Hi, Heather! Welcome back! How have you been since we spoke last year for the release of The Secret History of Audrey James?

I’ve been great! I was deep the throes of the research and development process for Liberty Street when we last spoke, and I couldn’t say much, so I’m excited to spill the tea a bit more here!

Your latest novel, Liberty Street, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

Oooh good question. I would go with dark, compelling, feminist, emotional, and (ultimately) hopeful.

What can readers expect?

Liberty Street is another dual timeline, dual-POV story set jointly in 1961 and 1996. In 1961 Toronto, readers will meet Emily, an eager and very ‘green’ aspiring journalist bucking the conventions of the day. She goes undercover at a women’s prison to try to break the story of the horrible conditions the inmates are facing, but discovers that getting into the prison is the easy part: the real challenge is getting back out. In a small town in 1996, readers will meet Rachel, a detective with a haunted past trying to identify a body in an unmarked grave. The two stories will of course eventually intersect, but you’ll have to read it to find out how!

Where did the inspiration for Liberty Street come from?

It actually came from a few places, and the process began several years ago. Back in the summer of 2021, I stumbled down an internet rabbit hole and came across a reference to a jail in Toronto called the Andrew Mercer Reformatory, which shut down in the late 1960s after the inhumane conditions of the place were brought to light in the media, and that sparked an idea. About a decade ago, I learned about an American journalist named Nellie Bly, who went undercover at the psychiatric institution on Blackwell’s Island in New York to expose the atrocities within, and I’d been looking for a way to fictionalize that story for years. When the idea for Liberty Street hit, I knew I’d found a place to plug it in. I’ve also long been fascinated by rural cemeteries. I live semi-rural, so I see a lot of them, and one in particular made me curious. I noticed that there was a row of houses across the street from this cemetery, and it got me wondering what a person might see, living across the street from a graveyard. And that’s how my prologue was born, and the origin of my character Rachel’s story. My prologues often come to me first in the writing process, and a lot of the story flows from them.

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

Even though I write very emotionally-driven historical fiction, some of my favourite scenes to write in all my books are the action sequences. I see them very cinematically in my mind, so they flow out really easily, and they’re just so much fun. I won’t spoil anything in Liberty Street, but there were two action scenes in particular that I loved writing.

Can you share some insight into your research process for Liberty Street?

It was a weird and wonderful research process that involved a lot of diving into old archives, which I loved. I did face some challenges though, because so many of the women and girls who were incarcerated at the Mercer prison were minors, so their identities were protected by both youth court and privacy legislation. But with the help of some wonderful librarians, I was able to access a lot of the records, many heavily redacted, which still helped populate my understanding of why these women were incarcerated, and a bit of what their daily lives would have looked like. I also got to handle pre-construction blueprints of the prison, which gave me a strong sense of the layout. That was one of the coolest bits of research. Even the archivists were excited to get them out!

Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?

Writer’s block doesn’t usually hit me too badly, but when it did, I would go pull weeds, clean, or take my dog for a long walk and talk to myself along the way. Usually by the time I came home, I’d sorted out the plot snag or whatever the problem was. I also reached a juncture where I could have chosen two different directions for the story. My instincts were leaning one way, but that’s when I called my highly skilled and delightful editor to ask her what she thought. I value her input, but I also didn’t want to have to go back and do a lot of re-writes if she disagreed with the direction I’d taken. A collaborative editor is a wonderful thing!

What draws you to historical fiction?

I think to some extent, being a lover of history is just in my blood, so when I first started to read adult novels in my teens, I was drawn to historical fiction, particularly authors like Kate Morton and Philippa Gregory—two pillars of the genre—so I was certainly influenced by them when I started writing novels. I love that I get to do so much research in the process, and I think it’s so important politically right now, that we understand where we came from, how we got where we are at this moment in time and culture, so that we can—hopefully—avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. It’s a real privilege for me to get to both entertain and educate readers about history through my stories.

What’s next for you?

Well, I started researching my current work in progress about two years ago, so I’m deep in the throes of my fourth book now. I’ll share more about that when I can, but I think in many ways it might be my darkest novel yet (which is saying something, given that I’m coming off a novel about abuses at a prison!). I’ve got about three more ideas lined up after that one, so I need to nail one down and decide what’s next. My problem is never a lack of ideas, it’s having too many of them!

Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up? Any you’ve read so far this year that you’ve enjoyed?

I’ve actually had a really great reading year so far. Recently I’ve loved The Correspondent (didn’t we all?), The Chambermaid’s Key by Genevieve Graham, and Lady X by Molly Fader, which comes out in July. I haven’t devoured a book like that in years. It was one of those rare reads where I was actually angry when I had to put the book down to participate in my life! I was doing the laundry and unloading the dishwasher with one hand while reading, and wishing I had it on audio to keep listening while driving. That’s definitely a book readers will want to pick up. It’s the outlet for feminist rage we all need right now; so satisfying! Next up on my TBR are The Book Witch by Meg Shaffer, and The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett.

Will you be picking up Liberty Street? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Q&A: Heather Marshall, Author of ‘Liberty Street’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

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

Hi! I’m a Canadian author based just outside of Toronto. The Secret History of Audrey James is my second novel; my debut was called Looking for Jane, which released in the US in February of 2023.

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

My parents and grandmother read to me pretty much from birth, and I’ve been writing since I could spell and hold a pencil! My love of words is one that will last a lifetime.

Quick lightning round! Tell us:

• The first book you ever remember reading: Probably something by Robert Munsch.
• The one that made you want to become an author: Ohhhh tough call, but likely The Pact by Jodi Picoult or The House at Riverton by Kate Morton.
• The one that you can’t stop thinking about: All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Your latest novel, The Secret History of Audrey James, is out February 25^th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

Emotional, suspenseful, cautionary, evocative, hopeful.

What can readers expect?

Historical immersion with emotional pre-war content, plenty of feminine strength and resilience, a moody old hotel near the Scottish border, and a family-history mystery.

Where did the inspiration for The Secret History of Audrey James come from?

I talk about this in the author’s note, but I didn’t actually set out to write a WWII novel. But when I stumbled across the real-life history of a war heroine named Mona Parsons, I was inspired to mold a character after her life. Her story was so incredible that I found I couldn’t not write about her!

Can you tell us a bit about your process when it comes to research?

When I first have an idea for a story, I do a deep dive upfront to make sure that there’s enough ‘meat’ in that particular era/historical setting for me to work with, and that research process often inspires certain plot points and characters, and I go from there. Then I research ad-hoc as I write, both minor details (what kind of heating systems were in upper-class homes in Berlin in the 1930s? What were the names of magazines girls would have read in that time and place?) and major ones (dates of battles and historical turning points, etc).

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

I can’t say a whole lot without giving too much away, but I think this one is on the book jacket, so it’s okay: I was fascinated by a piece of history I uncovered about a woman who hid from the Nazis in her own attic when the officers confiscated her home. She hid right under their noses because she figured it was the last place anyone would look for her. This inspired my character Ilse.

Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?

I think the toughest part of this book’s writing process was the emotional taxation. I think when any author sets out to write a WWII book, they know they’re in for a heavy research process, and we have to depict on the page some of the most horrific things humans have ever done to one another. So I had to take breaks from the writing and research, step away from it from time to time to ground myself. As an author, you have to be wiling to do that emotional labour, because you need to absorb it in order to be able to channel it so your reader feels what you felt while writing it. But that can weigh heavily.

What’s next for you?

I’m just closing in on the draft of my next novel, Liberty Street, which will publish simultaneously in the US and Canada in spring 2026. I’ve been researching and thinking about this story since 2021, and I can’t wait for it to be in readers’ hands! In two sentences: a young journalist goes undercover at a women’s prison/psychiatric hospital in the early 1960s to expose the horrific treatment of the inmates. But getting into the prison will turn out to be the easy part—it’s getting back out that’s the problem…

Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up in 2025?

I’ve just started Jodi Picoult’s By Any Other Name, which of course I’m loving. I’m also looking forward to The Three Lives of Cate Kay, and I’d like to catch up on Celeste Ng’s backlist.

Will you be picking up The Secret History of Audrey James? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Q&A: Heather Marshall, Author of ‘The Secret History of Audrey James’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.