From award-winning author Tara Laskowski, The Mother Next Door is an atmospheric novel of domestic suspense in which the strive for perfection ends in murder… We chat with Tara all about her new release, along with the challenges she faced whilst writing, book recommendations, and more!
Hi, Tara! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Sure! I write slow-burn suspense novels and adore spooky things like true crime podcasts and creepy dolls and ghosts. I grew up in Pennsylvania, but now I live outside of Washington, D.C., with my husband, 9-year-old son, and one old cranky cat.
As the year gradually draws to a close, how has your 2021 been?
I feel like time has sort of stopped or warped, so for a second, reading that question, I actually thought, “What? 2021 is almost over?” But, of course it is! I’ve been working from home since March of 2020, so it’s harder to delineate work day from evening, weekday from weekend, summer from winter. That said, I think that 2021 has been cautiously better than 2020 was, and that maybe, maybe, things are getting a little less terrible? Fingers crossed!
Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!
Remember reading: Have you ever heard of the Bugg Books? They are out of print now, but I adored them as a child. They were a series of children’s books about different bugs and their lives in their tiny city, and they were mostly morality tales, to be honest, but I remember reading them over and over again. I still have my tattered copies on my book shelf.
One that made me want to write: It was a short story, actually. John Updike’s “A&P.” It was the first short story I read about a kid around my age, doing ordinary things, and it stunned me that serious literature could be set in a grocery store. I thought, “I could do this.”
Can’t stop thinking about: I read David Mitchell’s The Bone Clocks about five years ago now, but I always think about that book and how fantastic it was.
Your new novel, The Mother Next Door, is out October 12th 2021! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Mothers with secrets on Halloween.
What can readers expect?
TMND is a suspense about the dark side of suburbia, about the power struggles within mom groups, about how the strive for perfection can be one’s downfall, about how secrets of the past always come back to get you in the end. It’s also a story about Halloween—my favorite holiday and my birthday!—and the way that on that holiday we feel like we can be someone else, step into another persona, flirt and play with the idea of death and our fears. I don’t think the book takes itself too seriously, though. Like the moms in my book that really like to party, I think the book has a sense of fun amid all its darkness. Which is really the best thing about Halloween, too.
Where did the inspiration for The Mother Next Door come from?
I’ve been in several mom groups on Facebook or other places, and I’ve seen so much inner sniping and judging in those groups—along with a fierce protectiveness and defending as well. That, coupled with the strong community that forms with the parents in various schools, really got me thinking about how competitive and cliquish parents can be, especially when it comes to their kids. I think that was maybe the kernel of the story, and the rest of it fell out from there.
Can you tell us about any challenges you faced while writing and how you were able to overcome them?
Hahahahaha—how much time do you have? I remember when I got the deal for my second book hearing all these great writers talking about how the second book is the worst to write. So, yeah, ok, I figured it wouldn’t be punch and cookies, but I had zero idea just how hard it would be. It didn’t help that I had to do it during the pandemic!
I sold this novel on proposal, which means I hadn’t actually written any of it, just outlined it. I had a really solid outline (I thought) and figured it would be easier since I’d already figured out all the major plot points. I wrote faithfully to the outline, ignoring some warning signs along the way of things that weren’t working (saying to myself, “I’ll fix it in editing.”) So, I wrote the whole draft and ended up having to throw it all away.
All of it.
It was miserable and terrifying and I was worried I wasn’t going to be able to meet my deadline or write a book ever again. I think at one point I seriously considered moving to Hawaii and becoming something like a mail carrier that was as far away from writing as you could get.
Needless to say, I pulled it off somehow. But I wouldn’t recommend it!
Were there any favourite moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I just really loved writing about the Halloween season. It’s my favorite time of year, and there are so many fun elements to it, things that naturally lend themselves to spookiness, like jack-o-lanterns!
What’s next for you?
I’m currently working on my third novel, which is set at a winery and creepy estate, and involves a decade-old revenge plot. Let’s hope that the writing process goes better than my second!
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
I just finished an advance copy of The Savage Kind by John Copenhaver. John’s a good friend and his book comes out the same month mine does. It’s a spectacular, creepy historic noir about two teenage girls trying to solve a murder in their hometown.
