Fresh FIction Box Not To Miss
Lizzy Barber | 20 Questions: OUT OF HER DEPTH
Author Guest / July 12, 2022

1–What is the title of your latest release? OUT OF HER DEPTH 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? When Rachel lands a dream job in the Tuscan hills, she is drawn into a circle of privileged young Brits. But as the champagne flows and the party doesn’t stop, rivalries fester, and she begins to realize that ‘all that glitters…’ 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I lived in Florence as a student and have visited it every year since – I even got married there. I always knew that the duality of the city: beautiful piazzas fed by dark passageways; the home of both Renaissance art and the menacing Medicis: would make it the perfect setting for a thriller. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Goodness no – in fact, I think all the characters in the book are pretty awful! 5–What are three words that describe Rachel? Voyeuristic, unreliable, naive 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? What happens to a body after its spent weeks in the water (sorry!!) 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? I actually did…

Lizzy Barber | Exclusive Interview: A GIRL NAMED ANNA
Author Guest / September 6, 2019

by Teresa Cross I read that your novel, A GIRL NAMED ANNA (My Name is Anna in the UK), won the Daily Mail First Novel Competition in 2017. I can see why because I absolutely loved it! Can you share with us where your inspiration for this amazing novel came from? Thank you so much – that is such a pleasure to hear! The inspiration came from a number of different places. The idea of a child being taken from a theme park was an innate fear my mum had when I was growing up. We used to go to Disney World in Florida every year, and she had a superstition about me being snatched, based on an urban legend about children being taken from theme parks and having their shoes changed and hair cut off. Thankfully I managed to get through many a visit without this happening! I was also very interested in a rash of cases which seemed to come to light about young women who had been abducted when they were children and had been found, alive, kept captive for years. These women were all abducted when they were old enough to remember who they were – I wanted…