by S. F. Kosa
What does your writing process typically look like?
These days, I usually fall in love with a concept—cult psychology, mass hysteria events, and impostors who can fool some of the most sophisticated among us are my most recent obsessions. With this book, it was dissociative fugue. Typically, I start to read whatever’s available on the subject, and I usually get inspired by possibilities, which then morph into story and character ideas. After that, I create a stream-of-consciousness-type document where I begin to outline who the main character is and what might happen in the story—this is where things can easily branch off into creative places I never thought I’d be—which eventually evolves into the actual plot structure with a defined three acts, midpoint climax, etc. That whole process of researching and outlining can take days…or even years. I have several of these rambling documents, and not all of them will become books someday—but many of them have. For those, at some point, anywhere from a few hours to a few years after I originally develop the idea, I begin to write. When I’m really into a story, that part might only take a month or two from start to finish, but it’s usually only the tail end of the overall process!
When you’re not writing, what are you up to?
I’m a child psychologist who specializes in working with young children and their families, so some of my time is devoted to that. But when I’m not working or writing, I can be found walking, hiking, or running. I’m a huge fan of covering long distances under my own foot power (no bikes or scooters for me), and I am rarely happier than when I’m outdoors, particularly with my loved ones, enjoying the beauty of the world around me. I also love to travel, and I often get book ideas when I’m in a new place and meeting new people.
Acknowledgments
I am so grateful to Dominique Raccah and the entire phenomenal team at Sourcebooks for making this book possible. Thank you especially to MJ Johnston, my fantastic editor, for being passionate about this story, for pushing me to add flesh to the bones, and for advocating for The Quiet Girl at every step. Thanks also to Sabrina Baskey, my copy editor, for straightening my wonky timeline and breaking me of my em-dash addiction (or, at least, moving me in the proper direction). Appreciation also goes to Heather Hall and the rest of the editing and production team for keen attention to detail and the reader experience. Finally, thank you to Ervin Serrano for designing a cover that captures the psychological experience of the main characters with one simple, arresting image.
I am so thankful for my agent, Victoria Marini, for helping me take a chance with my career, for believing in me, for challenging me to twist up the plot just a little more, and for navigating our course through the publishing world. And many thanks to the supportive team at the Irene Goodman Literary Agency for backing her up!
Thank you to my dearest friends, who each read a version of the manuscript at various stages and provided feedback as well as cheerleading: Lydia Kang, Jayne Tan, Claudine Fitzgerald, and Paul Block. Lydia, once again, your consultations on the merits of one fatal poison versus another were endlessly helpful; I so enjoy our conversations about how best to kill people. And, Paul, thank you for applying your psychologist’s eye to both the portrayal of dissociative fugue and the therapy sessions that followed.
I would like to offer my deepest thanks to Detective Supervisor Meredith Lobur of the Provincetown Police Department, who was incredibly generous in sharing her knowledge about the unique features and challenges of police work at the very tip of Cape Cod during the summer months. Any deviations in this novel from investigational procedure or mistakes in that regard are on me.
Family, thank you for loving me. To all my children, both the ones I gave birth to and the ones I lucked into: Asher, Alma, Evelyn, Erin, and T—I love you endlessly and am always aware of what amazing gifts you are. Thank you to my parents, Jerry and Julie, and my sisters, Cathryn and Robin, for supporting me, even from continents away, and thank you to my in-laws, Bruce and Donna, for supporting me from slightly closer by. It’s hard for me to express, even with all the words in my head, just how grateful I am for each and every one of you.
And to Peter Kosa: thank you for spontaneous trips to Provincetown, biotech consultation, your confidence in me even when my own is flagging, your unrelenting enthusiasm for this story, sticking by me in dark times, and the constant joy you take—and share—in celebrating small triumphs. We did it, my love, and I know you’ve got the champagne on ice.
About the Author
S. F. Kosa is a clinical psychologist with a fascination for the seedy underbelly of the human psyche. Though The Quiet Girl is her debut psychological suspense novel, she also writes as Sarah Fine and is the author of more than two dozen fantasy, urban fantasy, sci-fi, and romance novels, several of which have been translated into multiple languages. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and their (blended) brood of five young humans.
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