Q&A with Marie Still, author of We’re All Lying
By John Valeri
March 20, 2023
Marie Still’s story is a familiar one and yet entirely her own. She spent her youth obsessing over words, imaginary characters, and the darkness that unites them. Then, after college, she did the pragmatic thing and got a job—or a series of them—that would afford her financial security while still allowing her to work with words, albeit to a different end. After having achieved executive-level status, marriage, and motherhood, she found herself with enough time to devote to her own writing. The result is her first novel of psychological suspense, We’re All Lying.
The author graciously took time away from her works in progress to reflect on her path to publication, the use of pseudonyms (she also writes under the name Kristen Seeley), and what her future fiction holds. She also revealed the inner workings of We’re All Lying, from the book’s origins and personal and professional inspirations to its nuanced characters and multiple point-of-view structure.
John Valeri: We’re All Lying is your debut novel, though you’ve been a lifelong lover of books and words. How did that history lead up to this moment—and what do you think it is about this story that made it “the one?”
Marie Still: Oh gosh, I’ve had such a long journey with books and writing. When I was a kid, I just knew that writing novels was my ultimate goal. Then, after college, I worked in advertising, PR, and marketing which also involves a significant amount of writing, I’ve just been telling brand and product stories versus my own made-up ones. My kids were finally older, giving me a bit more time, and I just said one day I’m going to sit down and write a book. We’re All Lying is actually the second book I wrote. Beverly Bonnefinche Is Dead, which comes out in September under Kristen Seeley, was my first.
Valeri: With marriage and parenting come inevitable fears and insecurities. How were you able to draw on the emotional truth(s) of spouse- and motherhood to inform Cass’s reality, no matter how different from your own?
Marie Still: I definitely pulled from experience, the highs and lows of marriage and raising four kids, but also from watching a lot of true crime. I find jealousy and love so fascinating as they can really step in front of a person’s rational self and make people do and say things they wouldn’t normally do or say.
Valeri: Cass is a successful businessperson whose reputation is threatened in the wake of her husband’s infidelity. Tell us about the intersection of her personal and professional lives—and why such an occurrence can be particularly damaging for a woman.
Marie Still: I’ve been a female executive in male dominated industries for most of my career. There is a different kind of pressure women face in the workforce. While many smart and great leaders (men and women) respect strong women, double standards still run rampant in the corporate world. Women often have this extra layer of balancing they have to do, earning respect while having their words, actions, and behaviors picked apart more deeply than their male counterparts. Cass has been holding in her emotions for a long time; they’ve been a ticking time-bomb. The affair was the match that released years of repented feelings.
Valeri: The novel alternates perspectives between three main characters—Cass, Ethan (her husband), and Alice (her assistant)—whose internal and external lives are often at odds. What was your process like for developing these complex personas and then rendering them believably, if not always likably, on the page?
Marie Still: I do love an unlikable character you love to hate. That’s not everyone’s cuppa, and that’s totally fine. I had a lot of fun playing with the whole idea that the image these characters fight so hard to portray externally to cover who they are internally—even if they haven’t fully realized or accepted who they are. This is so common in everyday life, though. People curate their life into just the good moments. Take social media, for example. Everyone knows at least one person (probably a lot more) whose social media is the model of perfection. Nobody’s life is perfect. But being vulnerable is hard, and for some people it’s harder than others, which is one of Cass’s biggest internal battles.
Valeri: To expand on that, in what ways does alternating POVs enhance the story—and how did you go about accounting for the intricacies of this narrative structure?
Marie Still: I construct my stories in scenes. With We’re All Lying, there were so many things being hidden and going on behind everyone’s back that it was necessary to give everyone a voice and give the reader a peek into those moments the other characters were missing.
Valeri: Emma—the “other woman”—is also a pivotal figure, though not a POV one. What was the importance of revealing the many facets of her character through the eyes of others—especially in consideration of her mysterious disappearance?
Marie Still: Emma at one point did have POV chapters. In the final draft I wanted her to be a ghost, this construct of a person in Cass’s and Ethan’s minds. Cass is hurt, angry, betrayed, but she struggles with hating Emma, because Ethan is really the one at fault here. However, those emotions come in and sometimes take over. I also wanted to show that Ethan was not a good dude. He’s a manipulator, gas-lighter, and left a wake of victims in his path. Yet another complication for Cass: They have kids together, so regardless of what she chose, she still had to raise her kids with this man.
Valeri: You also write under the name Kristen Seeley. What distinguishes that work from what you write under your own name—and what crossover appeal might readers find between the two?
Marie Still: Marie Still and Kristen Seeley novels both explore darker themes, human emotions. Where Marie Still is strictly thriller, Kristen Seeley is where I step outside of the thriller genre and explore those themes in different ways.
Valeri: Leave us with a teaser. What comes next—both for Marie Still and Kristen Seeley?
Marie Still: Marie Still—Eloise the stay-at-home mom serial killer (My Darlings) releases in 2024, and I just finished The Woman from 3A. I have a folder full of potentials, but I think my cult-living-in-plain-sight book may win out.
Kristen Seeley—I just started a new book. I love the concept and main character, and I know I’ll have a lot of fun writing it. More info to come!
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