Hello hello and welcome or welcome back to my little bookish corner of the internet. Today I’m bringing you a very exciting post, an interview with young adult thriller author Kathryn Foxfield. Her first book, Good Girls Die First, was one of my favourite books last year, and her latest novel, It’s Behind You, is absolutely sure to be one of my top reads of this year too.
Hi Kathryn! Thanks for finding the time to talk to me about your books, Good Girls Die First, and the newly released, It’s Behind You. How are you feeling with two books out in the world?
It’s very surreal. I spent about 10 years working towards publication and it was a slow, painful process. Then I met my agent, Chloe, in 2019 and since then it’s been a whirlwind of Things Happening. I think it would all feel more real if it wasn’t for the pandemic and I’d been able to go out and be an author in real life instead of just online! Maybe I will get to with the next one…
Both books were wonderfully spooky but very different. Where did your ideas stem from with both?
I usually start with the setting when I write a book. The setting for Good Girls Die First came to me on a trip to Weston-super-Mare, where there’s this creepy derelict pier that I fell in love with. I was also inspired by Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None – a mystery in which 10 terrible people are killed one-by-one. When it came to It’s Behind You, I was inspired by trips to various UK caves – Cheddar Caves, Wooky Hole, Hellfire Caves. The plot of It’s Behind You was a mash up of those haunted location shows and various reality TV shows. I wanted to write something a bit silly and fun (it was the middle of a pandemic, after all).
Having published book one, did your writing format change much with your second book?
It’s hard writing to a deadline and a ‘brand’. I can now understand why authors often find their second book difficult. I had to come up with a plot before I wrote anything and share it with my editor rather than just making things up as I went along. The idea is everything and if a publisher doesn’t think they can market it, there’s no point wasting time writing it.
Are you working on anything at the moment – or is that top secret information?
I’m working on another YA thriller. More teenagers with dark secrets and revenge in their black little hearts…
Do you have a certain set up when it comes to your writing? Do you have a lucky pen or mug, for example?
I write whenever and wherever I can find time. All I need is my laptop and a cup of tea.
Good Girls Die First was one of my favourite books last year, and It’s Behind You will easily be one of my favourites this year, I’m sure of that already! Why – and how – did you decide to write young adult thrillers?
Thank you!! When I was a teenager, I read a lot of adult horror but struggled to find books that I could relate to. Stephen King and James Herbert don’t have much to say to a 15 year old girl! So it made sense that I’d end up writing the books I wished I had to read when I was young.
You posted recently on Twitter about reading some old school Point Horror books. I have to ask: did they live up to memories?
I loved Point Horror when I was a teenager. They’re so trashy and silly but great fun. I’m reading Fun House at the moment and it’s brilliant. Some of the characters are awful people and I can’t wait for them to die.
Finally, with It’s Behind You so recently released, how would you describe it in three words?
Creepy
Claustrophobic
Ridiculous
And On She Reads 