August 30, 2026 • 25 mins
For years, three couples have gathered at The Villa―billionaire Lincoln Foster’s Hamptons estate―for lavish weekends among friends. But this year, mysterious blue cards appear in each bedroom, exposing secrets: their host’s betrayals and the guests’ own dark deeds. Everyone has something to hide. Marley and Marshall Foster. Suzy and Sean McTeague. Juliet and Josh Jacoby. Lincoln and his new wife, Hazel. Even uninvited guests hoping to be accepted among the elite. With a hurricane bearing down, no one is getting out. When the revelations turn deadly, the trapped friends must confront what their lies have cost them―possibly their lives. Kieran Scott is the author of the domestic suspense novels The Getaway, Wish You Were Gone, Regrets Only and People Will Talk. She has also written dozens of books for teens, including eight New York Times bestsellers under the penname Kate Brian. Follow her on Instagram, Threads and Substack @kieranscottauthor
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
I have a New York Times bestselling author joining me today.
Of course you like that.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Because selling books, books are still in folks. They're not
going anywhere.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
And I'm talking actual physical copies, E books, audio books, kindles.
So it's all here. People are reading. They're reading in
record numbers. That's why I love doing this show between
the pages of James lo Jenior and I'm James Longr.
My guest has a new book called The Getaway. And
so this is why I always tell people on the show,
if you're not into the big box stores, because you.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Can get them there.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
You can be able to get it at you know,
Amazon bars and all that. You know, also do your
mom and pops. We endorse independent bookshops. You can order
it there too and get it. So there's no reason
why you should not have this book in your hot
little hands.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Or your ear or you care whatever it is, should
have it.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
And so my guest has done a bunch of these
dispense novels, and I said, I do want call The Getaway.
Can you put the book up leaves for it like
somebody can see it behind you, But I'll have to
put it up for all. So it's Karen Scott, Hi, Karen, Hello, Hello,
welcome to the show.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
Thank you, thanks for having me, my pleasure.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
And also I always say this, congratulations for birthing your
new book.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
Thank you so much because we are.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Because here's the thing, I mean, folks, somebody will make
it look easy, of course, write these books, but you
really are going through the whole process of this whole
germination process, this whole gestational process.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Right, a book, right.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
Yeah, they call it a labor of love for a reason, right, Yes.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
Now, I know, folks, you know it's not the same
as giving birth. I'm not trying to say that at all,
but there's some feel I'm sure, but there's some feelings
that are similar to on some level in terms of
putting a book out to the public.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
It's a good question.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
You know.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
I've actually given birth twice and I've done it both ways.
I've done the natural birth and I've done the C
section birth. Wow birth some books in my time, so
I have a lot of experience. You know, there's always
there's nothing as emotional as having a child. I will
in my opinion, there is nothing as emotional as that. However,
I will say that once you realize that people are
(02:18):
starting to actually read the thing that you have worked
on for however long. That can be really emotional, Like
you sort of think, oh, you know, I've done this thing,
and I think it came out well, and you know,
you put it out into the world, and then there's
months in between before anyone else reads it, and all
of a sudden, reviews start pouring in or friends call
or text or whatever, and you suddenly realize, oh god,
(02:41):
now people are actually reading it, and you start to
get emotional about it and hopefully hoping that you put
out something good that people will enjoy.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
Yeah, that makes sense, I mean, because you're putting out
something that's to be judged, raked over, the calls or
beloved or add related.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
And hoped and hopes right.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
But it's just literally, I mean, it's any kind of
I always like any whether it's a painting or a
song or a script or a book. We all have
the same thing in common. It's like we're saying, here
we are in our rawness at this particular time. Here's
the story I'm offering you.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
Please like it right, right, right, it's brave. It's brave
when you put it that way.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
Right, But is that true? And the think is, what,
so how does it you? You keep doing it? So
what keeps you doing it?
Speaker 3 (03:34):
I just can't seem to stop. It's kind of like
I think it's just ingrained in me. There have been
times when I thought I would take a break and
stories just come to me, characters come to me, and
then I have to write them down. At any given time,
I've got, you know, seven little germs going of a
new story or something that I'm gonna want to explore someday.
And it's been like this since I was about thirteen,
(03:55):
and I realized that I could do it, and that
it was something that even if no one ever read it,
I could still put something down on the page. So,
you know, I feel like even if publishers decided that
they didn't want anything else for me, I would still
be writing. I don't think I could stop.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Well, also, you always self publisher, you weren't you too,
There's always that we could get it out there. But yeah, right,
it's I think it is brave, and I don't think
I don't think that's an understatement. Maybe I say I thought,
I probably, No, it's not. I think it really is
brave to put out a piece of work that you
feel connected to.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
It's from you. You create this world, right, you created it?
Speaker 3 (04:29):
Yes, one hundred percent. I mean it's sort of like
and there's a lot of fun for me. It's also
it's really always comes back down to the characters, and
the characters to me become real people while I'm writing them,
and I'm thinking so much about what's motivating them and
what their hopes and dreams and their fears are and everything,
and so I almost sort of feel like I'm putting
people out into the world for others to judge and
(04:50):
for others to accept or root for, hopefully. And it's
a big.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Thing reading this book.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
I automatically thought streaming TV service, folks streaming TV.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
I'm gonna say it.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Out loud, and you guys, you gotta understand why, because
you built a really great.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Story with Karen.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
I'm looking over hear my notes because I have to
have my notes over here. So you have three couples alone.
I'm already sold already in, So anybody out to hear
that You're already in, right, three couples gathering at the villa.
I like that Martey and Marshall, Susie and Sean, and
I loved all the names. They rot they kind of match.
(05:32):
What was that because names, because first of all names.
You don't realize how hard it is to name a character.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
A It's very difficult. Yeah, it's very difficult. In this case,
I was working on the outline because I'm a very
big outliner, and I had the characters names down, and
I realized that if I were reading this book with
this many characters, I would one get mixed up as
to who was coupled with who. There's so many characters, right,
So I decided, even if if people might think it
(06:03):
was silly or kiddish or whatever, that it would be
a good idea to have their first initials match, just
because every time now when you see Marshall and Marley,
when you see James and you know it sort of
it sort of gives you like this little like almost
visual even if you're reading it yourself, a visual touchstone
to kind of come back to you, to be like,
all right, that's who that that's who that person belongs to.
(06:26):
So that was really important. But then from there I
had sort of hemmed myself in because I had needed
two M names to J names, two L names and
I needed to make sure they were names that also
matched the characters. It was. It wasn't easy.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
No, I know, as I'm saying, is it because also
you've read other books too, so you don't want to.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
So do you have like a list of names you've
used before somewhere in a document?
Speaker 3 (06:44):
Oh my gosh, I wish I did, because yeah, I
am sure that I have doubled up at some point
in time. I try really hard not to. I always say,
I use so my my sons and go to Catholic
Church and they get you know, so they've had community
and they have had confirmation, and they send you this
whole list of all the kids that were confirmed, and
then I'll, like cherry pick a first name in the
(07:06):
last name for that list.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Just double hear.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
I have never all I've done a show, God about
nine ten years, I have never heard of a selection
process as unique as that.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
I like that, thank you.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
I didn't like that. It's the confirmation list with Catholic
Church service. Goddess.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
I love it. I love it, and my old Catholic
self would be would be very proud.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Yes, that's so funny, okay, but you get seriously, I
was thinking I talked talks about that because names and
because it's rarely in books you'll have the same name to.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Be able the same name.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
I was like, this, why did you run somebody else
named James but in the book you wouldn't. That's the
story points or I'm saying, but it was a James
or the or the last name was in the last book,
which is a whole different book. Cant be careful when
people start tying it together. Well make great and metigua?
Are they cousins? I was like, you could advantage later
if you wanted to, But at the time, I know
(08:03):
it's just that that's the last name. I guess you
picked up you know. So I always say names are
very important.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Careful.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
Yes, I agree.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
I love the name Marley. It's one of their names
out there, Marley.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
Oh thank you.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Okay, So I want.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
You to tell people, but there we're not gonna do
youate sporters away folks likes way well talk. We're gonna
talk around it. But can you tell us what you
say the book is about, please?
Speaker 2 (08:26):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
So it's about a handful of couples who every year
they go away for the same vacation to the Hampton's
home of a friend of theirs, and they've been doing
this for years, and every year when they show up
at the house, they get these little welcome notes on
their pillo or in their bedside table from the hostess, Lily,
that welcome them to the Hampton's and talk about what
they're going to do that week. Now, Lily is divorced
(08:49):
from Lincoln, who is the host of this party, and
it's the first year they've gone without her. And when
they arrive, they again get a little welcoming envelope, but
this time inside the little welcoming envelope there's a secret
something about they themselves that they thought no one else
knew that is shocking and gives them a motive to
(09:09):
commit a certain crime that ends up happening in the book.
Uh So, the idea was really to find a way
to make everyone a suspect from the get go. Uh
and then see what happens when they're all stuck together
for a few days.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
And boy, does things happen. Yes they do. I was
gonna say that out loud. I can't give anything that allowed.
I love the little blue cards, I love that whole
ole thing. It So it's really cute, and I said
this concept, I'm seriously reading this going.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
I can see it's on I see it's on streaming
or TV.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
I can see this as a series or a limited series,
or I can I can totally, totally, totally see it.
So I did so excited. It's okay, this is between
the pages. Like I'm trying, I have my questions about it.
But about this, we're gonna go because we're gonna give
away the plot. We're gonna talk about the story. So
(09:59):
so so with each couple, they do outlines. How did
did you create the couples at once or each person?
I mean, how did that did that process go?
Speaker 3 (10:12):
That's a good question. So I came up with the
three women who were at the core of the book first.
I mean, there's really five women, but the three that
I'm talking about are Marley, Susie, and Juliet, the three
friends who were actually returning to this house for the
first time without their fourth who is Lily. And so
I started with them and I started trying to think
about what their relationship was like to the host of
(10:33):
this party, who everything kind of centers around and really
kind of fleshing out, you know, different kind of dysfunctional
relationships for them to have with him, and that was
kind of where I began. And then from there, I
will say the book is a lot about their friendship.
So the husbands, as controversial as this might be, were
(10:54):
less important to me. They were just sort of like
there for the ride and there to be red herrings.
And it was really this friendship that I wanted to
develop and also think about what their relationship with Lily
was like and how Lily would feel about the fact
that they were all going back without her. So that
was where I really started. And as I was working
on the outline, other people came in and I you know,
(11:16):
like Gemma and her husband weren't in the original story,
but they came in later as another kind of complication.
And then originally there weren't. There wasn't like a staff
who ended up being extremely important. So yeah, it was
just sort of like I kind of looked at what
I had and I was like, Okay, this needs to
be more complicated. So that's you know, people complicate things.
(11:38):
So that's when they started bringing in other characters.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Well, I felt like the Villa is a character too.
Speaker 3 (11:43):
That is true. Yeah, the Villa is like yeah, I
mean it's important for so many reasons, but like one
of the biggest reasons was it needed to be someplace
big enough and complicated enough that people could get lost
in it, that you could imagine people getting into dangerous
situations where no one else was around. And I also
wanted it to feel awe from the very beginning. And
(12:06):
it had been this place that they had all known
so well and adored so much, and had been to
you so many times. And so that's when Lincoln's new husband, Hazel,
kind of came in and she's been doing this redecorating
and remodeling, and so when everyone shows up, it's not
the same place they remember, and so from the get
go they're all thrown off.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
Yes, as I said, I mean, folks, it's part of
a big part of the story. So she said, there's
no staff at first in there. It's kind of interesting.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
And then.
Speaker 1 (12:37):
Yeah, as I read the book, they were there. They
play a part. Funny that you had that that I
can't imagine. I think you have to have somebody at
least there to try to give away facilitate things maybe.
Speaker 3 (12:50):
Or yes, yes, it was just also just realistic for
this tax bracket right, that they would have people there
taking care of them, and it just felt like, you know,
Hazel's not doing the cooking. That that occurred to me
at some point. Yeah, it doesn't make sense and it's not.
The reason it doesn't occur to me immediately is because
it's not a lifestyle I've ever experienced to have somebody
(13:12):
in my house cooking for me, you know, please, that
would be nice to have Monday. But yeah, so they
were definitely added in later.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
Yeah, it's funny to hear that. So folks could hear
that they weren't in there originally. So you read the book,
you're like, oh, they weren't. I'm t I figured I
mean it would, I mean, it could work out them there.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
But it's like, yeah, I'm glad they' I'm glad they're in.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
They're useful.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
Yeah, they're very useful. Okay, Okay, So how important was
Lily's role?
Speaker 3 (13:46):
Yeah, that's a good question. So Lily, right, I feel
like Lily, it's so interesting. Lily's necessary, right for so
many reasons. I just feel like she's the catalyst behind
almost everything without almost meaning to be. It's such an
interesting thing, right, So it's because of Lily that the
(14:07):
notes exist at all. She was the first person who
ever wrote them notes, And so the person who actually
you know, ends up leaving the notes is inspired by that,
you know, is without giving too much away, like that's
where that whole idea came from. That sets up the
whole entire plot of the book, and Lily her characterization
(14:29):
as somebody who has been dumped by her lifetime love,
who feels vengeful and resentful but still loves him, and
who loves her friends but feels upset that they're leaving
her behind. It just makes everything so much more complicated,
you know. And it just makes all the relationships I
(14:50):
feel like, more realistic and just a little bit like
they give it gives them a little bit of an edge.
So it was important for me to make sure I
knew who she was, even though she doesn't exist on
the page. I don't think into like three quarters of
the way through. I had to really know for sure
who she was because what everyone else does, her character
informs so much of what everyone else does in the story.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
Yeah, and it's funny because when she does come through,
like oh okay.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
And and and it.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
Makes sense because it really is about the it's about
the first the three ladies, the first three. That's basically, yeah,
he's about them. And how did you model? I mean,
that's the question. There's there's a center, So did you
have already on the side the plot or did you
(15:45):
have the location the senator friendship center, this other this
other chick over here, and then did you feel like
out or was it do you have two different things
going on in broads together?
Speaker 2 (15:56):
That's the question.
Speaker 3 (15:57):
Yeah, that's interesting. So I knew. I always knew there
was obviously going to be one murder, and I knew
who was going to be murdered. As I was working
on the book, I heard my editor in my head saying,
there has to be more death. Yes, there have to
be more. There has to be more, a higher body count.
(16:18):
And there's one. There's one kind of shocking death that
happens maybe halfway through that I had always sort of planned,
but the person who did that, or who was who
was part of that had changed in the plotting. And
then the third there was there's a body count of
three in this book. I guess that's a spoiler I
will give away. The third person was a total shock
(16:39):
to me, and it was sort of like it was
something that I came in with later. So I think
in the beginning, I really wanted to explore the relationships,
explore the idea that you know, divorce had sort of
screwed up this long standing friend group and what that
would really look like. And I thought it would be
great to keep them at this house for a period
(17:00):
of time so that they could explore that. But then
once I started really working on it, I realized, well,
if someone were to die in this situation, everybody would leave,
like obviously they would leave, and they would go to
the police or they would do whatever they needed to do.
And that's when I had to get them trapped there.
And that's when I had to come up with a hurricane,
which is very trophy, but we love these books for
(17:21):
a reason, and so there had to be reason for
them to be trapped there, and that was what I
wrote in And so yeah, I think it was really
the relationships that I had first, the idea of a
specific murder, but the plot really came to me later.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Okay, yeah, as your creatless world, when do you know
the ending?
Speaker 3 (17:53):
Hopefully when you're outlining I mean my thing is like, yeah,
I mean when i'm outlining, I'd really try to be
a scific as possible. And people I've worked with have
looked at my outlines and said, I might be a
little bit nuts because they're very long and they're very detailed.
But that's where I kind of put in my hard
work in the outline phase, and I feel like as
(18:15):
if I have a very very detailed outline, then the
actual writing of the book is going to go a
lot more smoothly. And so I'll do everything from if
a line of dialogue comes to me while I'm outlining outlining,
I write it down. If you know something, if someone's
specific the way they dress comes to me, I'll write
it down just so because why do the more work later, Right,
(18:35):
So ideally I will know what the ending is when
I'm outlining. There have now been a couple of times
in the writing of thrillers that halfway through the book,
I realize there's a better ending and I pivot. And
this was one of those cases. Yeah, the actual like
final reveal was different in my first draft than it
(18:56):
actually ended up being in the book.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
Okay, And the other question would be, how do you
keep continuity in your books because these kind of books
do have details and do have things where like because
I know I've had authors tell me suding on page
four of page three ninety five, they say, somebody go way,
mante it was this way. They go back to page
(19:19):
sixty five like okay, now we're good, okay, like this
when it comes to thrillers, that makes sense. Audiens want
to feel dumb. They don't want to be dumb down
to you. They want to make sure it yeah, correct,
that it all matches. So they're following along with you.
How's your continuity? How do you how do you keep
that in chid?
Speaker 3 (19:36):
So I tend to when I'm doing my first draft,
I tend to try to write right straight through, and
so every once in a while that will happen. And
in fact, I'm working on a book right now where
I'm I'm in the final five scenes, and I just
realized that one of the characters goes to work on
a Sunday, and I didn't think that I'd set it
up that her job had hours on the weekends. So I,
(19:57):
rather than stop and go back, I put in huge letters.
I put like t K, which, for anyone who doesn't know,
is what we authors uses like our little to calm moment,
like you have to. You have to feel. If you
feel something in later, you put in TK and I
wrote TK check to make sure she has to work
on Sundays and just kept going exactly, yeah, I mean
(20:18):
that's kind of how I do it. And then maybe
the next morning when I come back and I'm starting out,
I'll do those little things where I'll go back to
page sixty five or whatever it is to see when
he hired her, did he say that there were weekend hours?
And if he didn't, kind of put that in well.
Speaker 1 (20:32):
Because if you get people engrossed in your books, they're
gonna look for every kind of gonna look for everything
and go, okay, when the reveal happened, Right when it
reveal happens, there you go, you're gonna go back with it.
And I go, well, does that because does that and
they can start connecting the dots. That's what you want
them to do. So even a little throwaway of like
does she work on Sunday? For you go into your book,
(20:54):
that's a big deal and does she work on this?
Speaker 3 (20:56):
Yep? And I've I have done events. People have called
me out on things. One time I didn't event where
people called me out on typos and I said, you know,
that's actually not my job, so you can't editors there approved.
Speaker 2 (21:10):
Readers, right. I did my part exactly, but.
Speaker 3 (21:14):
There was I did a book club once where someone
kind of found a whole and I was like, wow,
go you.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
I know, in a way that's good thought, but they
really mean they're really into the book the story. Yes,
it's true, it's not to me, it's not at that offense.
It was kind of like, oh, you really dug deep
in there exactly. That's kind of that's that's a good thing.
That's a good thing.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
But yeah, you don't want to do that, but that's
a good thing.
Speaker 1 (21:36):
Yeah, did this book achieve the story achieve what you
wanted to achieve?
Speaker 3 (21:47):
I think it did.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (21:48):
I mean I really good questions than you are you?
You think? Like what's interesting about that question is my
intention is always to just entertain. I really am. I'm
not a person who's sitting here trying to like write
the great American novel or like be the next Anpatchet
(22:11):
or like whatever. And it's it's a book that you
will read on the beach or by the pool, and
if you enjoy it and it takes you away from
whatever it is you don't want to be stressing out about.
I'm happy and so I have a few I have
a few fans who've kind of followed my entire career,
who's been with me since my Space and you know,
sort of like follow me to every social media. Yes,
and one of them reached out to me recently and
(22:31):
said this was the best thing I've ever written.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
So I was like, wow, I'm good.
Speaker 3 (22:35):
I'm good.
Speaker 2 (22:35):
Yeah, you're good. I did well.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
I said again, you're the creator of these characters. You're
living the world for how long you're writing it. You're
living that world to put your heart and soul and
writing and grammar all into this thing. Right, So it's like,
like you said, when it's done, it's you said, it's
a few months where no one's talking about White knows
this out yet, no one's talking about it is kind
(22:58):
of sitting there.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
Usually you're working on something else by then then it
comes out.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
And so yes, then and then and then then, but
then that's when the whole shenanigans begin.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (23:09):
Yes, but these these books, I mean, it's it's folks,
I'm endorsing it's a great read. It's it's it's I
like the relationships. That's I'm a relationship person in books.
I like I like see I like fights and and
weirdness and and closeness and tension, and I like that
these women have that.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
I like that whole situation. And I like when things change.
Speaker 1 (23:34):
You said, it's things and things have changed and now
it's this and the old way is gone. I love
big villas and big mansions. I love I love stuff
like that. So I'm like, you'll like it. This is
something you'll like. It's a fun reading, you know, forgetting
to get I'm from the subway or you're flying somewhere,
like I said to be like me, we're at the beach.
Speaker 2 (23:55):
Just grab this book. I just I think it's just
so good. Thank you Karen for me.
Speaker 3 (24:00):
Thank you so much for having me. It's been a pleasure.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
Please you have to come back. So your next book,
you have to come back.
Speaker 3 (24:05):
I'm in.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
I'm I'll make you think again.
Speaker 1 (24:08):
Okay, appreciate it, nobody seriously, and congratulations, this is really
good book. Thank you so much again. Folks the Getaway
then get it hold up again more time. Go to threads,
Instagram and substack. Go there to you for her writings,
Kieran Scout author. I'll put in I'll put it in
the show notes. I'm gonna try to follow. I think
(24:28):
I following shy to follow you for sure, we will
follow there. I love Substack all everybody's writing over there,
So go and check her out over there to you
for sure, see what's going on. And shall just have
some best sellers under another name too, Kate Bryan.
Speaker 3 (24:44):
Yeah, if you were a teen in the early two thousands,
you might remember it.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
See chake those out of you once you see what's
going on there to you. I'm James.
Speaker 1 (24:52):
Of course we endorse books. We love reading. We endorse
we just artists. We endorse, not banning books. You think
everybody has it. Everybody has their appropriate names and areas
and genres and all that. And we love things like
we love thrillers. We love things like this. It's taking
you go to other worlds when you read. That's why
I love That's why I love reading. You get to
(25:12):
go to other worlds it's not yours. You get to
borrow someone else's world for a while. They come back
to your own. That's why we like them. And you
see the pages on Facebook, I'm everywhere at James Lodd Jr.
You can't miss me. We will see you next time.
Speaker 3 (25:27):
Thank you.
I have a New York Times bestselling author joining me today.
Of course you like that.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Because selling books, books are still in folks. They're not
going anywhere.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
And I'm talking actual physical copies, E books, audio books, kindles.
So it's all here. People are reading. They're reading in
record numbers. That's why I love doing this show between
the pages of James lo Jenior and I'm James Longr.
My guest has a new book called The Getaway. And
so this is why I always tell people on the show,
if you're not into the big box stores, because you.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Can get them there.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
You can be able to get it at you know,
Amazon bars and all that. You know, also do your
mom and pops. We endorse independent bookshops. You can order
it there too and get it. So there's no reason
why you should not have this book in your hot
little hands.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Or your ear or you care whatever it is, should
have it.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
And so my guest has done a bunch of these
dispense novels, and I said, I do want call The Getaway.
Can you put the book up leaves for it like
somebody can see it behind you, But I'll have to
put it up for all. So it's Karen Scott, Hi, Karen, Hello, Hello,
welcome to the show.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
Thank you, thanks for having me, my pleasure.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
And also I always say this, congratulations for birthing your
new book.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
Thank you so much because we are.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Because here's the thing, I mean, folks, somebody will make
it look easy, of course, write these books, but you
really are going through the whole process of this whole
germination process, this whole gestational process.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Right, a book, right.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
Yeah, they call it a labor of love for a reason, right, Yes.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
Now, I know, folks, you know it's not the same
as giving birth. I'm not trying to say that at all,
but there's some feel I'm sure, but there's some feelings
that are similar to on some level in terms of
putting a book out to the public.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
It's a good question.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
You know.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
I've actually given birth twice and I've done it both ways.
I've done the natural birth and I've done the C
section birth. Wow birth some books in my time, so
I have a lot of experience. You know, there's always
there's nothing as emotional as having a child. I will
in my opinion, there is nothing as emotional as that. However,
I will say that once you realize that people are
(02:18):
starting to actually read the thing that you have worked
on for however long. That can be really emotional, Like
you sort of think, oh, you know, I've done this thing,
and I think it came out well, and you know,
you put it out into the world, and then there's
months in between before anyone else reads it, and all
of a sudden, reviews start pouring in or friends call
or text or whatever, and you suddenly realize, oh god,
(02:41):
now people are actually reading it, and you start to
get emotional about it and hopefully hoping that you put
out something good that people will enjoy.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
Yeah, that makes sense, I mean, because you're putting out
something that's to be judged, raked over, the calls or
beloved or add related.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
And hoped and hopes right.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
But it's just literally, I mean, it's any kind of
I always like any whether it's a painting or a
song or a script or a book. We all have
the same thing in common. It's like we're saying, here
we are in our rawness at this particular time. Here's
the story I'm offering you.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
Please like it right, right, right, it's brave. It's brave
when you put it that way.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
Right, But is that true? And the think is, what,
so how does it you? You keep doing it? So
what keeps you doing it?
Speaker 3 (03:34):
I just can't seem to stop. It's kind of like
I think it's just ingrained in me. There have been
times when I thought I would take a break and
stories just come to me, characters come to me, and
then I have to write them down. At any given time,
I've got, you know, seven little germs going of a
new story or something that I'm gonna want to explore someday.
And it's been like this since I was about thirteen,
(03:55):
and I realized that I could do it, and that
it was something that even if no one ever read it,
I could still put something down on the page. So,
you know, I feel like even if publishers decided that
they didn't want anything else for me, I would still
be writing. I don't think I could stop.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Well, also, you always self publisher, you weren't you too,
There's always that we could get it out there. But yeah, right,
it's I think it is brave, and I don't think
I don't think that's an understatement. Maybe I say I thought,
I probably, No, it's not. I think it really is
brave to put out a piece of work that you
feel connected to.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
It's from you. You create this world, right, you created it?
Speaker 3 (04:29):
Yes, one hundred percent. I mean it's sort of like
and there's a lot of fun for me. It's also
it's really always comes back down to the characters, and
the characters to me become real people while I'm writing them,
and I'm thinking so much about what's motivating them and
what their hopes and dreams and their fears are and everything,
and so I almost sort of feel like I'm putting
people out into the world for others to judge and
(04:50):
for others to accept or root for, hopefully. And it's
a big.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Thing reading this book.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
I automatically thought streaming TV service, folks streaming TV.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
I'm gonna say it.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Out loud, and you guys, you gotta understand why, because
you built a really great.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Story with Karen.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
I'm looking over hear my notes because I have to
have my notes over here. So you have three couples alone.
I'm already sold already in, So anybody out to hear
that You're already in, right, three couples gathering at the villa.
I like that Martey and Marshall, Susie and Sean, and
I loved all the names. They rot they kind of match.
(05:32):
What was that because names, because first of all names.
You don't realize how hard it is to name a character.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
A It's very difficult. Yeah, it's very difficult. In this case,
I was working on the outline because I'm a very
big outliner, and I had the characters names down, and
I realized that if I were reading this book with
this many characters, I would one get mixed up as
to who was coupled with who. There's so many characters, right,
So I decided, even if if people might think it
(06:03):
was silly or kiddish or whatever, that it would be
a good idea to have their first initials match, just
because every time now when you see Marshall and Marley,
when you see James and you know it sort of
it sort of gives you like this little like almost
visual even if you're reading it yourself, a visual touchstone
to kind of come back to you, to be like,
all right, that's who that that's who that person belongs to.
(06:26):
So that was really important. But then from there I
had sort of hemmed myself in because I had needed
two M names to J names, two L names and
I needed to make sure they were names that also
matched the characters. It was. It wasn't easy.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
No, I know, as I'm saying, is it because also
you've read other books too, so you don't want to.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
So do you have like a list of names you've
used before somewhere in a document?
Speaker 3 (06:44):
Oh my gosh, I wish I did, because yeah, I
am sure that I have doubled up at some point
in time. I try really hard not to. I always say,
I use so my my sons and go to Catholic
Church and they get you know, so they've had community
and they have had confirmation, and they send you this
whole list of all the kids that were confirmed, and
then I'll, like cherry pick a first name in the
(07:06):
last name for that list.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Just double hear.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
I have never all I've done a show, God about
nine ten years, I have never heard of a selection
process as unique as that.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
I like that, thank you.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
I didn't like that. It's the confirmation list with Catholic
Church service. Goddess.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
I love it. I love it, and my old Catholic
self would be would be very proud.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Yes, that's so funny, okay, but you get seriously, I
was thinking I talked talks about that because names and
because it's rarely in books you'll have the same name to.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Be able the same name.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
I was like, this, why did you run somebody else
named James but in the book you wouldn't. That's the
story points or I'm saying, but it was a James
or the or the last name was in the last book,
which is a whole different book. Cant be careful when
people start tying it together. Well make great and metigua?
Are they cousins? I was like, you could advantage later
if you wanted to, But at the time, I know
(08:03):
it's just that that's the last name. I guess you
picked up you know. So I always say names are
very important.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Careful.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
Yes, I agree.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
I love the name Marley. It's one of their names
out there, Marley.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
Oh thank you.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Okay, So I want.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
You to tell people, but there we're not gonna do
youate sporters away folks likes way well talk. We're gonna
talk around it. But can you tell us what you
say the book is about, please?
Speaker 2 (08:26):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
So it's about a handful of couples who every year
they go away for the same vacation to the Hampton's
home of a friend of theirs, and they've been doing
this for years, and every year when they show up
at the house, they get these little welcome notes on
their pillo or in their bedside table from the hostess, Lily,
that welcome them to the Hampton's and talk about what
they're going to do that week. Now, Lily is divorced
(08:49):
from Lincoln, who is the host of this party, and
it's the first year they've gone without her. And when
they arrive, they again get a little welcoming envelope, but
this time inside the little welcoming envelope there's a secret
something about they themselves that they thought no one else
knew that is shocking and gives them a motive to
(09:09):
commit a certain crime that ends up happening in the book.
Uh So, the idea was really to find a way
to make everyone a suspect from the get go. Uh
and then see what happens when they're all stuck together
for a few days.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
And boy, does things happen. Yes they do. I was
gonna say that out loud. I can't give anything that allowed.
I love the little blue cards, I love that whole
ole thing. It So it's really cute, and I said
this concept, I'm seriously reading this going.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
I can see it's on I see it's on streaming
or TV.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
I can see this as a series or a limited series,
or I can I can totally, totally, totally see it.
So I did so excited. It's okay, this is between
the pages. Like I'm trying, I have my questions about it.
But about this, we're gonna go because we're gonna give
away the plot. We're gonna talk about the story. So
(09:59):
so so with each couple, they do outlines. How did
did you create the couples at once or each person?
I mean, how did that did that process go?
Speaker 3 (10:12):
That's a good question. So I came up with the
three women who were at the core of the book first.
I mean, there's really five women, but the three that
I'm talking about are Marley, Susie, and Juliet, the three
friends who were actually returning to this house for the
first time without their fourth who is Lily. And so
I started with them and I started trying to think
about what their relationship was like to the host of
(10:33):
this party, who everything kind of centers around and really
kind of fleshing out, you know, different kind of dysfunctional
relationships for them to have with him, and that was
kind of where I began. And then from there, I
will say the book is a lot about their friendship.
So the husbands, as controversial as this might be, were
(10:54):
less important to me. They were just sort of like
there for the ride and there to be red herrings.
And it was really this friendship that I wanted to
develop and also think about what their relationship with Lily
was like and how Lily would feel about the fact
that they were all going back without her. So that
was where I really started. And as I was working
on the outline, other people came in and I you know,
(11:16):
like Gemma and her husband weren't in the original story,
but they came in later as another kind of complication.
And then originally there weren't. There wasn't like a staff
who ended up being extremely important. So yeah, it was
just sort of like I kind of looked at what
I had and I was like, Okay, this needs to
be more complicated. So that's you know, people complicate things.
(11:38):
So that's when they started bringing in other characters.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Well, I felt like the Villa is a character too.
Speaker 3 (11:43):
That is true. Yeah, the Villa is like yeah, I
mean it's important for so many reasons, but like one
of the biggest reasons was it needed to be someplace
big enough and complicated enough that people could get lost
in it, that you could imagine people getting into dangerous
situations where no one else was around. And I also
wanted it to feel awe from the very beginning. And
(12:06):
it had been this place that they had all known
so well and adored so much, and had been to
you so many times. And so that's when Lincoln's new husband, Hazel,
kind of came in and she's been doing this redecorating
and remodeling, and so when everyone shows up, it's not
the same place they remember, and so from the get
go they're all thrown off.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
Yes, as I said, I mean, folks, it's part of
a big part of the story. So she said, there's
no staff at first in there. It's kind of interesting.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
And then.
Speaker 1 (12:37):
Yeah, as I read the book, they were there. They
play a part. Funny that you had that that I
can't imagine. I think you have to have somebody at
least there to try to give away facilitate things maybe.
Speaker 3 (12:50):
Or yes, yes, it was just also just realistic for
this tax bracket right, that they would have people there
taking care of them, and it just felt like, you know,
Hazel's not doing the cooking. That that occurred to me
at some point. Yeah, it doesn't make sense and it's not.
The reason it doesn't occur to me immediately is because
it's not a lifestyle I've ever experienced to have somebody
(13:12):
in my house cooking for me, you know, please, that
would be nice to have Monday. But yeah, so they
were definitely added in later.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
Yeah, it's funny to hear that. So folks could hear
that they weren't in there originally. So you read the book,
you're like, oh, they weren't. I'm t I figured I
mean it would, I mean, it could work out them there.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
But it's like, yeah, I'm glad they' I'm glad they're in.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
They're useful.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
Yeah, they're very useful. Okay, Okay, So how important was
Lily's role?
Speaker 3 (13:46):
Yeah, that's a good question. So Lily, right, I feel
like Lily, it's so interesting. Lily's necessary, right for so
many reasons. I just feel like she's the catalyst behind
almost everything without almost meaning to be. It's such an
interesting thing, right, So it's because of Lily that the
(14:07):
notes exist at all. She was the first person who
ever wrote them notes, And so the person who actually
you know, ends up leaving the notes is inspired by that,
you know, is without giving too much away, like that's
where that whole idea came from. That sets up the
whole entire plot of the book, and Lily her characterization
(14:29):
as somebody who has been dumped by her lifetime love,
who feels vengeful and resentful but still loves him, and
who loves her friends but feels upset that they're leaving
her behind. It just makes everything so much more complicated,
you know. And it just makes all the relationships I
(14:50):
feel like, more realistic and just a little bit like
they give it gives them a little bit of an edge.
So it was important for me to make sure I
knew who she was, even though she doesn't exist on
the page. I don't think into like three quarters of
the way through. I had to really know for sure
who she was because what everyone else does, her character
informs so much of what everyone else does in the story.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
Yeah, and it's funny because when she does come through,
like oh okay.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
And and and it.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
Makes sense because it really is about the it's about
the first the three ladies, the first three. That's basically, yeah,
he's about them. And how did you model? I mean,
that's the question. There's there's a center, So did you
have already on the side the plot or did you
(15:45):
have the location the senator friendship center, this other this
other chick over here, and then did you feel like
out or was it do you have two different things
going on in broads together?
Speaker 2 (15:56):
That's the question.
Speaker 3 (15:57):
Yeah, that's interesting. So I knew. I always knew there
was obviously going to be one murder, and I knew
who was going to be murdered. As I was working
on the book, I heard my editor in my head saying,
there has to be more death. Yes, there have to
be more. There has to be more, a higher body count.
(16:18):
And there's one. There's one kind of shocking death that
happens maybe halfway through that I had always sort of planned,
but the person who did that, or who was who
was part of that had changed in the plotting. And
then the third there was there's a body count of
three in this book. I guess that's a spoiler I
will give away. The third person was a total shock
(16:39):
to me, and it was sort of like it was
something that I came in with later. So I think
in the beginning, I really wanted to explore the relationships,
explore the idea that you know, divorce had sort of
screwed up this long standing friend group and what that
would really look like. And I thought it would be
great to keep them at this house for a period
(17:00):
of time so that they could explore that. But then
once I started really working on it, I realized, well,
if someone were to die in this situation, everybody would leave,
like obviously they would leave, and they would go to
the police or they would do whatever they needed to do.
And that's when I had to get them trapped there.
And that's when I had to come up with a hurricane,
which is very trophy, but we love these books for
(17:21):
a reason, and so there had to be reason for
them to be trapped there, and that was what I
wrote in And so yeah, I think it was really
the relationships that I had first, the idea of a
specific murder, but the plot really came to me later.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Okay, yeah, as your creatless world, when do you know
the ending?
Speaker 3 (17:53):
Hopefully when you're outlining I mean my thing is like, yeah,
I mean when i'm outlining, I'd really try to be
a scific as possible. And people I've worked with have
looked at my outlines and said, I might be a
little bit nuts because they're very long and they're very detailed.
But that's where I kind of put in my hard
work in the outline phase, and I feel like as
(18:15):
if I have a very very detailed outline, then the
actual writing of the book is going to go a
lot more smoothly. And so I'll do everything from if
a line of dialogue comes to me while I'm outlining outlining,
I write it down. If you know something, if someone's
specific the way they dress comes to me, I'll write
it down just so because why do the more work later, Right,
(18:35):
So ideally I will know what the ending is when
I'm outlining. There have now been a couple of times
in the writing of thrillers that halfway through the book,
I realize there's a better ending and I pivot. And
this was one of those cases. Yeah, the actual like
final reveal was different in my first draft than it
(18:56):
actually ended up being in the book.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
Okay, And the other question would be, how do you
keep continuity in your books because these kind of books
do have details and do have things where like because
I know I've had authors tell me suding on page
four of page three ninety five, they say, somebody go way,
mante it was this way. They go back to page
(19:19):
sixty five like okay, now we're good, okay, like this
when it comes to thrillers, that makes sense. Audiens want
to feel dumb. They don't want to be dumb down
to you. They want to make sure it yeah, correct,
that it all matches. So they're following along with you.
How's your continuity? How do you how do you keep
that in chid?
Speaker 3 (19:36):
So I tend to when I'm doing my first draft,
I tend to try to write right straight through, and
so every once in a while that will happen. And
in fact, I'm working on a book right now where
I'm I'm in the final five scenes, and I just
realized that one of the characters goes to work on
a Sunday, and I didn't think that I'd set it
up that her job had hours on the weekends. So I,
(19:57):
rather than stop and go back, I put in huge letters.
I put like t K, which, for anyone who doesn't know,
is what we authors uses like our little to calm moment,
like you have to. You have to feel. If you
feel something in later, you put in TK and I
wrote TK check to make sure she has to work
on Sundays and just kept going exactly, yeah, I mean
(20:18):
that's kind of how I do it. And then maybe
the next morning when I come back and I'm starting out,
I'll do those little things where I'll go back to
page sixty five or whatever it is to see when
he hired her, did he say that there were weekend hours?
And if he didn't, kind of put that in well.
Speaker 1 (20:32):
Because if you get people engrossed in your books, they're
gonna look for every kind of gonna look for everything
and go, okay, when the reveal happened, Right when it
reveal happens, there you go, you're gonna go back with it.
And I go, well, does that because does that and
they can start connecting the dots. That's what you want
them to do. So even a little throwaway of like
does she work on Sunday? For you go into your book,
(20:54):
that's a big deal and does she work on this?
Speaker 3 (20:56):
Yep? And I've I have done events. People have called
me out on things. One time I didn't event where
people called me out on typos and I said, you know,
that's actually not my job, so you can't editors there approved.
Speaker 2 (21:10):
Readers, right. I did my part exactly, but.
Speaker 3 (21:14):
There was I did a book club once where someone
kind of found a whole and I was like, wow,
go you.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
I know, in a way that's good thought, but they
really mean they're really into the book the story. Yes,
it's true, it's not to me, it's not at that offense.
It was kind of like, oh, you really dug deep
in there exactly. That's kind of that's that's a good thing.
That's a good thing.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
But yeah, you don't want to do that, but that's
a good thing.
Speaker 1 (21:36):
Yeah, did this book achieve the story achieve what you
wanted to achieve?
Speaker 3 (21:47):
I think it did.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (21:48):
I mean I really good questions than you are you?
You think? Like what's interesting about that question is my
intention is always to just entertain. I really am. I'm
not a person who's sitting here trying to like write
the great American novel or like be the next Anpatchet
(22:11):
or like whatever. And it's it's a book that you
will read on the beach or by the pool, and
if you enjoy it and it takes you away from
whatever it is you don't want to be stressing out about.
I'm happy and so I have a few I have
a few fans who've kind of followed my entire career,
who's been with me since my Space and you know,
sort of like follow me to every social media. Yes,
and one of them reached out to me recently and
(22:31):
said this was the best thing I've ever written.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
So I was like, wow, I'm good.
Speaker 3 (22:35):
I'm good.
Speaker 2 (22:35):
Yeah, you're good. I did well.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
I said again, you're the creator of these characters. You're
living the world for how long you're writing it. You're
living that world to put your heart and soul and
writing and grammar all into this thing. Right, So it's like,
like you said, when it's done, it's you said, it's
a few months where no one's talking about White knows
this out yet, no one's talking about it is kind
(22:58):
of sitting there.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
Usually you're working on something else by then then it
comes out.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
And so yes, then and then and then then, but
then that's when the whole shenanigans begin.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (23:09):
Yes, but these these books, I mean, it's it's folks,
I'm endorsing it's a great read. It's it's it's I
like the relationships. That's I'm a relationship person in books.
I like I like see I like fights and and
weirdness and and closeness and tension, and I like that
these women have that.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
I like that whole situation. And I like when things change.
Speaker 1 (23:34):
You said, it's things and things have changed and now
it's this and the old way is gone. I love
big villas and big mansions. I love I love stuff
like that. So I'm like, you'll like it. This is
something you'll like. It's a fun reading, you know, forgetting
to get I'm from the subway or you're flying somewhere,
like I said to be like me, we're at the beach.
Speaker 2 (23:55):
Just grab this book. I just I think it's just
so good. Thank you Karen for me.
Speaker 3 (24:00):
Thank you so much for having me. It's been a pleasure.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
Please you have to come back. So your next book,
you have to come back.
Speaker 3 (24:05):
I'm in.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
I'm I'll make you think again.
Speaker 1 (24:08):
Okay, appreciate it, nobody seriously, and congratulations, this is really
good book. Thank you so much again. Folks the Getaway
then get it hold up again more time. Go to threads,
Instagram and substack. Go there to you for her writings,
Kieran Scout author. I'll put in I'll put it in
the show notes. I'm gonna try to follow. I think
(24:28):
I following shy to follow you for sure, we will
follow there. I love Substack all everybody's writing over there,
So go and check her out over there to you
for sure, see what's going on. And shall just have
some best sellers under another name too, Kate Bryan.
Speaker 3 (24:44):
Yeah, if you were a teen in the early two thousands,
you might remember it.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
See chake those out of you once you see what's
going on there to you. I'm James.
Speaker 1 (24:52):
Of course we endorse books. We love reading. We endorse
we just artists. We endorse, not banning books. You think
everybody has it. Everybody has their appropriate names and areas
and genres and all that. And we love things like
we love thrillers. We love things like this. It's taking
you go to other worlds when you read. That's why
I love That's why I love reading. You get to
(25:12):
go to other worlds it's not yours. You get to
borrow someone else's world for a while. They come back
to your own. That's why we like them. And you
see the pages on Facebook, I'm everywhere at James Lodd Jr.
You can't miss me. We will see you next time.
Speaker 3 (25:27):
Thank you.
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