Sarah Bonner on starting at the very beginning
Sarah Bonner on starting at the very beginning.
Her Perfect Twin by Sarah Bonner is out in paperback on 21st July!
I was chatting to an author friend the other day about what a frankly ludicrous endeavour writing a novel is. Just the idea that one day you sit down and write, then write some more, and some more, until finally you have about 90,000 words of a story! That conversation got me thinking though: where do you even start?
For me, ideas generally start from a what if question. For HER PERFECT TWIN that question was: what if you had to convince someone you were your identical twin sister?
But how to turn that single question into an entire novel? I’m a very visual problem solver and so I have a huge whiteboard at home. I start by writing that original what if in the centre of the board and from that single posit branches a whole raft of other questions: who, what, where, when, why.
Who is the story about? What are they up to? Where is the story set, and when? But – for me – it is the why which is most important. Why determines motivation. It solves plot points. It ensures congruency and consistency. It helps to create a story is broadly believable.
Every time I ask why I will go through a series of possible answers: some of them are nonsense, some are far too simplistic, some of them seem like perhaps they have a kernel of truth to them. So then I ask more whys.
In HER PERFECT TWIN, Megan must convince the world she is her identical twin. But why? Well, the answer to that question was when things started to get interesting. Because Megan doesn’t want anyone to know that Leah is dead. But why? Because she killed her! That was when I realised I was writing a crime novel.
But people don’t just commit sororicide for no reason. So why did Megan kill Leah? Because she discovered Leah was having an affair with her husband. OK: so that kind of works. But is it really enough of a reason to kill someone? I needed one final why. Why did Leah have an affair with Megan’s husband? Because Leah spent their entire lives stealing everything from Megan. Excellent; now I had a backstory for the twins; a sense of who they were and how they behaved towards each other. But most importantly, I finally had a motive!
You might think I’ve just given away the entire plot to HER PERFECT TWIN by telling you who the killer is and why she did it. But don’t worry, it’s not much of a spoiler. For I might be most concerned with asking why. But Megan is most concerned with how. How can she possibly get away with it?
And for that answer you’ll have to read the book!
HER PERFECT TWIN. YOUR NEW OBSESSION.
'Sarah Bonner's debut novel made my jaw drop. There are so many twists in this story, I never knew what was coming next. You won't want to miss this one!' Samantha Downing, author of My Lovely Wife
'A wonderfully twisty, and twisted, thriller that'll have you up until the early hours, and with an ending that you will NOT see coming. Brilliant' S J Watson, author of Before I Go To Sleep
'A terrifyingly vivid psychological thriller - paranoid, claustrophobic and captivating' Janice Hallett, bestselling author of The Appeal
When Megan discovers photographs of her estranged identical twin sister on her husband's phone, she wants answers.
Leah already has everything Megan has ever wanted. Fame, fortune, freedom to do what she wants. And when Megan confronts Leah, an argument turns to murder.
The only way Megan can get away with killing her twin is to become her.
But then lockdown hits. How can she continue living two lives? And what happens if someone else knows her secret too?
HER PERFECT TWIN IS THE MOST ADDICTIVE, TWISTY THRILLER YOU'LL READ IN 2022. DON'T MISS THIS WILD RIDE OF A NOVEL.
'Brilliantly twisty and thoroughly entertaining - an extremely impressive debut' TM Logan, bestselling author of The Holiday
'A deliciously sticky web of a tale that snared me from the very first page and didn't let me go until the shocking end' C. L. Pattison, author of The Housemate
'Intense, sharp, and surprising. Everything I love in a thriller' Jo Jakeman, author of Safe House
'A perfect storm of sly revenge and rivalry' LV Matthews, author of The Prank
'Twisty, compelling and clever, this is a fabulous debut with a heroine you'll root for' Penny Batchelor, author of Her New Best Friend
'I was gripped by this unpredictable rollercoaster of a novel! Full of conniving characters, clever twists and high stakes. It had me constantly wondering what the characters were going to try next and who was going to prevail' Helen Cooper, author of The Downstairs Neighbour
'More deliciously twisty than Gone Girl . . . Dark and compelling, Her Perfect Twin is the perfect thriller. Sharp as a knife and so twisty, it hooked me from the very first page' Vikki Patis, author of In The Dark
Real readers love Her Perfect Twin:
'An outstanding debut from Sarah Bonner. I have never read anything quite like it'
'Cleverly plotted with great characters . . . A top notch thriller!'
'This book definitely had me hooked. It's one of those that gets under your skin'
'A devious, twisty story laced with dark humour, with characters you'll love and love to hate . . . Echoes of Hitchcock and du Maurier, but also more contemporary thrillers like Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train. Brilliant'
'Absolutely amazing'
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