A Q&A WITH ALEX MOON

1.    Briefly introduce yourself.

I'm Alex Moon, a thriller author from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. I love stories with high stakes, twists and turns, and propulsive plots.

2.    If you could describe You'll Pay in 3 words, what would they be?

Twisty, anxiety-inducing, and exciting.

3.    Without giving away any spoilers, what was your favourite part/chapter of the book to write?

The scene mentioned in the blurb, when Ellie (the protagonist) finds a certain dead body in her bed, was the scene I envisioned the book around, so it was really gratifying to bring it to life. It marks a huge psychological turning point where the narrative goes from "something isn't quite right here" to "something is very, very wrong." I loved writing her breakdown as she tries to make sense of a seemingly senseless crime. Usually, I start writing when I feel satisfied with both the opening hook and halfway turning point in mind, even if the ending is still a little blurry, and this midpoint excited me enough to carry me through to the end.

4.    What inspired you to write this book?

Apart from enjoying similar books in the genre, I'd recently been watching a series of Hitchcock movies with my wife (there's an easter egg related to Hitchcock in the novel for an extra layer of fun). Somehow, I'd never seen Rear Window before, and I was blown away by how compelling the narrative was and how well it still held up so many years later. Suburban paranoia is ripe for psychological thrills, and I wanted to try an approach that captured a similar feeling but took things in a different direction. What if, I wondered, instead of the neighbors acting suspicious at arm's length, they were incredibly friendly and helpful? How might that affect the increasing feeling of 'wrongness' in what they were doing? From there, the idea spiralled into what it eventually became.

5.    What are you currently reading/enjoying?

I recently enjoyed Caleb Stephens' newest novel, You'll Never Know, which is a cat-and-mouse suspense story that I couldn't put down. I also enjoyed Chris Whitaker's All the Colors of the Dark. It's a blend of thriller and coming-of-age that has a lot of heart. Yesterday, I picked up Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower, and so far, it's a killer dystopian story.