We chat with author Trish Lundy about The One That Got Away With Murder, which is an edge-of-your-seat debut YA thriller about a teen who is forced to confront her past in order to catch a murderer before she ends up the next victim.
Hi, Trish! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi, Nerd Daily! I’m just a girl from Rochester, NY who moved to California before my junior year of high school and I never left. Rochester was a special place to grow up. It also has the very best autumn. We’d get donuts and cider from Schutt’s Apple Mill before picking our pumpkins, going through a corn maze, or riding a haunted hay ride (which might have honestly scarred me for life). But as a result, I developed a deep love for Halloween and all things macabre and thrilling, really. As I got older, I thought I wanted to go to film school but that didn’t really work out, so I got my degree in English Literature from UCLA. In addition to writing, I enjoy strolling through historic cemeteries, baking desserts, and playing with my daughter. Her favorite books to read are books about ghosts and pumpkins so perhaps my taste has influenced her, for better or worse!
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
In elementary school, my family went to Disney World for the very first and last time, and we all got a bad stomach flu. I think we only spent a day or two at the parks because we were in pretty bad shape. When I was feeling better, I remember drawing storyboards for some of my favorite TV shows like Hey, Arnold! and making up episodes to pass the time spent stuck in our hotel room. I think I especially enjoyed it because I had a captive audience. In middle school I began to write poetry. I really loved trying to string words together and make them sound beautiful. My seventh grade English teacher had me read some of my poems aloud in class which didn’t bode so well in terms of trying to woo my crushes or thwart bullies so I never did it again. The poems were all about Halloween (surprise!). I had a very encouraging high school film teacher, Mr. Marshall, whose passion for storytelling was infectious. It was the first time in my life that I seriously thought it was possible to become a storyteller. I wrote a half-finished screenplay and that feeling I had while working on it was just the best and I knew I had to at least try and pursue storytelling in some form.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: The Twelve Dancing Princesses
- The one that made you want to become an author: The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix
Your debut novel, The One that Got Away with Murder, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Kissing and murder don’t mix.
What can readers expect?
The One That Got Away with Murder is a story about a new girl learning to come to terms with her traumatic past so that she can get justice for two girls whose deaths are clouded in suspicion. It’s a story about learning how to let people in again—something Lauren, my main character, starts to do when she meets Robbie Crestmont. She begins falling for Robbie before learning he was the last person to see his ex-girlfriend alive. It’s a story about monsters hiding in plain sight. Readers can expect a lot of romantic tension, a lot of suspicious characters, and a killer(s) who will do anything to keep the truth a secret. And maybe expect a gasp or two during the finale…
Where did the inspiration for The One that Got Away with Murder come from?
I remember first getting the image of two brothers with shady pasts and I wanted to know more about them, really. Lauren was my way into that. I also wanted to write a story about one of the first formative events teenage girls experience: the first time a boy or man makes you feel unsafe, and becoming aware that a lot of men are unsafe, actually. Even the ones we trust. Especially the ones we trust. So those two components were the first key nuggets of the story for me. I wrote out the first chapter to find Lauren’s voice and it really flowed and she surprised me. Or rather, her coping mechanisms surprised me. The first chapter hasn’t changed too much from that first draft.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I enjoyed writing Lex. Perhaps because I’m most like her. She’s the ‘parent’ friend, so to speak. She’s trying to take care of everyone else around her and sometimes that comes at the expense of putting herself first. And she’s so so different from Lauren.
The scene on the boat, when Lauren is at Lake Monarch for the first time, was really fun to write because it’s a huge moment. Lauren has just made this disturbing discovery but she has to pretend like everything is perfectly fine for her own safety and sanity and I loved exploring how she felt on the inside versus the outside.
There are a couple of chapters that break POV and those were fun to write. But I guess I won’t say more than that!
This is your debut published novel! What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?
It’s been about a decade-long journey for me! I first seriously began writing novels in college and queried after I graduated, but my writing was not ready for prime time. I spent the next eight or so years writing quite a bit. I wrote a lot of short fiction and experimented with genre and POV and voice and published a few of those. I wrote several manuscripts to try and figure out what kind of writer I was. A couple of years ago, I had finished a coming of age/mystery YA novel that I felt very confident about and knew I was ready to shoot my shot again. I began querying and received my first full request and so I thought that was a good sign. In the very beginning of that process, I had a very random and kind of uncanny encounter that set off my publishing journey: I met my now agent’s sister at my grandmother’s funeral in State College, Pennsylvania.
We got to talking in the receiving line. I mentioned I was a writer, and she said her sister was a literary agent. She connected me to Kristin and I asked Kristin for her best publishing and querying advice. After our call, Kristin asked me to send along my query package and she ended up loving it. I did a R&R before she signed me along with her colleague, Stephen. We went on submission with that book and I began working on MURDER. MURDER ended up being the one! So, it really all began with my grandmother’s funeral, I suppose. She loved the arts and I remember her picking me up from the State College airport one time and she was holding a copy of one of my published short stories. She was very proud. It feels special and meant to be.
What’s next for you?
I’m working on a new young adult thriller with a main character who is very different from Lauren in a lot of ways, but she has her own baggage, too, I suppose! I love her dearly. I won’t say too much because it is not an announced project but I’m really enjoying the departure from my debut and seeing how much I’ve grown as a writer since the first draft of MURDER.
Lastly, are there any book releases that you’re looking forward to picking up this year?
Oh gosh, there are just SO many good ones coming out over the next few months but I’ll try to name only a few. I can’t wait to get my hands on Meredith Adamo’s stunning debut NOT LIKE OTHER GIRLS. I’m also eagerly awaiting THE LAST BOYFRIENDS RULES FOR REVENGE by Matthew Hubbard, PERFECT LITTLE MONSTERS by Cindy R.X. He, THE BLONDE DIES FIRST by Joelle Wellington, and LOOKING FOR SMOKE by K.A. Cobell. I’m also a huge Casey McQuiston fan and can’t wait to devour THE PAIRING.
