Blog Tour: The Fear - Author Interview with CL Taylor


Today is my stop in the Blog Tour for The Fear and I'm over the moon to welcome author CL Taylor to the blog for a Q&A. Her psychological thrillers are always a highlight of my bookish year and The Fear is no exception, gripping, tense and so unexpected!

Hi and welcome to Alba in Bookland. First of all, could you tell us a bit about yourself?

Hi Alba, thanks for inviting me to visit your blog. I’m C.L. Taylor, otherwise known as Cally, and I’m the author of five psychological thrillers and one young adult thriller (all of them published by HarperCollins). I live in Bristol with my partner and our six year old son. 

Can you now tell us a bit about your new book, The Fear?

The Fear is about three women whose lives are changed forever as a result of meeting one man, karate teacher Mike Hughes. When Lou Wandsworth, the girl he ran away to France with when she was just fourteen, returns to her home town to clear her late father’s house, the three women’s lives intersect, and more than one of them are in danger.

Reviews seem to agree that The Fear is your best book yet. What do you think makes this story so special and shocking?

I am absolutely thrilled that reviewers think The Fear is my best book yet. The Fear is slightly different from my other books (where women find themselves in strange or dangerous situations) because Lou actively goes after Mike, to confront him for what he did to her when she was fourteen. She’d the strongest, most pro-active female character I’ve written so far, although she’s also quite vulnerable. I also write from the point of view of Wendy and Chloe, the other women in the book and I think what makes the book quite powerful is that each of their stories are gripping and unusual and, when they all meet for the first time…well, that would be telling. 

Characters in your stories are always complex and feel very real. How do you research your characters? Do you talk to experts, go to places where they go too, base them on real people?

Thank you, that’s a huge compliment. When I start writing my books I normally know what each character wants (their goal), what their flaw is and what they fear. I spend a lot of time thinking about their past. What happened before the stories starts that made them the way they are? We’re all the result of our childhood and the relationships we’ve had since, whether we like it or not and I spend a lot of time thinking about my character’s pasts. They evolve as I write them and I am always surprised by the person they become. I had no idea when I started writing The Fear, for example, that Wendy would turn out to have such a twisted sense of humour! 

Which character do you hold closer to your heart? And which is the one most similar to you?

My all-time favourite character is Wendy. She was an absolute delight to write. I literally never knew quite what she was going to say or do next and I smiled a lot when I wrote her scenes. All of my main characters are a little bit like me in some way but the character most like me is probably Claire Wilkinson from The Missing. She’s a mother, a people pleaser and she puts her family’s happiness before her own. She’s also a little bit of a control freak, like me.

How do you feel coming back to the adult psychological thrillers after your latest YA release? Do you write both genres in the same way or do you take different approaches?

I’m very lucky in that I get to alternate between adult psychological thrillers and YA thrillers. My adult thrillers are much more emotionally taxing as I tackle much darker themes so I almost need to brace myself emotionally before I start writing one. I go to much darker places in my head. My YA thrillers are about three quarters of the length of the adult books and, whilst I still work as hard to plot and research them, I can have more fun whilst writing the action scenes and I really enjoying tapping into the fears and preoccupations of my teenaged self. 

And finally, can we expect another book from you soon? Do you have any more YA stories in the pipeline? 

This year is another busy one for me as I’m currently writing my sixth psychological thriller for adults. Then, almost as soon as I’ve completed my edits etc, I need to start writing my second YA thriller. I recently spoke to my YA editor and she signed off on my idea. It’ll be quite different from The Treatment and I can’t wait to start writing it. 

About the Book:

Title: The Fear
Author: CL Taylor
Published: March 22nd by Avon

Blurb: Sometimes your first love won’t let you go…

When Lou Wandsworth ran away to France with her teacher Mike Hughes, she thought he was the love of her life. But Mike wasn’t what he seemed and he left her life in pieces.

Now 32, Lou discovers that he is involved with teenager Chloe Meadows. Determined to make sure history doesn’t repeat itself, she returns home to confront him for the damage he’s caused.

But Mike is a predator of the worst kind, and as Lou tries to bring him to justice, it’s clear that she could once again become his prey…

The million copy Sunday Times bestseller returns with a gripping psychological thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat.

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3 comentaris

  1. Great interview Alba. I've only read The Accident, to date, but this sounds like one I'd enjoy!
    #TalkoftheTown

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  2. I recently won a copy of this book, and I'm looking forward to reading it. It's always good to hear from authors, and especially when they say they are writing their next book.
    Amanda. #ToTT

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  3. I'm a bit biased where Cally is concerned because I miss her romcoms ... but I love how successful she is in this genre!

    Loved reading your interview Alba. Thank you for linking on TalkoftheTown

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