In this gripping sequel to The Line Between, which New York Times bestselling author Alex Kava calls “everything you want in a thriller,” cult escapee Wynter Roth and ex-soldier Chase Miller emerge from their bunker to find a country ravaged by disease, and Wynter is the only one who can save it.
Tosca Lee is the New York Times bestselling author of eleven novels, including The Line Between, A Single Light, The Progeny, The Legend of Sheba, Iscariot, and the Books of Mortals series with New York Times bestselling author Ted Dekker. Her work has been translated into seventeen languages and been optioned for TV and film. She is best known for her meticulous research, masterful prose, unexpected points of view, and high-octane thrillers.
We chat to author Tosca Lee about her upcoming novel A Single Light, which is the sequel to her thriller, The Line Between.
Hi Tosca! Tell us a little about yourself!
I’m an author/ballerina/bacon lover/TV addict/obsessive master procrastinator married to a hot farmer with four kids, whose 11th novel releases this September. Also, I make good soup.
A Single Light is the sequel to The Line Between and it’s set to publish on September 17th. If you could only use five words to describe it, what would they be?
Hold on to your britches!
Now, let’s hear a little more! What can readers expect in the sequel?
I have one aim when it comes to writing thrillers: keep readers up too late, missing school, and calling into work “sick.” I pull out all the stops to make that happen in this book.
Where did the inspiration for these books come from?
The headlines, scarily enough. I’d taken a short list of favorite ideas to a meeting with my publisher in New York. One of them was a pandemic story inspired by a news article I’d read on a reindeer carcass infected with anthrax that thawed in the melting Siberian permafrost and made an entire village sick. Another was about a young woman starting over after leaving a doomsday cult. My publisher said, “I think you should combine these two!” Viola. It worked. So for as much as I’d like to take credit for the mash-up , that part was not my idea.
Were there any differences between writing the two books?
I wrote the first one during a time of professional upheaval—which is very common in publishing. Unfortunately, it happened smack dab during the release of Firstborn, my novel prior to The Line Between, which affected my pub schedule and Firstborn’s release. I was discouraged and frustrated—and all over the place in the first draft. I had to rewrite it more times than usual, delaying its pub date by months and shortening the amount of time I had to write the sequel. Halfway through the second book, I realized that early reviews for The Line Between were up on NetGalley (where book reviewers can request advance copies of upcoming releases). I freaked out, sure it was getting panned. I kept thinking, “Don’t look. You just got your mojo back. You can’t afford to lose it now.” I looked anyway. And then got on my knees, stunned. The reviews were awesome.
Did you find any aspects of the novel challenging to write, such as a character or scene?
Not so much the characters or scenes so much, but when I wrote about the virus mingling with Influenza A… I ended up catching Influenza A. And then B. It went into my joints and they’ve never been the same since. In my duology before that, about the descendants of infamous serial killer “Blood Countess” Elizabeth Bathory, I learned I’m distantly related to her. I’m kind of thinking I need to write a book about an author who wins the lottery at this point.
When did you know that you wanted to be a writer?
I’ve always written—used to win contests as a kid and teen, even—but never really thought of it as a thing because I wanted to be a ballerina. When, after an injury, it became apparent that might not be the road for me, I went off to college thinking I’d go into business or something. It was during a conversation with my dad my freshman year that I started talking what I loved about my favorite books and I just blurted it out: “I want to write a book.” I wrote my first novel that summer.
Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
Write as though no one will ever read it. I know that might be the exact opposite of what you hope—particularly if you hope to publish your writing—but doing so allows you to be as bold and audacious as you want and set aside the fear that so often plagues writers. Also, if you’re writing a novel: finish the book. So many people never finish. Get to the end and make it pretty later.
What’s next for you?
I’ve got a historical thriller, a WWII story, and more thrillers up my sleeve!
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for us?
How much space do you have? ;D I can tell you what’s on my list right now: J.D. Barker’s The Sixth Wicked Child, Blake Crouch’s Recursion, L.C. Shaw’s The Network, and Brenda Novak’s Blind Spot.
Tosca can be found on Twitter and Facebook, along with at her website.
