bullying and self-acceptance.
I have a strawberry shaped birthmark on my forehead, and in the past, I’ve done advocacy work around facial differences. This story came to me when I was being interviewed by the organisation More Than A Face. I was asked about my experiences of having a facial difference, so I detailed some of the things that had happened to me. From having a coin thrown at my head for target practice, to being told I was the ‘ugly Jess’ in the year at school, to being told I was brave for going outside when I look like I do. When I finished talking about these moments, the interviewer said, ‘I’m really sorry you were bullied’.
I was a little taken aback by this, because I was never someone who saw myself as bullied. But when I thought back to some of my experiences, I realised how much they impacted me. Even as an adult, the negative voice in my head wasn’t mine, but the voice of others. The way I described myself wasn’t in my own words, but in the words other people had used to describe me.
It made me think – if I didn’t class myself as bullied but have been so affected by that treatment, what about someone who was bullied? How would they feel and what would they think?
Do you have a writing process? If so, what is it?
My writing process is a little unorthodox – I don’t really ‘plan’ when I have an idea. Instead, I listen to music and daydream about the plot almost as if I am watching a film. I’ll imagine it again and again, adding or tweaking bits as I go, until I have a concrete idea in my mind.
Only then do I start writing.
If I come to a point where I get stuck, I go back to imagining the plot and working it visually in my mind.
Have you always wanted to be a writer?
Always! I was always the child with their head in a book and the person who was dreaming up stories. Jacqueline Wilson was my hero when I was growing up. I was lucky enough to attend an author talk and signing that she did, and that just solidified for me that I wanted to be an author.
Are you a full-time writer? What do you do on the side?
I currently work full-time at a not-for-profit organisation around writing. Fitting it all in is a little tough! But I love what I do, and I feel very lucky to be able to do both.
What would your advice be for someone writing their first novel?
Don’t give up! It’s so easy when querying or when stuck at the midpoint to think you’re not good enough or your writing isn’t good enough, but don’t give up. Keep writing, keep refining, keep trying – I was so close to giving up, and then I got my offer of publication. You never know how close you are to something wonderful happening, so don’t give up.
What are your plans for the future? Are you planning on writing more?
I have been signed by Kingsley Publishers for a three-book deal, so I am currently working on my next novel. It will be another thriller, and hopefully one with another shocking ending!
If you are looking for a good thriller that deals with important topics such as bullying, I absolutely recommend this book. It is gripping and it is one of those books that will just keep you up all night reading.
Follow Jess on Instagram
Purchase The Girl She Was Before:
Juliette
Interviewer and writer.
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