We chat with author Jessica Payne about Somebody Worth Killing, which follows a doting mom and loving wife who has a big secret: she’s actually an assassin. And she really needs a babysitter who shows up on time.
Hi, Jessica! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi bookish friends! My name is Jessica Payne, and I’m an author who lives in Washington State. I moved here from Kansas when I was in my late 20s, seeking the Puget Sound, mountain views, and apparently, rain. I met my husband here, and we had a daughter soon after. I actually spent about 15 years working in healthcare as an RN before I decided to switch careers and pursue my lifelong goal of becoming an author! Now, I write fun, funny, feminist thrillers with lots of dark humor.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I can pinpoint the exact moment. It was at the beginning of 4th grade, in Ms. King’s classroom. Somehow, I’d ended up with an extra notebook that year, and I decided I would write my first ever book! I never really stopped writing after that, though it wouldn’t be until I had my daughter at 34 that I realized my dreams wouldn’t wait around for me—that if I was going to write a book, I better get on it!
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: Oh gosh, I mean, I remember reading Bob books back in kindergarten! But the first book I loved was The Candy Corn Contest, in maybe 2nd And as a teenager, I found the early books in the Anita Blake series that gave me a badass heroine to cheer for. I loved that Anita was a fully fleshed out characters with fears and dreams and desires, that she had this tough exterior, but a vulnerable interior. I suppose that’s how I was feeling at that point in my life!
- The one that made you want to become an author: There was no one book that made me want to be an author. But there was one book that made me want to write thrillers, and that is The Good Girl by Mary Kubica. The combination of plot and character was so delicious, I thought to myself, I have to figure out how to do this!
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Okay, I can’t name one, so I’ll give you two: Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth. And Paper Ghosts by Sarah Addison Allen. Both of these books were done so well, with these amazing characters and plots you can really sink your teeth into.
Your latest novel, Somebody Worth Killing, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Mom. Wife. Psychopath. Assassin.
What can readers expect?
Somebody Worth Killing features Nadia, who is kind of like Dexter, if Dexter was a mom intent on blending in to hide what she really is: a textbook psychopath and secretly, a professional killer. She hides in her identity as a mom and wife so she can keep doing the thing that makes her tick, killing bad people–all while slowly realizing that for her psychopath-like-ways, she actually is capable of love as she loves her children and her husband. But when she realizes she’s hit the glass ceiling of professional killers, she asks for a bigger job–which ends up being to kill her own husband, forcing her to decide between the family she loves or the job that feeds her psychopathic tendencies.
Where did the inspiration for Somebody Worth Killing come from?
My agent messaged me one night and said, “Hey, would you want to write a story about a female assassin?”
I thought about it—I did, but something was missing. A flash of inspiration hit, and I realized what that was.
“Yes,” I wrote back, “but I want her to be a mom.”
I began taking notes, and I quickly realized my character was not just an assassin who happened to be a mom, but also a textbook psychopath who used her roles as mom and wife to blend in and appear “normal,” despite very much being otherwise.
Then I tried to think of the highest stakes issue for her to take on and realized she, of course, had to be assigned to kill her own husband, the only man she’s ever managed to fall in love with.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
Oh gosh, yes—all of them. But the one athat really stands out to me is Gran. Nadia’s grandmother. Gran suffers from dementia and doesn’t always remember who Nadia is. But when she is lucid, Nadia often gets the impression from her words and actions that maybe once upon a time, Gran was not so different than herself—maybe even a professional killer! Gran is a sweet, dangerous old lady, and she adds lots of heart and hilarity to the book.
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
Getting into the mind of a textbook psychopath took some work. I did a fair amount of research on psychopathy, and how it looks in women versus men (women, in general, are better at hiding it). But I also found this research to be fascinating. What was difficult was that Nadia can’t have regular emotions like most characters have—so trying to make her empathetic was more of a challenge. That’s partially where the mom part came in. Even if Nadia is a professional killer, she’s still a mom, the default parent, and that comes with certain baggage—like always being the one who the school nurse calls first. I think this makes her relatable, and because she’s a psychopath, she’s not afraid to call it like it is!
What’s next for you?
Somebody Worth Killing is getting a sequel! It’s tentatively scheduled for September 2027! I’m currently revising and looking forward to seeing a cover.
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up? Any you’ve read so far this year that you’ve enjoyed?
Tara Goedjen’s PLEASE ENJOY YOUR STAY is out this October. Tara and I live in the same town and chat writing all the time, so I’m excited for that. I also loved Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau’s WE WOULD NEVER TELL which was fun and feminist and is making a big splash right now.
