Welcome to another Friday Reads blog. My featured book this week is the addictive psychological thriller, The Second Marriage by Rebecca De Winter. Rebecca is going to tell us a little about the book, and her writing life. So grab yourself a cuppa, get cosy, and let’s get chatting to Rebecca. 😊
Blurb
New husband. Old secrets.
I know it’s a cliche, but your wedding day really does go past in a blur, even if you’ve done it before. When I look back, I only remember snippets: walking down the aisle of the ballroom, my silk skirts blowing in the sea breeze…
I thought my second marriage would be different. He was everything my first husband wasn’t – magnetic, successful… But I started noticing things. Small things at first, then bigger ones.
Why was there an old phone hidden in his desk? And those torn-up letters he tried to hide? At first, I thought he must be cheating, but it wasn’t that. It was a hundred times worse.
They say there’s nothing like becoming someone’s wife. But guess what’s even more unforgettable? Becoming his widow on the same day. Did he think he was the only one with skeletons in his closet? It turns out, some secrets aren’t meant to be told…
*Limited time offer – 99p / 99c on Kindle until 13th Oct*
Link – https://geni.us/335-rd-two-am
Welcome to my blog, Rebecca. Have you always wanted to be a writer?
Yes, since I was a child. My first word was, allegedly, book, and I’ve not stopped being obsessed since. I’m a total bookworm and wrote my first stories as a little kid. I wrote terrible poetry as a teenager but then stopped writing in my 20s when I was a bookseller and working in publishing because I was convinced I would never be good enough.
I still don’t think I’m good enough but I do know that giving up meant I’d definitely never get published, so I gave writing a try anyway!
And your perseverance paid off! Has any author inspired you?
I’m always inspired by authors – both those I know and those I read. But the ones that inspire me most are the ones that push boundaries and make me think. My favourite book is, controversially, American Psycho – although I’m a big fan generally of Bret Easton Ellis – I find his style is like pop art, but in book form.
In terms of writers who inspire me now, I loved Boy Parts by Eliza Clark, A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G Summers, almost anything Ottessa Moshfegh writes Ashley Winstead, and also Gaynor Jones, who is an immensely talented short story writer and novelist, and a friend of mine.
I love writers who explore the female experience from completely different and unique perspectives and really shine a light on the reality of our world.
What are you writing at the moment?
I’m currently working on my 3rd novel, which is another thriller and I pitched it to my editor as Where the crawdads sing x sharp objects.
It’s about a woman who, since the disappearance of her teenage sister, a decade ago, can’t seem to get her life together. She’s travelling in Asia when she’s summoned home to Savannah by her mother as her father is dying of cancer. When she returns home, a body is found and she takes the chance to lay her sister’s ghost to rest once and for all. But when she goes digging up the past, is blood thicker than water when it comes to finding out the truth?
What inspired you to write this book?
A combination of things. I really love atmospheric novels where the setting of the novel is almost a character in itself. I wanted to write something where the tension and atmosphere isn’t just driven by the plot and characters but also the landscape they live in.
Savannah is surrounded by marshland and I like the idea of a liminal place, where water can easily erode familiar territory. The city of Savannah is also allegedly the most haunted city in America. I wanted to write a book where the characters are haunted by many things – the ghost of their pasts,, the people they’ve loved, and the things they did or didn’t do.
Really though it’s a book about all different forms of love – familial, platonic, sexual, obsessive – and what happens when that love is betrayed.
It sounds intriguing! What advice would you give to other writers?
I have three main pieces of writing advice.
- Don’t give up. Honestly, I think that is the main reason I’ve managed to get published.
- Don’t flinch. By this I mean, don’t pull back from crucial moments in your book. You need your readers to feel something. And so when you’re writing something scary or something sexy or something sad, face directly into whatever it is you’re feeling inside.
- Follow the weird. Basically if, when you’re writing, your brain obsessively wants you to watch certain movies or shows, or listen to certain songs, or read certain books or investigate weird little Wikipedia rabbit holes, DO IT. It usually means your brain is exploring certain themes or concepts and it’ll come out in your writing.
That’s excellent advice, Rebecca. Thanks so much for dropping by to talk to us today. I hope your book soars!
Meet Rebecca
Author bio
Rebecca de Winter started her career as a bookseller and in UK/International Sales for Penguin Random House before ending up in Talent Consulting. A self-declared bookworm, it took being a finalist in the Daily Mail/Penguin Random House First Novel Competition 2018 for her to follow her childhood dreams of being a thriller writer. A published flash fiction author, Rebecca’s first novel – Best Friends came out in 2023 and her latest novel, The Second Marriage, is out now. Rebecca lives in Surrey with her husband and two sons.
Contact links
Karen King 