Two weeks from today, on October 1st, This Secret Thing, the new fiction book from Marybeth Mayhew Whalen, will be released by Lake Union Publishing. As the countdown to publication day quickly approaches, I thought we'd kick things off with an exclusive author interview:
Let me start off by saying that I could have read This Secret Thing in one sitting had life not had other plans for my time this month! Un-put-down-able. And truly my favorite of yours to date. Yes, I do say that after every one of your books, and yes, I mean it every time. (“Thank you so much for saying that!” -MMW)
While I’ve included the synopsis below (it appears after the interview), can we start off by you telling us briefly in your own words what This Secret Thing is about?
This Secret Thing is about a group of women who—at the beginning of the story—aren’t connected, but become connected by their involvement in the life of a suspected suburban madam. Her arrest brings them together, for better or worse, and forces them to confront not just her secrets, but their own.
You may know I’ve often referred to you as the Queen of Small Town/Suburban Secrets & Intrigue. So why small town/suburban America? What draws you to these settings and keeps you coming back to them? Do you think the inevitable tangled webs of “close knit” communities, and sometimes the tragedies that happen as a result of them or because of them, are more unique to these settings, whether they’re in the Southeast, the Northeast or elsewhere?
I guess the simplest explanation is the old adage, “write what you know.” I grew up in a small southern town and have lived in that same town most of my adult life. Even as a kid—through babysitting and going to friends’ houses-- I could see that someone’s public face was often different from their private one and I guess, in a sense, I’ve always been curious about that. I like to delve into why and how that plays out in our lives. From the letters I get from readers, this is a theme no matter where you live.
In the acknowledgements, you go briefly into your inspirations for this book when it comes to a few of the characters. But, what I’m curious about is the complicated, sometimes painful, mother-daughter / mother-daughter-granddaughter relationships – were they a part of that initial inspiration or story, or did that come through as the story progressed? What inspired that aspect of the overall story?
A long time ago, I was in Asheville NC and noticed a street there called “Beaucatcher.” I wondered what a beaucatcher was, inventing (as I do) some sort of mountain folklore that it was surely tied to. I was sad to look it up and discover that a beaucatcher was a bird, not even remotely related to the legacy I had cooked up. But I kept on thinking about my version of what a Beaucatcher was, and it became the legacy that the grandmother (Polly) shares with her granddaughter (Violet) in this story. So in one way or another, these three generations of women have been grappling with this legacy in my head for a long, long time. It was nice to finally put it to paper and free up some brain space.
What about the “suburban madam” captured your interest enough to create a book around it?
Also a long time ago, a suburban madam was arrested in my town. I read the headline story and one particular line caught my eye. It said that the woman arrested had teenage daughters (I believe it was two). And I thought to myself, “Man it’s hard enough to be a teenage girl, much less have your mom be accused of prostitution.” I imagined the way other kids would either shun them or give them a hard time, how shameful it would be, even though they had done nothing wrong, how hard it would be to hold onto friendships. At that moment, the character of Violet was born. She’s been with me for a long, long time, though in many iterations in my head. I will say that, at the time, I had no idea that Violet would be connected to the Beaucatcher legacy I was also mulling over in some other part of my brain. Usually it takes years for it to all come together. And when it does, that’s when I write the book.
(ALERT: POSSIBLE SPOILER IN THIS Q) I have to ask, what is the significance of the pumpkin Norah brings home the day before she’s arrested and its frequent appearance throughout the rest of the book?
Ha! That pumpkin! My editor and I laughed so much about the presence of that pumpkin in the story. I honestly didn’t know what the significance of it was. When I sat down to write, that was the opening scene that played in my head: Violet watching her mother carry that huge, unwieldy pumpkin from her car, down the front sidewalk to put it on the porch. I’ve learned not to question the elements that emerge, and sure enough, that pumpkin kept making appearances, specifically at some key moments towards the end. (It should be said I attach no symbolic significance to pumpkins or feel that that particular pumpkin is a metaphor. If I were smarter, perhaps I would. :-) )
What surprised you most while writing this book?
Some of the twists. I honestly didn’t know some of what the characters were hiding when I initially proposed the book. They were revealed in the writing. That’s the best part of the process to me, those times when even I’m surprised. It’s what keeps me coming back.
Aside from the effects on day to day life, how do you think covid19 may affect the release of This Secret Thing when comparing it with past releases? Will you be doing anything virtually for the release?
I was very fortunate to be chosen as an Amazon First Reads pick for September, which will help get the word out about the book. Beyond that, interviews like this, and recording on-camera and podcast interviews will also be so valuable in reaching readers. While live appearances that enable authors to get face to face with people is preferable, I’m grateful that we can use technology in so many ways during this trying time.
What is your personal best advice for aspiring writers?
Read a lot. Never stop learning about the craft of writing. Try to find some good writer friends. And trust the stories that come to you—that they are for you and that you are meant to be the one telling them.
What’s on the horizon for you? Are you already working on your next book?
We’ve had a lot going on in our family in the past few months—lots of change and transition—and of course the pandemic has been hard on everyone to different degrees. So after nine novels and a novella coming out between 2010 and 2020, I’m letting myself have a break as I wait for the just right story to come to me—the one I’m sure I’m supposed to tell—taking my own advice, as it were.
Marybeth, I want to sincerely thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to chat with me about This Secret Thing!
This Secret Thing is due out October 1, 2020, but is available right now as an Amazon Kindle First Reads selection for Prime Members in September and for pre-order: Click here.*
Stay Tuned for my review of This Secret Thing coming Thursday, September 24th, as the coundtown to publication day continues! Thank you again to Lake Union Publishing / Amazon Publishing for my gifted copy of This Secret Thing.
*link appears for informational purposes only, I do not receive any kind of compensation for sharing said link
(Interview is copyrighted to The Eclectic Spoonie)
Synopsis from Publisher:
Out of love. Out of protection. Out of fear. Everyone has a reason to lie.
Everyone in Raleigh, North Carolina, is talking about Norah Ramsey, the single mother accused of being a suburban madam. But Norah’s not the only one keeping secrets.
After her mother’s arrest, Norah’s teenage daughter, Violet, is devastated and alone. She has no one to turn to until her grandmother Polly arrives. Polly, long estranged from Norah, is running from her own troubles. Down the street, Bess, once Norah’s best friend, desperately tries to hide secrets while Casey, Bess’s daughter, flees college after a traumatic event, only to find that home isn’t the safe haven she expected. And Nico, the detective who has doggedly pursued Norah Ramsey in hopes that she will lead him to his missing brother, is drawn further into these women’s lives while facing his own domestic disturbance.
Scandal has brought each of them to a crossroads. Now, as they delve into Norah’s secrets, they must come to terms with secrets of their own—ones that still have the power to hurt or to heal.
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