She Started It, a debut thriller by Sian Gilbert
Author Interview + Book & Author Info + Author Pet Corner!
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She Started It
For fans of Lucy Foley and Liane Moriarty, She Started It is a hot, twisty summer debut thriller about a group of young women whose Caribbean bachelorette party takes a sinister turn. It’s Lord of the Flies meets And Then There Were None…but with Instagram and too much prosecco.
The party of a lifetime is nothing like what they expected…
Annabel, Esther, Tanya, and Chloe are best friends—or were, as children. Despite drifting apart in adulthood, shared secrets have kept them bonded for better or worse, even as their childhood dreams haven’t quite turned out as they’d hoped. Then one day they receive a wholly unexpected—but not entirely unwelcome—invitation from another old friend. Poppy Greer has invited them all to her extravagant bachelorette party: a first-class plane ticket to three days of white sand, cocktails, and relaxation on a luxe private island in the Bahamas.
None of them has spoken to Poppy in years. But Poppy’s Instagram pics shows that the girl they used to consider the weakest link in their group has definitely made good—and made money. Curiosity gets the better of them. Besides, who can turn down a posh all-expenses-paid vacation on a Caribbean island?
The first-class flight and the island’s accommodations are just as opulent as expected…even if the scenic island proves more remote than they’d anticipated. Quite remote, in fact, with no cell service, and no other guests. The women quickly discover they’ve underestimated Poppy, and each other. As their darkest secrets are revealed, the tropical adventure morphs into a terrifying nightmare.
Endlessly twisty, sharply observant, and deliciously catty, She Started It is sure to shock readers until the very end.
To purchase She Started It, click on any of the following links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.
Interview with Sian Gilbert, author of She Started It
She Started It, is set in the Bahamas. What led you to such a fun, exotic location for your debut thriller?
I knew I wanted somewhere idyllic, somewhere people automatically associate with perfect holiday destinations and luxury. I’ve never actually been to the Bahamas myself, so it has that added have-to-go-there-one-day dream attainability factor for me! My characters being from the UK like I am, it’s incredibly expensive to travel that far, so it was an added incentive for my bridesmaids to want to go.
It also feels like the ideal setting for a thriller: somewhere glamorous, but the private island aspect gives it an isolated edge, something dark hidden under the beautiful surface.
How does Instagram play a role in to She Started It?
Instagram is, like the setting, a gorgeous exterior. You present your very best self online, with filters to help keep you looking what society deems the most attractive. Very few people are ever actually honest. It’s all about the façade. And that’s the same with the four bridesmaids in this novel. Annabel, Chloe, Tanya and Esther seem perfect on the outside. Chloe is even an influencer, close to a million followers. Her life is dictated by Instagram posts and promotions. But behind the photographs, all four of them have secrets that could destroy their so-called flawless lives.
Poppy, the bride of She Started It, is aware of this. She uses Instagram at the start of the novel as a way to convince the other four she’s living well. Photos of wedding dresses, nice places. And they fall for it. When the invitations to her hen party arrive, they feel like they know her again, even though it’s been ten years, and it’s far easier for them to agree to attend.
Describe the friendships of Annabel, Esther, Tanya, Chloe, and Poppy:
All five women went to the same secondary school (ages 11-18) together. Poppy and Tanya were best friends, but after an incident involving a Capri-Sun, Poppy was left humiliated and Tanya started hanging out with Annabel, Chloe and Esther. Eventually, Poppy was entirely isolated, and the four began making her life a misery.
Ten years later, Poppy is a successful doctor, apparently living the life of luxury (if her Instagram is to be believed) and getting married. Annabel, Chloe, Esther and Tanya have been invited to not only the hen party on a private island in the Bahamas, but also to be her bridesmaids.
Meanwhile, adulthood has been less kind to those four. Not that they would ever admit that. Their friendship, also, is one maintained out of convenience than any real strong feeling. They aren’t stupid, but Poppy is footing the bill, and they figure it’s been such a long time that clearly bygones are bygones. Why not go?
Tell us about your road to publication with She Started It:
I was an English teacher before I was a writer. In my fifth year of teaching, my partner was given a fully-funded scholarship to earn a PhD at the University of Cambridge. This meant moving, and I had a choice. Look for a teaching job, or because we were lucky enough to be in college accommodation, take the year off and try to be a writer like I had always dreamed. It was terrifying leaving, but December 31st 2020 was my last day as a teacher, and 2021 was the beginning of…well, I was hopeful, but I’m a pessimist at heart and I wasn’t sure what was going to happen.
I wrote one book as a practice run, tried querying it, and got nowhere. I read every craft book going and joined Twitter, looking for writing communities. I learned about Pitch Wars, and was determined to have a book ready to apply for it. I had a one sentence pitch already in my mind: one private island, four bridesmaids—and a bride hellbent on revenge. Here Comes The Bride (as it was called then) was born, and I drafted it in three months. I was selected by E.A. Aymar, met the incredible Pitch Wars community, worked on my manuscript, and my life changed forever.
Helen Heller is my amazing agent, and with her I was lucky enough to announce on March 24, 2022, that She Started It was going to be published in Summer 2023.
What can we find you doing when you aren’t writing thrillers?
I’m a big history nerd, so my absolute favourite reads are history books, whether that’s by serious historians or guilty-pleasure historical fiction. Because of this, I love visiting historical places. A few weeks ago I went to Hever Castle (Anne Boleyn’s childhood home) specifically to see the Book of Hours that Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn individually owned placed together for the first time.
What are you working on now?
My second book is, at last, fully drafted (and everything they say about how awful writing a second book is is definitely true), and I’m hoping to be able to say more about it very soon. Otherwise, I’m actually in the midst of figuring out my plot for my third book, which seems crazy when the first one isn’t even out yet!
Words of Wisdom for Aspiring Writers:
Read the craft books everyone recommends. Stephen King’s On Writing, Lisa Cron’s Story Genius, Jessica Brody’s Save The Cat, Courtney Maum’s Before and After the Book Deal. Even if you don’t think you’ll learn anything from them, even if you disagree with them. Be open to what they have to say and try their advice out. It’ll help even if you decide not to take it, because you’ve opened up your usual method and explored new ones.
Be wary of your word count. Look at what the standard is for your genre (and for your genre TODAY—not twenty years ago) and try not to go more than 10k above or below that if you can.
Join writer groups. Get eyes on your work before you query it. Critique other people’s work. It all helps.
Great Advice!
Author Pet Corner
This is Toby. His 21st birthday is June 5th, just over a week shy of my book coming out.
He’s been with me since writing books was nothing more than me scribbling away in notebooks and dreaming of someday.
I love him more than words could ever express, and he loudly reminds me he feels the same way very often!
Happy 21st Birthday Toby! What a gorgeous cat.
Sian Gilbert, author of She Started It
Sian Gilbert was born in Bristol, UK.
She studied history at the University of Warwick, before teaching at a comprehensive school in Birmingham for almost five years.
She now lives in Cambridge with her partner.
To learn more about Sian, make sure to follow her at the following sites: Twitter, Instagram, Linktree.
Elena Taylor/Elena Hartwell
All We Buried, available now in print, e-book, and audio.
Silver Falchion Award Finalist, Best Investigator
Foreword INDIE Award Finalist, Best Mystery
The Foundation of Plot, a Wait, Wait, Don’t Query (Yet!) guidebook.
Header image by Yrolle on Pixabay
