In Silence follows a woman who is no stranger to violence, who returns home to find the dynamic she once knew vastly different, and finds herself opening her heart in ways she never intended. Where did you find the inspiration for Zara’s traits and dialogue?

I think there was an aspect of Zara that mirrored my own experiences (I was not almost murdered in the snow, but I have had multiple times when I thought I was going to die for health reasons). The difference was that I gave Zara the support and comfort I was never brave enough to reach out for. I think part of Zara’s silence was inspired by my own when I was at my most frightened. I refused to seek out comfort or help because I thought it made me weaker, and I think you can see that in Zara.

The story widens from a tight survival narrative into something closer to a sweeping character drama. How did you manage that expansion in scope?

A part of me wanted to write this thriller and have the bad guy get what he deserved in the end, with a lot of action and righteous anger. When I took a step back, I realized that, in real life, you can spend months or years (like Zara did) fighting for justice, and then it takes like ten minutes to wrap it up, and it usually happens without drama. I always knew I was going to write the capture of the bad guy in a somewhat unsatisfying way, but I wanted to give the readers Zara’s story, not just her survival.

The novel balances brutality with tenderness. How did you ensure one didn’t overwhelm the other?

By asking my betas where it felt like too much, and by keeping in touch with how the scene made me feel when I listened to it versus when I read it. Some parts may feel slightly overdone, but I think those were the ones I decided were worth it because, in the end, it is fiction, and I get to do what I want.

Was there a particular scene that was especially difficult—or especially important—for you to write?

Honestly, I’ve gotten some comments along the lines of Zara’s family being too much. And, while I can agree that it does prolong the story, it was necessary for me. My family is such a huge and important part of my life, and I was kinda tired of reading books where the found family was found because the real family was terrible. I wanted to write something where family mattered as much as action, without dramatizing the family. The last chapter also kinda hurt. I reworked it so many times, trying to come up with a different ending, but it just didn’t happen.

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