Everyone has experienced that spooky house in town. The one kids whisper about and parents warn to them to keep their distance from. The house that has been the scene of a murder, at least in the imaginations of every kid old enough to grasp the idea that the boogeyman is real. But what if you had the opportunity to buy that house. Live in it. Experience the secrets first-hand? Debut author Kate Mooney did just that in her new book THE WOMAN OF THE HOUSE.
And of course, I had to interview her!
Kym: Welcome to the Cozy Corner, Kate!
Kate: Hello! Thank you so much for having me!
Kym: Tell us about your writing journey and how THE WOMAN OF THE HOUSE landed on your editor’s desk.
Kate: I started writing THE WOMAN OF THE HOUSE during the pandemic. At that time, I was fortunate enough to stay at my dad’s house in Wisconsin, and I made it a habit of walking the path around the lake, which is lined with beautiful, expensive homes. I wondered, what if the interior of the house didn’t match the perfect exterior? What if, something sinister was hiding beneath that new coat of paint?
I was working full-time while I wrote THE WOMAN OF THE HOUSE, so it took me quite a bit of time to finish it, but once I met my wonderful agent, Nicole, things took off and within the year, I had a book deal with Berkley. It’s been such an amazing experience and I’m still pinching myself that it’s real.
Kym: How would you describe the differences in your writing schedule as an award winning advertising copywriter and an author? What pace is more demanding?
Kate: Writing for advertising is like quick little dopamine hits. It’s fast paced because the deadlines are tighter. So, I’m getting feedback on my work and making revisions on a daily basis. Writing novels, on the other hand, is a slow burn. You have to fall in love with an idea. Then, you have to sit down and write it. It’s delayed gratification, but in the best way.
Kym: Your romance with writing has been exposed. I loved chapter one in THE WOMAN OF THE HOUSE. It’s gripping and poignant, yet less than a page. How long did it take you to get it perfect (because it is perfect) and what made you decide to call it a chapter instead of a prologue?
Kate: Wow! Thank you so much! That means so much considering how much I agonized over it! I’m not sure how many times I wrote and rewrote it, but through every version and iteration, that first sentence always stayed the same. “Underwater, time stops.” I knew that was how the book should start and the rest I put together like a puzzle. In terms of it being a prologue versus a chapter, I wanted this particular image of a woman floating underwater to be the definitive start to the book.
Kym: Rose is a complicated character. There are times when you root for her, times when you hate her and times when you don’t think there can’t be a more unhinged person on earth. (Unfortunately, there are.) What was the hardest part about writing her as your main character?
Kate: Rose was actually very easy for me to write (I’m not sure what that says about me!) But I think because I lived with her for so long – first as an idea in my head and then as a character on the page, I felt like I really understood her.
Kym: Rose can’t let go of the mystery around the death of the previous owner of the lake house she and her husband purchased. Having just had a very weird experience while looking at homes (a murder/suicide occurred in one), I completely understand the obsession! Have you ever had a mystery in real life you had to have all the answers to and couldn’t let it go until you did?
Kate: I’m so sorry, that is horrifying. What a great question. One time, I was home alone and a car I didn’t recognize pulled into my driveway. I thought this was odd, but figured they were going to turn around. Instead, they flashed their headlights into the house. I was frozen on the other side of my front door. They flashed them a second time. The car sat there for what felt like an eternity before it finally left. I never knew who it was or what they wanted, but it has stayed with me.
Kym: That needs to go into a book! Rose’s husband is pretty clueless. Does he represent every significant other’s blind eye to the turmoil in their partner, or is he the type of man who doesn’t see a woman for who she is, but what he can mold her into?
Kate: Brian, for me, is like death by a thousand paper cuts. He represents every man who asks surface-level questions then fills in the blank himself, who makes assumptions and who gaslights without even knowing what the term means. He’s the guy who sees what he wants to see – nothing more, nothing less. Brian just doesn’t get it. And unfortunately, there are a lot of “Brians” out there.
Kym: No kidding. Which character did you relate to the most and why? (Don’t scare us!)
Kate: There is no right answer for this because all of the characters are a bit troubling and problematic, but I’m going to say Vick because he likes what he likes and is a bit stuck in his ways.
Kym: Without giving away too much, which scene was the hardest for you to write?
Kate: There’s a scene at the end where Rose is talking to her mom at the hospital and I think that was the hardest to write because it’s fraught with a lot of emotional turmoil and distress.
Kym: I ask all of my authors if they have a cozy corner where they like to read or write and to describe it from the POV a character. For you I’d like to change it up a bit and ask you to describe the cozy corner in the “house” from Rose’s perspective.
Kate: The sun slips behind the dark clouds on the other side of the floor-to-ceiling windows just as I curl up on the corner of the couch. Outside, the lake laps against the shore. The sound of the water should be peaceful and yet, my jaw is tight. An inexplicable chill passes through the living room despite all of the windows being closed. I pull the expensive-looking throw blanket given to us by my sister-in-law as a housewarming gift over my legs, but it does little to warm the cold that’s embedded in my bones.
Kym: Love it! Welcome to Rose’s Cozy Corner dearest readers. What are you working on now?
Kate: I’m currently working on my second novel. It takes place in small town that’s full of suspicious characters and secrets.
Kym: Are you online, and if so where can our readers find you?
Kate: You can find me on Instagram, TikTok, and on my website
Kym: Thank you, your publisher and Net Galley for an advanced copy of THE WOMAN OF THE HOUSE and thank you for joining us at the Cozy Corner on Fresh Fiction!
Kate: Thank you so much for having me!
Until next month, cozy up with a great mystery!
THE WOMAN OF THE HOUSE by Kate Mooney
A terrifying, twisty, and impossible-to-put-down supernatural thriller that reminds us that houses are never just houses—and secrets never stay buried.
Rose Crawley isn’t the perfect wife—or the perfect woman—that her husband thinks she is. And she isn’t about to let him find that out, ever. She’s finally gotten everything she’s ever wanted: a house by the lake, an adoring husband, and a fresh start from the past she’s long tried to outrun.
But the house she now calls home seems to have other plans. She wakes with bloody scratches lining her arms. She sees reflections in mirrors, only to find she’s standing alone. She hears the floors creak under invisible footsteps. And when Rose lies awake in the dark, the air feels heavy, like the house is pressing in on her, waiting for her to crack.
When Rose learns that the previous occupant, a wife and mother named Angela, vanished under suspicious circumstances, she becomes obsessed with uncovering what happened. Drawn deeper into the disappearance by her peculiar and prying neighbor, Rose digs into Angela’s past. But the more she discovers, and as the house’s strange occurrences escalate, Rose finds herself questioning not just what happened to Angela, but whether she’ll share the same fate.
Horror | Thriller Psychological [ Berkley, On Sale: October 13, 2026, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9798217189885 / eISBN: 9798217189908 ]
Buy THE WOMAN OF THE HOUSE: Amazon.com | Kindle | BN.com | Apple Books | Kobo | Google Play | Books-A-Million | Indie BookShops | Walmart.com | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon FR
About Kate Mooney
Kate Mooney is an award-winning advertising copywriter who has written for brands like BMW, HP, Cottonelle, and Fiat. Her short story “Getting Warmer” was featured in the Sisters in Crime Angel City Beat Anthology. Originally from Chicago, Kate currently lives in San Francisco with her husband, son, and dog.
WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
About Kym Roberts
Kym Roberts writes by day and is a pro-surfer in her dreams by night. Her humor is often raunchy, her jokes are often bad, but her hunger for a story keeps the adventures coming fast. Experience the thrill & catch the wave of passion, mystery and suspense with her on her website, on Facebook, and her favorite social media site, Instagram.
Her fourth Scandalous Sisters, THE WICKED BARONESS under the pseudonym Helene Matheson is available now. Watch for her new Bow Street Mysteries coming soon.
No Comments
Comments are closed.