Spotlight on Kit Frick

Kit Frick is a MacDowell Fellow and International Thriller Writers Award finalist from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She studied creative writing at Sarah Lawrence College and received her MFA from Syracuse University. The author of The Split, the young adult thrillers Before We Were Sorry (originally published as See All the Stars), All Eyes on Us, I Killed Zoe Spanos, Very Bad People, and The Reunion, as well as the poetry collection A Small Rising Up in the Lungs, Kit loves a good mystery but has only ever killed her characters. Honest. 

Q: The Reunion is about a blended family coming together for what was supposed to be a joyous occasion. What gave you the inspiration for the darker turn that takes place?

“An idyllic vacation takes a dark and deadly turn” is one of my favorite thriller sub-genres. Isn’t there something so alluring about books set on trips that sound amazing—luxurious poolside cabanas, sparkling ocean views, and limitless snacks and beverages—but then take a hard left into backstabbing, revenge, and murder? (It’s not just me, is it?!)

The spark for The Reunion arrived on a recent trip I took with my large and wonderful group of girlfriends to Cancún, Mexico. I’d never stayed at an all-inclusive resort before, and I found myself as fascinated by the people we encountered as by the luxurious setting: What lurked beneath the surface for these couples and families? Everyone has secrets…

Q: This entire story is during a one-week holiday vacation and moves back and forth through time. Were there any challenges in writing to such a contained timeline?

I love a book with an interesting structure; as a writer, I thrive on this kind of craft challenge. The structure for The Reunion came together rather easily (not something I can say about every aspect of the writing process, but occasionally you hit on something that works right off the bat!). The compressed timeline mirrors the constraint felt by the characters, all subject to the sometimes suffocating experience of a week in each other’s company at a lavish but insular resort.

While the primary storyline takes place during one week—the week of the Mayweather family reunion at La Maravilla Resort Cancún—we also get flash-forwards to the following week, after a member of the Mayweather party has gone missing from the resort. Through this secondary timeline, we get glimpses into the investigation as it unfolds, and clues about the missing guest’s identity, and finally their fate, are unspooled…

Q: All of your books (including I Killed Zoe Spanos, Before We Were Sorry and Very Bad People) tend to fall into the mystery/thriller space. What draws you to the genre?

I came to YA first, then swiftly to the mystery/thriller genre from there. I began writing young adult literature in part because that time in my life—adolescence—is still very readily accessible, even though I’m decades past it now. Everything was so emotionally immediate and urgent and pivotal at fifteen, sixteen, seventeen.

When you’re a teen, so much already feels like it’s life-or-death. In my debut, Before We Were Sorry, Ellory is dealing with a best friend breakup that completely rocks her world, and the progression from that coming-of-age topic into the suspense story that drives the narrative was very natural for me. From there, all my books have been situated squarely in the mystery/thriller space; there is something that will never stop feeling emotionally true for me about making those life-or-death stakes literal in YA.

Q: Most of your stories also have a twist component. How would you describe the writing process that allows you to produce them?

Muah-ha-ha, I’ll never tell.

Okay, I’ll say this: In a story with a twist—or a final reveal, as I tend to think about it—it’s all about creating storytelling layers. There’s the story that seems to be true but is surely a lie, the real story beneath it, and the final nugget of gut-wrenching truth hidden away until the very last page.

Q: As you have now started to write Adult fiction as well, is your storytelling different or the same as when you write YA?

Every book comes with its own set of challenges requiring you to meet its needs as the storyteller. Much to my chagrin! When I started out, six books ago, I assumed authors developed one writing process and honed it with each new story. Not so! There are certainly individual craft elements I’ve been able to sharpen and take from book to book, but every story is its own beast. So in that way, every book is different, regardless of age category.

In other ways, writing adult-market fiction is very much the same as writing fiction geared toward young adults. You’re developing adult characters inhabiting an adult world, but as my adult fiction is also situated within the thriller/suspense genre, I’m splashing around in the same (dark, thrilling, and fun) storytelling pool. I’m excited for readers to discover The Split!