Behind Closed Doors at West Barnes Library with S.E. Lynes and Lily Samson
We had a great evening with S.E. Lynes and Lily Samson last night at West Barnes Library. As both of them write psychological thrillers, we looked at what might happen 'Behind Closed Doors'.
Their books:
The Switch by Lily Samson
Whose life do you want?
Elena and her partner Adam are house-sitting in Wimbledon and find themselves instantly seduced by their upscale surroundings and their enigmatic new neighbours Sophia and Finn.
When Sophia proposes a wicked game to Elena whereby they will swap partners in secret, it's not long before Elena starts to experience a sexual awakening that blossoms into an illicit love affair.
But Sophia's plans are far more complex and dangerous than Elena could ever have imagined…
How far will she go to fulfil her desires?
The Perfect Boyfriend by S.E. Lynes
I know it’s him. He says we’ve never met. Why would he lie?
Her
When I see him, my heart stops dead. I tell myself it’s impossible, but I would recognise those striking pale blue eyes anywhere. It’s him. The high-school boyfriend I adored… Until the day he vanished without a trace.
I run towards him, my pulse racing. He turns, politely, a puzzled look on that familiar face. ‘I’m sorry,’ he says. ‘Do I know you?’
I need answers. I’m certain he’s lying. I just have to prove it.
Him
Of course you recognised me. Always so keen, always trying to do right by everyone.
It’s typical of my bad luck that we happened to run into each other.
I left this place for a reason – one you never knew. And now I’m back, I have plans.
And I’m afraid, my dear, that you’re getting in my way…
I asked our authors if they'd chosen to write psychological thrillers or if the genre had chosen them. Both felt it had chosen them. After reading such authors as Daphne Du Maurier, Barbara Vine and watching Hitchcock movies, Susie and Lily had felt drawn to reading more and then started to write them.
I also asked about writing in first person and the advantages that might bring. For both of them, having the immediacy of being in someone's head and sharing their thoughts, helped to convey the fear and anxiety from the character. Lily mentioned that writing in present tense added to that immediacy and intimacy. Susie warned us about the unreliable narrator. Can you trust the voice you're listening to? Both authors also like to have more than one viewpoint in their books and so they have two first person contrasting voices.
In choosing settings for The Switch, lockdown and Daphne Du Maurier were influences for Lily Samson. Lily walked around Wimbledon Village when we were allowed to go out and began to wonder what might go on in those big houses. She also watched the Netflix version of Rebecca and the glamour of the French Riviera and the grand house in Cornwall, all played into Lily's story idea. The Perfect Boyfriend is set in Aberdeen in December. I could feel the cold coming off the pages when I read it! Susie has previously lived in Aberdeen and it was the setting for her first novel, Valentina. One of the things she experienced living there, was the haar fog that would suddenly roll in and visibility would be dramatically reduced. So, of course it had to go in the book along with, as Susie pointed out, the slowest car chase ever written - can't go fast in thick fog!
Someone in the audience had an excellent question about character names and how the authors chose them. Lily said that she keeps changing character names until they feel right. If a book is set in a particular location, Susie will look up the local phone directory to look for surnames and if she knows what year or decade her character is meant to be born, then she'll search the top ten names for that time.
Huge thanks to Susie and Lily for coming in, and to the Friends of West Barnes Library for helping to run the event. Our next event will probably be in early June for National Crime Reading Month. If you'd like to buy our authors' books, please click on their names:
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