The sharp sound of a high-pitched scream filled the air. A noise so unrecognizable, at first I didn’t register it had come from deep within me, traveling up my throat in stealth mode before bursting from my mouth.
The remnants of the yell reverberated around the car, forcing their way into my ears and penetrating my skull, urging me to do something. Survival instincts kicked in, and I fumbled with the seatbelt, my other hand grasping for the door handle. The need for the relative safety that solid, stationary ground would bring was so intense it made my stomach heave. A loud click of the central locking system meant my captor had outsmarted me again, obliterating my immediate plan to throw myself from the moving vehicle.
When I looked out the windshield, I knew there was no time to find an alternate escape. The end of the road—the edge of the cliff—announced by signs and broken red-and-white-striped wooden barricades, had been far enough away seconds ago but now gleamed in the car’s headlights, a looming warning yards ahead. I couldn’t comprehend what was about to happen, couldn’t do anything as the vehicle kept going, splintering planks and racing out the other side with nothing but air below. I let out another scream, far louder than my first, the absolute terror exploding from my lungs.
For the briefest of moments, we were suspended, as if this was a magic trick or an elaborate roller coaster. Perhaps, if I were really lucky, this was all a dream. Except I already knew there were no smoke and mirrors, no swirling track leading us through loop-the-loops and to safety. It wasn’t a nightmare I’d wake from with bedsheets wrapped around my sweaty body. This was happening. It was all terrifyingly real.
As the car continued its trajectory, it tipped forward. The only thing to stop our momentum was whatever we were rushing toward, obscured by the cloudy night skies. Pushing my heels into the floor, I tried to flatten my shoulders against the seat. My hands scrambled for the ceiling to brace myself, but I flopped like a rag doll, my loosened seatbelt tearing into my shoulder.
They say your life flashes before you when you’re close to death. That didn’t happen to me. Instead, it was all my regrets. Choices I’d made. Not made. Things I’d said and done. Not said. Not done. It was far too late to make amends. There would be no opportunity to beg anyone for forgiveness. No possibility of offering some.
As the finality of the situation hit me full on, I turned my head. The features of the driver next to me were illuminated in a blueish glint from the dashboard lights. His face had set in a stony grimace; his jaw clenched so tight he had to have shattered teeth. But what frightened me the most were his eyes, filled with what could only be described as maniacal delight.
He’d said we were both going to die. As the car hurtled to the bottom of the cliff, I closed my eyes and accepted he was right.
***
Excerpted from The Revenge List by Hannah Mary McKinnon, Copyright © 2023 by Hannah McKinnon. Published by MIRA Books.
Blogger Q&A
ABOUT THE REVENGE LIST
Twisted, surprising, gut-wrenching, original.
When Frankie Morgan loses her “forgiveness list” – the names of people who have wronged her in the past, and whom she could work to forgive – she thinks nothing of it. But as the people on Frankie’s list have increasingly serious accidents, Frankie’s in trouble. She wrote her own name on the list because her past self is the one person she’ll never forgive. If she doesn’t find out who’s behind the attacks, she might be next.
I can usually pinpoint exactly where the inspiration for my novels came from. Typically, it’s a news article (You Will Remember Me and Her Secret Son) or a radio segment (Sister Dear), maybe some daydreaming (The Neighbors) or a specific character (Never Coming Home).
With The Revenge List, it was after batting various plot ideas around with my agent Carolyn, and former editor Emily that a random idea popped into my head: “What if an anger management group therapy exercise went terribly wrong?” That was it—we all needed to know what the rest of the story was.
Both, because they’re intrinsically linked. I loved building Frankie’s history to figure out who had wronged her in the past, how it had shaped her life and was still influencing her in the present. Frankie’s a firecracker, and it was incredibly interesting to write from the perspective of a woman who struggles with anger and doesn’t always handle it in a way that’s expected.
No, they never do, but Frankie’s character came together quite quickly once I’d decided on a rough premise. I knew she’d have a certain amount of anger caused by her past, that she might be construed as an “angry woman” and I wondered what it would be like to write from that character’s perspective – without her being angry all the time, of course, because that would be exhausting. I also deliberately placed her in a male-dominated industry, which I have a lot of experience working in.
Yes, it did. I had the ending in mind when I started outlining and it barely changed. It still gives me the shivers.
The fictional coffee shop, Jake’s Cakes, originally appears in Sister Dear. It was fun to revive it as a little easter egg for anyone who reads both books.
I put Frankie in construction because it’s such a male dominated industry, but also because, I often went to construction sites when I was a kid as my dad worked as an architect. I still find them fascinating.
Like Frankie, I had a job at a grocery store when I was in school but thankfully nothing bad ever happened there.
I set the book in Portland, Maine because I’ve been there and loved it.
I modeled reporter Danika Danforth’s personality on my good friend Hank Phillippi Ryan. One reader told me “reporters aren’t that nice” and I replied, “Hank is!”
I adored writing the scenes with Frankie and Rico because I loved the brother/sister relationship and dynamic. I don’t have a brother, but if I did, I hope it would be someone like Rico as he was such a wonderful, caring man who clearly adored his sibling but wouldn’t put up with her nonsense, either.
It’s got to be Frankie. I loved writing from her perspective – I found her so interesting and complex, including the fact that, even given her history, she’s still an optimist at heart. She became a great (fictional) friend.
I always say I hope to surprise readers, and that they keep thinking about the book long after they’ve finished the final page. My ultimate goal hasn’t changed: it’s to entertain, to provide people with a form of escape and to leave them satisfied thinking, “I enjoyed that. It was time well spent! What else has Hannah Mary written?”
B) PUBLISHING JOURNEY
It wasn’t until my 40s when we came to Canada and my start-up HR company failed. I had a decision to make – keep working corporate or try something else. I plumped for the latter and I’m beyond thrilled I did. I love my second career so much and can’t imagine doing anything else.
I made a lot of mistakes before my first novel was published, including rushing to submit the manuscript to an agent before it was truly ready. After editing it for two years, taking creative writing courses, and reading a lot, I managed to secure representation. If I’d taken those classes and learned about the industry earlier, it may not have taken as long…but the rejections kept my feet firmly on the ground and made me more determined. In a FitBit meditation with Ceasar F. Barajas, I recently heard we could “think of rejection as redirection.” It really resonated with me.
I’ve learned to trust my writing process. If I can get the bones of the story on paper, I’ll add layers and complexity as I go over the novel again and again in preparation for my editor’s eyes. I accept the finer details will come as I work. I’ll figure out plot-holes if I allow myself time to work through them. Just like most people who draw, paint, or write music or books, the first draft will never be my best work. Rome wasn’t built in a day and all that. I’m glad I’ve accepted this because it stops me from being overly self-critical when I start a project. I also set myself deadlines and work hard to beat them.
The camaraderie of the writing community is like nothing I’ve experienced elsewhere. Authors, agents, publishers, readers, reviewers—we all love books and it’s wonderful.
In terms of writing, I adore the anticipation of starting a new novel where everything is open, and the only limit is my imagination. I also love when I get to the editing part and think, “Yeah, there’s something here” — it’s always such a rush. What’s challenging? Pushing through the first draft and the edit thereof. I need cookies for both!
C) PROCESS
I’ve become a lot more streamlined because of deadlines. Also, I’ve figured out what works for me (plotting and structure) and what doesn’t (winging it), all of which goes a long way. Having written seven published and two upcoming novels means I have a good few years of experience in the industry, and I’ve learned to trust my instincts. When I find myself thinking, “Gah, this is terrible!” I remind myself I’ve said that about every previous books. That’s a lie. My husband reminds me of it each time and he’s right.
All your books are filled with many plot twists and turns. How much of the stories have you mapped out in advance, or does your writing style, take, well, twists and turns as you go along?
I love twists and turns, and the more books I write, the more I plot them. While detailed outlines make me more productive and efficient because I know where I’m headed, it doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll end up at the destination I mapped out. Things change as I write. I plot, but I’m flexible and still need my manuscript to surprise me as it evolves.
In The Neighbors, for example, the ending changed quite dramatically as I got closer to finishing my first draft. In Her Secret Son, the final chapters were different because I wasn’t happy with whom I’d planned to kill. Sister Dear and You Will Remember Me’s endings are close to how I’d imagined but more sinister. Never Coming Home and The Revenge List barely changed at all.
With all my books, more twists and turns appeared as I wrote. That’s another fun part of writing, discovering what your characters will do when you let them loose. I can’t possibly know everything from the beginning, nor would I want to.
Extremely structured with plots, deadlines, and word-count targets. For The Revenge List, the “what if” idea came first, then Frankie’s character, followed by the storyline. I noodled the thoughts around as the main characters took shape. The next step was to write an outline. I started by jotting down the big picture plot points, which I used as stepping-stones to build and write the rest of the outline. I filled out personality questionnaires for my main characters to understand them better, and searched for photos on the internet to build a gallery. I also put a map of Portland together to work out who lived and worked where.
I wrote the basic manuscript that was a little over two-thirds of the final word count, then layered and developed until I was happy calling it a first draft, and sent it to my editor.
She loved it (phew!).
One of the characters in The Revenge List has appendicitis, which our eldest son had when he was ten, so I drew on that experience, which thankfully was far easier than my fictional scenario. I called in the experts for more in-depth medical advice, police, and court procedures, and how adoption in Maine works, which was all fascinating. Research is one of my favorite parts of writing a book—not only because it’s interesting to learn new things, but mainly because I get to speak with such brilliant and knowledgeable people.
I don’t do a lot of research before I write but tend to put placeholders for areas that need fleshing out and go back to them after I’ve finished my first draft. That way I’m not spending hours on facts that don’t make the cut, or getting sidetracked by facts which are interesting, but potentially irrelevant to the story.
Bet you I’m flagged by more than one government agency with my search history. For 2022’s book, Never Coming Home, one element was figuring out what Drano does to a corpse (spoiler: it’s not pretty), the generalities of hiring a hitman on the dark web, as well as technical aspects of spyware on cell phones. Like I said: flagged!
I prefer writing about places I’ve been as there’s only so much you can do online to visualize a town (which is why I make them up in certain novels, too). We have family in New Brunswick, and when we visit, we sometimes drive from Toronto via the United States, which takes us through Maine. It’s beautiful and I loved Portland in particular. I hope to return soon.
Plot twists and secrets. I want to be surprised when I’m reading a thriller, although that can be said for any genre, so I guess you need to throw in a dead body or three somewhere as well.
I enjoy both equally although I do find when I write a man’s point-of-view I’m more direct. Nevertheless, one of my first questions is, “Whose story is this?” After that, to be honest, I try not to overthink whether I’m writing a man or a woman. The important thing is to give them a voice, develop their character and backstory, and make them seem as human to the reader as they are to me.
It depends on the book. Generally, it’s an idea for a plot first. A “what if” scenario prompted by a radio segment, as was the case for Sister Dear, or a news story, like with You Will Remember Me. With The Revenge List it was the “what if an anger management therapy exercise went wrong” question that was the genesis for the story. It’s quite fascinating how an entire fictional world can be built from nine words. Gosh, I love my job.
The Revenge List took about two weeks to plot, plus four months to write and edit to the point where it was ready to send to my editor. Structural edits thereafter were quite minimal – maybe two weeks of work. I fully expect my next ten novels to kick me in the crotch because of this!
In terms of drafts, there’s the basic puke draft/edit, then I’ll go over it probably 7-10 times before it’s ready for my editor. After that we’ll do another number of passes to restructure if necessary, and smooth out the rough bits. I love working with my editor!
I’m always with a book in hand (or headphones in my ears taking my audiobooks for a walk) and it would be awful for me to not read when I’m writing. To me, books aren’t distracting at all, but music is. I need silence when I work. My preferred writing spot, at least to draft my initial manuscripts, is our spare bedroom with its dodgy Wi-Fi connection and a laptop. I leave my phone downstairs, so I’m not tempted to check emails, the news, or go on social media. My productivity at least doubles.
Fellow crime author A.F. Brady and bookstagrammer Sonica Soares have read quite a few of my recent novels before anybody else. They’re extremely insightful and give brilliant, candid feedback, which is exactly what I need.
Cookies! But seriously, it’s the first pass after the puke draft. It takes forever and it’s my least favorite part.
A tidy desk! For me, a cluttered space = a cluttered mind. It makes me jumpy. I also need a huge jug of water.
D) INSPIRATION
I can pinpoint exactly how each book started. Time After Time is a story about a woman who’s unhappy with her life, which was me when we moved to Canada and my HR company crashed and burned, although the rest of the novel is fictional. The idea for The Neighbors came to me when two houses on our courtyard went up for sale, and I wondered who might move in. Her Secret Son stemmed from a news segment I saw while I was at the gym (probably wishing I were eating cake instead).
Sister Dear was a radio segment about a woman who’d found a wedding ring at a playground and was trying to locate the owner through social media. You Will Remember Me was inspired by the true story of a man who vanished from a ski hill in Lake Placid and showed up six days later in Sacramento with amnesia.
Never Coming Home was different – this one was character driven. I wanted to write a story from a male antagonist’s point-of-view, and Lucas literally popped into my head and said, “Ta-daa! Okay, I’m here, get writing!”
With The Revenge List, it was after batting various plot ideas around with my agent Carolyn, and former editor Emily that a random idea popped into my head: “What if an anger management group therapy exercise went terribly wrong?” That was it—we all needed to know what the rest of the story was.
Long-standing ones are Lisa Jewell, David Nicholls, and one of my closest friends, Jennifer Hillier. I’ll read anything they write.
Newer additions include Kimberly Belle, Heather Gudenkauf, Gilly Macmillan, Mary Kubica, Hank Phillippi Ryan, Caz Frear – there are so many brilliant authors it’s hard to name only a few.
Heck no! There might be the odd detail here or there, but the rest is made up.
E) MARKETING
In collaboration with my publisher, HarperCollins who are incredibly supportive and have a fabulous team I can’t praise highly enough. I’m also very active on social media and love connecting with readers, reviewers, and bloggers. My author friends and bookstagrammers / book bloggers are fabulous champions of my novels, too. Their tireless enthusiasm is a balm for the writerly soul and I’m grateful to every single one of them. It really does take a village.
Well…with online events I never have to ask, “Does my bum look big in this?” But seriously, one fantastic thing that happened is First Chapter Fun. Back in March 2020, when Covid first hit Canada, I was in a Messenger chat with a group of authors, discussing how we could help promote one another and give our books a boost. I half-jokingly offered to read the first chapter of their novels on Facebook and Instagram, and within a few days I had over 40 daily readings lined up and launched First Chapter Fun. I read for 53 days in a row (didn’t think the “must do hair and make-up” thing through very well), introducing viewers to a new novel and author each day.
In May 2020, I teamed up with my partner-in-fictional-crime, powerhouse crime author Hank Phillippi Ryan. We created a new Facebook group www.facebook.com/groups/firstchapterfun and www.instagram.com/firstchapterfun. We now read once a week, every Tuesday on both platforms simultaneously at 12.30 pm ET, and often have giveaways. All the previously aired episodes are saved and can be viewed at leisure. It’s a wonderful community where we share the love of books and introduce new and/or new-to-you authors twice a week. Our goal is to keep your “to be read” pile completely out-of-control and, or so we’ve been told, we’re succeeding. Hank and I have also become great friends and talk all the time, something for which I’ll be eternally grateful.
F) ADVICE
Try different sub-genres, of which there are many. Perhaps you love police procedurals, or psychological thrillers may fascinate you. Maybe you don’t want something overly graphic, so cozies might be to your taste, or alternatively you could go hard-boiled noir. I think some people have the impression thrillers are all blood, guts, and gore, but that’s not the case. There’s something for everyone.
Read as much and often as you can and listen to audio books. I wrote an article about how the latter make you a better author here. Write, even if you think it’s rubbish, because an empty page is impossible to edit. Another tip someone once suggested was to skip ahead if I couldn’t get a grasp on a chapter or scene, that I should focus on another part of the manuscript and trust myself enough to backfill later. It was revolutionary to me, and it beats the heck out of staring at a blank page or shoving my hand in the cookie jar.
Also, I was advised to read my manuscript out loud. Every. Single. Word. Doing so helps avoid repetition, improves cadence, and zaps stilted dialogue. And, finally, share your work. It can be scary, but it’s the only way you’ll get feedback and improve your craft. Speaking of feedback: try not to take it personally. It’s unlikely lip service will get you where you want to be.
G) ABOUT ME
Writing novels wasn’t on my radar until we moved from Switzerland to Canada in 2010. When we arrived, and my HR start-up company failed, it catapulted me into deciding what I truly wanted to do, and whether I wanted to reinvent myself. After a long while (with a lot of moping about) I realized the answer was to become an author, and I got to work.
My debut was a rom com called Time After Time (2016) a light-hearted story about paths not taken. After that I wanted to write grittier stories, and quickly transitioned to the dark side of suspense.
My thrillers are:
The Neighbors (2018)
Her Secret Son (2019)
Sister Dear (2020)
You Will Remember Me (2021)
Never Coming Home (2022)
The Revenge List (2023)
The thriller for 2024 is done and I’m working on the one for 2025. It all does a great job of keeping me out of trouble.
NEWSFLASH: I’m branching out this year! My holiday romantic comedy, The Christmas Wager will publish as Holly Cassidy in fall of 2023. It’s about real-estate hot-shot Bella, who’s tasked with purchasing an old, failing Christmas store in the quaint little town of Maple Falls, which is nestled in the Colorado mountains. She thinks it’ll be easy…until she meets the owner’s stubborn but hunky grandson, electrician Jesse. Bella wants the store for next to nothing, Jesse refuses, and they end up competing in the town’s quirky annual Holiday Games. Sparks fly – as do snowballs – but will these rivals find love together?
I’m excited to take you on a trip to Maple Falls this autumn. It was such fun to go back to my rom com roots and I’m hoping to continue doing this in conjunction with my thrillers.
I remember telling my dad when I was about thirteen that I wanted to own a company. Not a huge surprise considering I grew up in the eighties when Wall Street and shoulder pads reined supreme.
At age 26, when I became a shareholder of the IT recruitment company I worked for in Switzerland, I accomplished that dream and shifted the goal posts to becoming the boss. I was promoted to CEO age 35. I’ve always been very driven, which definitely helped with my writing career.
I worked in IT recruitment for fifteen years before coming to Canada and was the CEO for a pan-European company. Perhaps I’d still be doing that if I didn’t change careers over a decade ago. If I was told I had to stop writing, I’d have to find a job in publishing somewhere. I can’t imagine working in another industry now.
I have absolutely no idea, but the last one was Things We Do in the Dark by Jennifer Hillier. It got right under my skin, and I’ll admit to shedding a few tears. It’s not something that happens very often.
Gosh, yes, absolutely. When I was in my thirties, we had three kids in 16 months (twins the second time around, I’m not an alien) and while my husband was a stay-at-home dad, I was the CEO of a European IT recruitment company. I was so busy, I don’t think I picked up a novel in five years, and I missed them dearly. I’m so glad reading books is such a large part of my job now.
Always with a cup of Yorkshire tea (milk and a tiny bit of sugar, please) and a hug from my husband (and kids, if they let me, lol).
I listen to all kinds of music but I’m useless at remembering the names of singers or bands. Impossible to choose a favourite book, but one of my favourite movies is Inception because it’s so utterly brilliant. The other is still Love, Actually. I watch it every Christmas when I’m wrapping presents, know most of the words and absolutely adore it. Nocturnal Animals and Arrival haunted me. They’re both excellent.
I’m looking forward to visiting my family and friends in Switzerland. I can’t wait to get back into the mountains.
I only attended school in English for three years, from age 8-11. The rest of my studies were in German and French, so I never took English literature (sorry, Shakespeare)! Oh, and my maiden name is Abplanalp, a very traditional Swiss-German name that has a story about a baby, a crib, and a landslide (yup!) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abplanalp
I read a lot, as one might expect, and love being whisked away into the worlds other authors create—thrillers, romantic comedies, or otherwise.
I love getting outdoors for a hike, I’m a huge fan of the movies (I love the trailers!), I have a home gym with a water rower that’s a great workout and incredibly peaceful.
We have three teenage boys, so my husband and I spend time with them as often as they’ll let us. Watching films or playing board or card games as a family are some of my favourite things to do. There’s something deeply comforting about us having a laugh together and hanging out. Oh, I cook too, and love to bake. I make a mean lemon cheesecake, and yummy wholewheat bread.
It would be interesting to work with another author on project, however, and while I don’t have anyone specific in mind, it would have to be someone who plots their stories. I have a lot of trouble writing without an outline, and not knowing where I’m headed. I’d get very antsy, and I think it would compromise things.
Thank you for your continued support. Readers, reviewers, bloggers and bookstagrammers are so generous and creative in everything they do for the book community. It’s truly a wonder to behold and they are magic!
H) WHAT’S NEXT
My holiday romantic comedy, The Christmas Wager, publishes as Holly Cassidy in the fall of 2023. It’s about real-estate hot-shot Bella, who’s tasked with purchasing an old, failing Christmas store in the quaint little town of Maple Falls, which is nestled in the Colorado mountains. She thinks it’ll be easy…until she meets the owner’s stubborn but hunky grandson, electrician Jesse. Bella wants the store for next to nothing, Jesse refuses, and they end up competing in the town’s quirky annual Holiday Games. Sparks fly – as do snowballs – but will these rivals find love together? I’m excited to take you on a trip to Maple Falls this autumn!
Another thriller will release in 2024 and I’m unbelievably excited already. We don’t have a title yet but it’s about the rise and demise of an all-female pop-rock group called The Bittersweet, and the lengths some of the members go to boost their fame. After all, aren’t rock bands potentially worth more dead than alive…? I can’t wait to introduce you to my brand-new protagonist, drummer Vienna.
I’m now working on the outlines for my romantic comedy for 2024, and my thriller for 2025. I hope I don’t mix up the plots (although…!).
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