Q&A: Cynthia Murphy, Author of 'Win Lose Kill Die'

We chat with author Cynthia Murphy about Win Lose Kill Die, which follows students at Morton Academy who are high-achievers and selected based on academic excellence, so when a series of murders target the school’s best and brightest, the pressure is on.

Hi, Cynthia! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

Hello! I’m from Manchester in the UK and I live here with my husband, Luke, and our rescue dog, Loli (who features quite a lot on my social media). I write YA horror-thriller novels and like to mix contemporary settings and characters with supernatural stories and folklore, so none of my books are ever quite the same.

When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?

I loved writing when I was a child and when I was ten or eleven, I would write stories set in the worlds of the Point Horror books I devoured – I guess you’d call it early fan fiction! I started to write with a view to publication in 2012, but it took three failed manuscripts before my fourth was published in the UK in January 2021.

Quick lightning round! Tell us:

The first book you ever remember reading: Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
The one that made you want to become an author: The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
The one that you can’t stop thinking about: At the moment it’s Yellowface by RF Kuang

**Your latest novel, Win Lose Kill Die, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?**

Dark academia high school slasher.

What can readers expect?

Murder, friendship, intrigue, found family, a secret society, questionable teaching staff and a sprinkle of romance… (I can’t help it; I like the kissing scenes almost as much as the death ones.)

**Where did the inspiration for Win Lose Kill Die come from?**

All the movies I’ve been watching on repeat since 1996, the Netflix binges I’ve been on in-between and the books I read as a teen. Imagine early R.L. Stine meets Scream via Riverdale and you’re almost there. I love a school setting and adored teen horror films like I Know What You Did Last Summer. I like to think that a teenager who is having a bad day can pick up one of my books and take solace in the fact that the characters living in the pages are (hopefully) having a worse time than they are!

Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?

I love the character of Kat – she’s so unapologetically herself and it makes her so charming. I also loved writing the back-to-school roof party scene – I’d love to go to that in real life!

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What led you to writing within the YA thriller genre?

I played around with genres when I was an aspiring writer and everything, I wrote had an edge of darkness to it. When I was on the verge of giving up, I decided to write something for teenage me, that way, if it never got anywhere, I would still love writing it. I filled it with my favourite things – art history, ghosts, weird Victorian legends, and a girl who was out of her depth. That was the book that launched my career in the UK, and I finally felt like I’d found my calling.

What’s next for you?

I have lots of books publishing in the US over the next year or so. After Win Lose Kill Die, I have a March release (Last One to Die – the book I mentioned above) and a July release (The Midnight Game) followed by some more that should be announced soon.