Q&A with Lies, Lies, Lies author Adele Parks

Bestselling author Adele Parks addresses the facts and fiction behind her new novel Lies Lies Lies — and shares her secrets of success.

Sunday Book Club author Adele Parks.

What untruths would you tell to save a relationship? Bestselling author ADELE PARKS addresses the facts and fiction behind her new novel Lies Lies Lies — and shares her secrets of success.

• Tell us a little bit about yourself — when did you know that wanted to be a writer?

I was born in Teesside, NE England into a close-knit extended family. Reading vociferously was massively encouraged in our home, for which I’m eternally grateful. As soon as I made the connection between the glorious book I was holding in my hand and the fact someone had written it, I was sure that I wanted to be a writer. The book was The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton; I think I was about five years old. Soon after that I started to write stories about fairies and witches, my grandad paid me 10p for an illustrated copy! I was twenty-eight before I started to take myself and my ambition seriously. Once I did, I worked steadily until I had a novel which I could present to an agent. I had a full-time job but I timetabled three hours, three times a week for writing, and a further five hours at a weekend.

• Give us the elevator pitch for Lies Lies Lies

A seemingly perfect little family of three is blasted apart when the alcoholic husband has medical tests that reveal he could never have fathered his child. That’s just where the drama starts as I explore dark corners of a relationship in freefall. Some secrets are told to protect, others to poison.

• Do you think keeping secrets is an essential part of any relationship?

It depends on the scale of the secret. I don’t suppose anyone will die if you keep a secret about how much your mascara cost but if you start to lie about sizeable debts, addiction, fidelity or anything that might be construed as a major deal breaker in a relationship, then chances are something is seriously wrong. You have to ask yourself, why can’t you tell the truth? I think that secrets are rarely helpful in the long run; they have a way of getting out. However, honestly life isn’t clear cut. We’re human, frail and flawed.

• Would you ever divulge someone else’s secret?

I don’t think I ever have but I would if I thought someone was in danger or placing another person in danger.

• What are the successful elements of a gripping suspense novel?

I want my readers’ hearts slamming against their rib cages, sweaty palms and even the occasional gasp out loud moment. For a suspense story to be genuinely gripping, I think the following is necessary:

Investment: From early on in the plot the reader must understand what is at stake and value it.

Foresight: I like to allow the reader various viewpoints and therefore gift them a more elevated and knowledgeable position than any of the characters … their guessing at what may or may not happen heightens tension.

Surprise: I want my readers to guess parts of the plot but and believe she/he can maybe see what’s coming but I do enjoy delivering a final, unpredictable (although totally credible) shocking reveal or twist.

A sense of urgency: A ticking clock is an old school, but incredibly effective element to suspense.

Constant pressure: Things have to get worse and worse for the protagonist. The odds of success need to appear increasingly slim.

Compelling characters: I don’t really have clear-cut goodies and baddies in my novels. Real people are complex and layered and I want my characters to reflect that.

Sunday Book Club book of the month Lies Lies Lies by Adele Parks.

• Why do you think domestic noir has such an enduring appeal?

I think the vast majority of us are extremely invested in our families and therefore have a morbid fascination with reading about what can go wrong inside a seemingly normal home.

• What do you like to read?

I am in an incredibly lucky position that books are literally pressed into my hands by publishers, authors and publicists. I get extremely excited when Liane Moriarty, Sally Hepworth, Clare Mackintosh and Lisa Jewell have new releases. I also love discovering debut novelists.

• You’re well-known for examining the ‘thorny sides’ of people’s lives — what issues fire up your imagination?

I like writing about the extraordinary things that happen to all of us ordinary souls! I guess at the heart of every one of my novels is the question, ‘How far will you go for …’ I’m interested in extremes.

• An Adele Parks suspense novel is always twisty and surprising — what comes first — the twists and turns of the plot or the character development?

In a suspense novel I think the plot has to come first, but only just. The process is hand in glove. As soon as I’ve had a moment where I think, ‘What would happen if…?’ I think, ‘Who would be most profoundly affected by that?’

• What do you plan to write next?

I’m about three quarters of the way through writing my novel for 2020. It’s another domestic thriller — it seems I like flinging perfectly lovely families into terrible states of disarray!

Adele Parks’ new novel Lies Lies Lies, published by HarperCollins Australia, is out now — and it’s the Sunday Book Club’s Book of the Month. That means you get it for 30 per cent off by going to Booktopia and using the code BCBT19.

Also, remember to visit our Sunday Book Club group on Facebook and let us know what you’re currently reading and share your recommendations.

Originally published as Q&A with Lies, Lies, Lies author Adele Parks