Pub Day Spotlight: Lisa Unger
Celebrating Close Your Eyes and Count to Ten
I’m thrilled to sit down with New York Times and internationally bestselling author Lisa Unger today as her brand-new thriller hits stores everywhere. Known for her psychological suspense novels such as Confessions on the 7:45, Last Girl Ghosted, Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six, and The New Couple in 5B, Lisa is back with another white-knuckle survival thriller. In Close Your Eyes and Count to Ten (Park Row, Feb 25), a seemingly innocent childhood game turns into a deadly nightmare. Adele, a single mother drowning in debt, has pinned her hopes on winning the $1-million prize in the streaming reality competition “Extreme Hide and Seek.” Host Maverick Dillan and his team fly the competitors to a remote island that Adele quickly learns may have dangers of its own. As the audience follows along online, what starts out as a social media stunt soon turns into a deadly race for survival as an intense storm rages and players start to go missing. As entertainment blurs with reality, this tense thriller asks how far someone might go to protect the ones they love. BookPage calls Lisa “the queen of thrillers you can also discuss with your book club.” We agree—she gives us lots to talk about! And we’re thrilled she took the time out to chat with us just as her new book lands. Join us in wishing Lisa a happy pub day—and we hope you enjoy this Q&A!
In the intro, we stated a little of what Close Your Eyes and Count to Ten is about. Can you tell us more? And then, our favorite question at Friends & Fiction, what’s the book really about?
Maverick Dillan has lived his life in front of camera, globe-hopping, and thrill-seeking in the world of extreme sports and competitions. He’s a wild man, living for himself and the next big adrenaline rush. Adele is a single mom who has struggled to hold the pieces of her life, and the lives of her kids, together after her husband embezzled millions from his company and disappeared, leaving them with nothing. In the aftermath of the shame and the betrayal, Adele sought to make herself fitter and stronger, getting in shape and starting her own WeWatch (my fictionalized version of YouTube) channel about overcoming adversity and taking your life back. Two people could not be more different, could not have more different motivations and drivers. And yet they are on a collision course, heading to remote Falcao Island for Maverick’s extreme game of hide-and-seek. A million dollars would be game changer for Adele and her kids — or so she thinks. But what happens when the stakes change? And it’s not about winning anymore, but about survival.
What’s it really about? For Mav, who has lived his life in front of and for the camera, it’s about what’s underneath it all. What’s the real truth about life, about self? Is there someone real beneath the performative videos and cropped, filtered, images? Is there a man who cares about authentic things like Angeline, the woman he wants to marry? And when the cameras go off, what remains? For Adele and her kids, Violet and Blake, the story is about what it really takes to be safe in this world, what you truly need. Is it just money that buys security and safety? Or is it something deeper? And what are you willing to risk to find out?
The setting for this novel is so dramatic and atmospheric. You take us to remote, ruggedly beautiful Falcao Island and a creepy abandoned hotel. Was this inspired by a real place?
It was! My family and I took a trip to the Azores, a Portuguese archipelago in the middle of the Atlantic. The islands are so stunningly beautiful, so dramatic and wild; I was inspired as soon as I stepped off the plane. Falcao Island is a fictional version of a real place.
My family and I were about to embark upon a hike around the rim of a volcanic lake when a storm blew in from nowhere and rained us out, sent us racing back to our rental car. On our way back to the hotel, we came across an abandoned structure. It was a towering black monster reaching up through the deep green foliage, surrounded by signs: Peligro! No Entra! Quite obvious in any language to stay out. But, of course, I couldn’t do that! We explored the abandoned hotel, crumbling and covered in graffiti, wind howling through spaces and water dripping. It was a ruin! Beautiful and terrifying. There was no way NOT to write about that place!
In this novel you give us a stark and vivid portrayal of the virtual world and of our collective obsession with social media. We get a fairly uncomfortable look at our own performative culture, and of the world of online fame and internet influencers. Why did this topic interest you? Did you always want to write about it?
I am always interested in technology and the way it’s rewriting how we live and relate to each other. In Last Girl Ghosted it was online dating. In Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six in was the Airbnb style home rentals. Confessions on the 7:45 delved into the dangers of social media.
So, for a while, I’ve been obsessed with the concept of YouTube fame—what makes some of these folks famous and what is a life lived only for the camera, for likes, follows, and sponsorships. What does that do to a person? How do they experience the world? When my daughter was little, I used to watch these YouTube shows with her. And one of the things she liked was the games of extreme hide and seek in abandoned buildings — haunted houses, and deserted asylums, decayed urban areas. And she was so into it. But it was clearly just staged for the camera. How can you be hiding if someone is filming you? I was fascinated by that — about the engagement I saw in my daughter, how generationally I couldn’t really relate. And how there were all these YouTube celebrities that she was so enamored by simply because of their personality, online stunts, and bizarre (to me) activities for the camera. So, that obsession kind of collided with the inspirational event in the Azores. And off I went!
In Close Your Eyes and Count to Ten, what starts out as a social media stunt becomes far more sinister. It feels like reality television gone awry as the game turns into a deadly race for survival. Where did you come up with the idea for this unique conceit for the plot of this novel? Are you a consumer of reality television?
Strangely, I’m not a regular consumer of reality television. But my husband and I used to watch “Survivor” — which I think was maybe one of the first. And I was fascinated by it for all the same reasons that the YouTube stunts fascinated me. How personalities clashed, and people schemed and risked so much, and how it was just shy of “real,” for a crash prize. More recently, “Alone” captured my attention, where people who have varying skills of survivalist training are just dropped off in the wilderness with a camera and a satellite phone. I was interested in when those folks tapped out — how much fear, danger, aloneness you could handle if there was a big payout at the end, and what was the moment when it suddenly wasn’t worth it anymore.
Your characters are always very real and believable. In this book, Maverick Dillan is a charismatic daredevil and an extreme adventurer. How did you devise this character? Did you do much in the way of research? Was he inspired by anyone you know?
I have always been fascinated by this kind of man — (ha ha, my husband is a bit of an adrenaline junkie, though he’s chilled some over the years!). Probably it interested me because it’s so different from who I am. I like to think of myself as a comfort junkie! Spa treatments and high thread counts give me all the thrills I need. Understanding people, what drives and motivates them, I would say is the number one reason why I write. I think of myself as spelunker, shimmying into all the dark spaces of the human psyche. So, if I’m writing about someone, it means I’m trying to understand what makes him or her tick. Writing about people is how I seek to understand human nature — it all its glory and misery. And I just started hearing Maverick’s voice, so different from Adele, and I wanted to explore all the reasons he became the kind of person he is at the beginning of the book, and look at all the reasons he changes (or does he?) at the end.
And how about Adele? She’s very relatable as a single mother in dire financial straits determined to protect her kids and make it home safe to her family. Where did she come from? Are there bits of you in Adele?
Ha, yes. Of course, there are little bits of me in all my characters — without any of them being exactly me. What I admired most about Adele was her strength, her devotion to her children, and her willingness to take big risks — even though she wasn’t a hundred percent sure that she could do it. My pal Ace Atkins and I talk about the idea of the “strong” character, the male tough guy wielding a gun and saving the world. And how that is culturally a type of bravery we all understand.
But there’s a kind of strength that a woman possesses, a mettle that is required to walk through this world in a female body, to give birth to children, to take care of those little people often at the expense of your own health and well-being, to work, to be who you are, to continue to grow and endure life’s many insults and hardships. It’s far more interesting to me to explore that, than it would be to write about the person with the gun racing a ticking clock to save the world. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that!)
Boy, do you really know how to ratchet up the tension! Your pacing is incredible as you reveal secret after secret, like peeling back the layers of an onion. In this novel we have multiple points of view. On the surface it’s a locked-room thriller, but you tell it through podcast episodes, video diaries, and a fictional YouTube-type network. How did you come up with this complex structure? Did you always conceive of the story unfolding in this way? Or did it come to you as you went along? In other words, plotter or pantser?
I like to think of myself more as a gardener! A seed is planted in fertile soil; it grows. I give it light, air, water, do a little pruning here and there. And in about a year, there’s a novel! Stories unfold for me on the page in much the same way they will for my reader. I write for the same reason that I read, because I want to know what’s going to happen to the people living in my head. So, I’m always in suspense, too!
I didn’t really expect the story to tell itself the way it did — sometimes through a podcast, private video diaries, performed live social media broadcasts. I think it was just a natural way for the story — which is very much about how we broadcast our lives now — to unfold. What is real? What is true? In a world where everyone has access to a camera, the ability to broadcast himself, make herself “famous" for no reason at all, then how do we know what is real, authentic, and wholesome? Who is telling the story — and who is believing it?
You and I have discussed this before, but I am obsessed with your book titles and packages. They are just so expertly done by your team at Park Row. You have another winner here—one look at that cover and the reader is a goner, sucked in before we get to page one. Tell us what your involvement is in selecting these titles and cover designs. Do you drive this, or is it a team effort? As an author, how important do you find the packaging to be?
I have to say the team at Park Row is just stellar. My brilliant editor Erika Imranyi is my total partner in crime — from first draft to final book. And I will say when it comes to packaging, it’s really about them. The art team just keeps turning out these truly stunning covers. And all I can say is most of the time is — WOW. Titles tend to be more collaborative. I may or may not have a title I’m attached to; it may or may not work for Erika or the sales and marketing teams. So, it becomes about finding the title that makes us all go: Aha! That’s it! Sometimes it’s out of the gate — sometimes it’s a lot of back and forth. But we always get there!
You are the current co-President of the International Thriller Writers organization. Tell us why organizations like this are so important to authors. And what role in general has community played for you in your career as a writer?
Simply put: There is nothing better an aspiring thriller writer can do than join ITW and attend our conference in NYC, ThrillerFest. There’s so much to learn — about writing, about publishing, about the wild, nutty writing life. It begins and ends with the page, being the best writer you can be. But the business of publishing your novel is a whole other beast. The continuing mission of ITW is to educate, bolster, and promote authors at every stage of their careers. Join ITW to learn about publishing, to grow as a writer, to make friends that will last forever. We are committed to helping writers find their voice and find their way in the business of publishing. There’s no downside to becoming a part of this community of writers helping writers.
I’ve been in publishing since I was 22 years old (don’t do the math! A very LONG time!), so this community is the foundation of my career. Writing is solitary. But the business of publishing is one of relationships. I don’t know where I would be without the agents, editors, publicists, booksellers, librarians, and author friends (like all my amazing pals at Friends & Fiction!) who have helped me, supported me, and boosted me. I am so deeply, profoundly grateful for all the friendships I have made — people who have cheered me on through the good days and carried me through the challenging ones.
Where can people connect with you online and on the road?
I am easy to find! On Instagram, I’m @launger; on Facebook @authorlisaunger; on Twitter and Blue Sky I'm @lisaunger. Sign up for my monthly newsletter at www.lisaunger.com/newsletter and you’ll get a free short story. And, yes, please do come out and see me on the road! I would love to sign your book. You can find all my tour stops at www.lisaunger.com/news-events.
About the Author
Lisa Unger is a NYT and internationally bestselling author. Her books are published in 32 languages, with millions of copies sold worldwide. In 2019, she received two Edgar Award nominations, an honor held by only a few writers including Agatha Christie. Her work has been named on "Best Book" lists from Today, People, GMA, EW, Amazon, IndieBound and many others. She has written for the NYT, WSJ, NPR, and Travel+Leisure. She lives in Florida with her family.
About the Book
“[Unger’s] great at keeping you interested and not seeing all the twists that are coming with a fabulous cat-mouse game.” —Sarah Michelle Gellar, Emmy-award winning actress
An extreme game of hide-and-seek turns deadly in this riveting new thriller from New York Times bestselling author Lisa Unger
When the real game begins, who will make it to the count of 10?
Charismatic daredevil and extreme adventurer Maverick Dillan invites you to the ultimate game of hide-and-seek. But as the players gather on Falcao Island, the event quickly spirals into a chilling test of survival. A storm rages as a deadly threat stalks the contestants, turning the challenge into something far more sinister than the social media stunt it was intended to be.
Enter Adele, a single mother with a fierce determination to protect her children at all costs. When she begins the game, she unwittingly enters a twisted web of deception and intrigue. Can she maneuver through the treacherous storm and the relentless competition and get home to her family? In a ruthless battle for survival where the stakes are higher than ever, the blurry line between the virtual and the real proves that the only person we can trust is ourselves.
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Fascinating interview, Meg! Both you and Lisa are so articulate too. Looking forward to reading this book!