The Lady in The Attic, a psychological thriller by Mount Pearl creator Emily Hepditch, has been voted this yr’s NL Reads contest winner.
“It’s been my dream to be a author since I used to be a little bit lady,” stated Hepditch, an O’Donel Excessive Faculty graduate. “So, simply having the ebook revealed is the largest dream accomplished. To be nominated for NL Reads was the win for me. To be alongside the superb writers who have been additionally up for the award, I felt so honoured and humbled. That was a win alone, a win in and of itself. After which to win, on prime of that, I used to be utterly thoughts blown.”
Different authors up for the title have been Gemma Hickey, Douglas Walbourne-Gough, and Séan McCann with Andrea Aragon.
Hepditch, an avid fan of psychological thriller writers comparable to Lisa Jewel and Gillian Flynn, describes the novel as a standard psychological thriller set in Newfoundland, impressed partly by highway journeys across the province.
“One of many issues that actually struck me the summer time I wrote it was how haunting the geography is in Newfoundland,” stated Hepditch. “You may go to any form of deserted or resettled neighborhood and see these salt field houses which can be left there to rot. And I assumed, ‘What an ideal setting for a thriller.’ As a result of actually, it’s creepy, however nonetheless so hauntingly stunning. I assumed that the setting could possibly be a personality in and of itself.”
The style could possibly be described as a psychological narrative, largely coping with a personality’s innerworkings and understanding of the world because it seems to be, in a thriller setting. They usually share components of thriller, Gothic, and horror fiction, together with homicide, paranoia, and household secrets and techniques.
“I believe everyone likes a great scare once in a while,” stated Hepditch. “I believe it was a ebook that appealed to quite a lot of readers, younger and outdated. It’s a ebook individuals can decide up and really feel the thrills.”
The story revolves round a younger girl who returns house to assist her mom transition into assisted residing and discovers that her mother, and possibly even the very house, maintain harmful secrets and techniques.
Written in August of 2019 and revealed in April of 2020, the novel was launched simply as Newfoundland and Labrador was coming into its first COVID-19 lockdown — and on the lookout for books to learn.
“Folks have informed me that it’s been a distraction,” stated Hepditch. “Folks, over the course of quarantine, have stated, ‘This has been a pleasant break from my present actuality.’”
Hepditch, who has since launched a second novel, a thriller that follows 4 associates on a climbing journey that turns harmful, shared some recommendation for these interested by pursing a profession in writing.
“The very best factor to do is construct your community,” stated Hepditch. “So, now we have an incredible community, the Author’s Alliance of Newfoundland. I strongly encourage anyone to affix, even should you’re on the very earliest levels of your writing profession, as a result of it actually does give you a assist system. As a result of different writers wish to assist one another.”
She additionally really useful that aspiring writers be prepared to step outdoors their consolation zone to make their voices heard.
“It’s a protracted highway to get revealed. And, it may be very lonely and really scary, however on the finish of the deal, you probably have a narrative you’re feeling compelled to inform, you’ve received to battle for a possibility to inform it, so don’t hand over,” stated Hepditch. “All people who has a narrative to inform deserves the chance to share it.”
Mark Squibb, Native Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Shoreline Information
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