Courtney Psak is the author of the new novel The Tutor. Her other novels include Thirty Days to Thirty. She lives in Palm Beach, Florida.
Q: What inspired you to write The Tutor, and how did you create your characters Rose, Isabel, and Evelyn?
A: I was inspired to write The Tutor because no matter how much we think we might know the people we let into our home, we can never know what their true motives are. That was something I always thought about every time we left our child with a babysitter.
I decided to go with a tutor because I feel when it comes to a sitter or a nanny you are always going to run background checks, but maybe not necessarily with someone tutoring your child, especially if you are home.
As far as the characters, they were developed around the plot of the story.
I wanted Evelyn to be a character that was used to saying what she wanted without any consequences. Then I wanted to put her up against someone like Rose who starts off timid and out of place but eventually manages to hold her own.
And Isabel was fun because, like Evelyn, she has a good character arc where she starts off one way until you see what her true motives are and your whole perspective of her changes.
Q: The story is set in Florida--how important is setting to you in your writing?
A: I set it in Florida because I’m from the northeast and moved to Palm Beach six years ago. It can feel like a different world down here, so I wanted to sort of highlight that through the eyes of Rose, who is from New York and didn’t want to move, but had to for Evelyn’s sake.
Q: Did you know how the novel would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?
A: I’m normally an outliner, so I always know how the story is going to end. In this particular case, I wasn’t happy with my first version of this story, so I went back and rewrote almost all of it.
In that case, I knew where I was going, but I also knew it was predictable, so I would sort of get to that point and go, okay how do I spin this in a way that makes sense, but the readers wouldn’t suspect it. So, by the time I was at the end I did happen to surprise myself this time around.
Q: The writer Carter Wilson said of the book, “Twisting, propulsive, and unsettling, The Tutor is a haunting reminder that sometimes the greatest dangers come from the ones we call family.” What do you think of that description?
A: I was so excited when I read that from him. I thought it was great and exactly what I was going for, so I’m glad that it came through for the readers as well.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I’m currently writing the first draft of book 6, while editing book 4 from my agent and I should be getting notes for book 3 from my publisher next month.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: My next book, The Hostess, will be out in audio and digital January 15 and paperback April 21.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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