Stillwater by Tanya Scott
Author Interview + Book & Author Info + Author Pet Corner!
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Stillwater
For fans of Jack Reacher, Tanya Scott’s debut thriller introduces readers to Luke Harris, a man trying to move beyond his criminal past but finds himself forced back into his old life and a deadly battle to survive.
When Jack Quinlan’s mother dies of a drug overdose, it’s not his father that raises him, but Gus—a ruthless crime boss who sees Jack for what he is: a whip-smart kid with untapped potential. It doesn’t take long for Gus to forge Jack into a weapon.
But Jack was also self-aware enough to know where this sort of life was going to lead him. When the time was right, he got out. Or so he thought.
Seven years later, Jack is now Luke Harris, a regular guy putting himself through college and aiming for a real job and a real future. Falling in love. But Jack’s past isn’t so easily forgotten, and the bodies in his closet won’t forgive him.
When Luke’s newfound life collides with Gus’s underworld, survival becomes a deadly game. Luke must resurrect his dormant skills and confront the demons that threaten to consume him.
To purchase your copy of Stillwater, click the following link for multiple outlets: Grove Atlantic
Stillwater Author Interview with Tanya Scott
What would you like readers to know about Stillwater that we can’t learn from the back cover blurb?
The idea for the protagonist, Luke Harris (AKA Jack Quinlan), came from a conversation I had with a patient about how everyone has more going on than meets the eye – how we all have our inner battles, shameful secrets, healed and unhealed wounds.
On the surface, Luke is a student trying to live a quiet life, but his veneer is paper-thin and it doesn’t take much to expose what’s underneath.
While Stillwater is a crime thriller, it started out as a coming-of-age story about a reluctant criminal – a young man trying to escape a criminal past, while forces both internal and external keep pulling him back.
Tell us about the locations in Stillwater, how does the environment impact the characters and the plot?
Stillwater is set in Australia, and it’s unusual because large parts of the action take place in inner-city Melbourne – most Australian crime fiction has a rural setting. Melbourne is a modern, multicultural city with a vibrant student population, pockets of wealth and privilege, and sprawling suburbia; but like most cities, it has areas of socioeconomic disadvantage and a gritty criminal underbelly. Luke (Jack) grew up in the west of the city, which is traditionally poorer than the east. As an adult, his work brings him into contact with the affluent suburbs of the inner east, a stark contrast to the living conditions of his childhood.
The other setting is the titular ‘Stillwater’, an isolated bush block near Castlemaine in central Victoria. This wild tract of forest, used for camping and shooting weekends, is owned by a friend of Luke’s father’s and was the only holiday destination he knew as a child. The name of the property comes from the eerie, mirror-like surface of the dam, which is a remnant of the gold-rush history of the area.
What was your road to publication for your debut, Stillwater?
I’ve been writing for a long time, but I hadn’t taken it seriously until a few years ago. During the Covid pandemic, I was burnt out from my job (I’m a GP/primary care physician) and took time off work to regroup. I enrolled in a writing class for fun. One of the tasks was a character study, through which the character of Luke was born.
I’d had short stories published and won a couple of prizes, but I’d never finished a full manuscript before. I submitted to a few agents and was fortunate to find the right one quite quickly! My Australian agent submitted to publishers here, and then his co-agent in the US submitted for the US market.
Stillwater launched in August. What has been the biggest surprise now that you are a published author?
The biggest surprise, for this introvert, was how much I’ve enjoyed talking to booksellers, other authors and readers at events and signings. Book people are the best!
What was more of a challenge, finishing medical school? Or writing/publishing your first novel?
Writing has its challenges, but medical school was definitely harder. A fact of life for doctors is that learning doesn’t stop once you’ve finished your degree. I’m constantly reading, and on courses and webinars, to keep up-to-date. Writing feels like a breath of fresh air in comparison; writing fiction means I am literally making things up, which is discouraged in medicine, for obvious reasons. I think all doctors (actually, all people) need a creative outlet.
I’ve learned to make a distinction between writing and publishing, as they’re different jobs, requiring different mindset and skills.
What are you working on now?
I’m in structural edits on my second novel, which is another crime thriller with some recurring characters from Stillwater. No spoilers.
Words of Wisdom for Aspiring Writers:
A high-concept premise and hook are great, but they’re not the whole story. Figure out how you want the ending to feel, even if you don’t know exactly what happens. I’m not a big planner/outliner, but I think it’s crucial to have ‘compass points’ to guide you, whether they’re plot points or emotional landings. I’ve learned the hard way that the initial idea for a story only gives you the first few chapters!
Great advice!
Author Pet Corner!
Arthur (big tabby cat)
Arthur is the boss of the house. He is an affectionate extrovert who is so placid that he once slept on the middle of the living room floor during a house party. The guests had to dance around him.
Charlie (black-and-white tuxedo cat)
Charlie is painfully shy, except when he’s hungry and meows the house down, or when he needs to sit on my keyboard. He’s the opposite of Arthur; we leave a cupboard open for him to hide in when we have guests.
Maddy and Pippy (dogs)
Maddy and Pippy are twelve-year-old mini fox terriers who still act like puppies, with regular zoomies and a complete inability to sit still. They are wearing vests in the photo because a thunderstorm was forecast – the vests help them to stay calm.
Stillwater Author Tanya Scott
Tanya Scott is an Australian writer, doctor and educator. She is an accomplished survivor of near misses, including escaping from an engineering degree out of high school, crashing a car with a huntsman (spider) on her lap and getting caught in a rip while swimming off the Cocos Islands. She also managed to survive medical school with her sense of humour intact.
Over a varied career, she has learned more from her patients than from any textbook – not just about physical and mental health, but about humanity, resilience and the absurdity of life. While these themes inform her writing, her love of twisty mysteries has made her an accidental crime writer.
Tanya lives on the Victorian Surf Coast with her family and pets. When not writing, she can be found with her head in a book or braving the wind at the beach. Stillwater is her first novel.
Follow Tanya on her debut journey:
Website: https://tanyascott.au/
Elena Hartwell/Elena Taylor
Header image from Pixabay
