Photo by Nick James Photography
Lexie Elliott is the author of the new novel Bright and Deadly Things. Her other books include The French Girl. She lives in London.
Q: What inspired you to write Bright and Deadly Things, and how did you create your character Emily?
A: The initial inspiration was the Chalet des Anglais, which actually does exist. Like the fictional version in my novel, it’s perched in the French Alps, is owned by three Oxford colleges, and has no electricity or running water.
In the year 2000, whilst I was working on my doctorate at Oxford University, I was lucky enough to be invited to spend a week there as part of a reading party; unlike in the novel, I had a lovely time and all attendees returned home unscathed!
However, the unique location stuck with me, and when I started to think about how I might set a novel in the world of Oxford academia without falling into the “campus thriller” trope, this setting seemed like the perfect way to do that.
Emily came to me after I had nailed down the setting. She and I are very different characters, but we share the same subject (theoretical physics), which I suppose is because of the level of experience I have with that research area.
She’s struggling with grief as a result the recent death of her husband, and it was very important to me that that grief be portrayed authentically, which in retrospect must have been a reaction to losing my mother not long before I embarked on this project.
Q: The novel is set in the French Alps--how important is setting to you in your writing?
A: I think setting is enormously important — all of my novels have had a strong sense of place — and in fact it’s usually the first thing that reveals itself to me on any new project. The setting and the sense of atmosphere solidify even before the characters do; it’s almost as if there has to be a landscape for the characters to inhabit before they can truly come into being.
For Bright and Deadly Things, I had the memories of visiting the real Chalet des Anglais to fall back on, as well as the fact that I’m quite familiar with the surrounding area as we often take family vacations in nearby Chamonix—all of which turned out to be very fortuitous as the global pandemic prohibited any research trips. I would have loved to have had a valid excuse for a trip to the Alps!
Q: Without giving anything away, did you know how the book would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?
A: Of course no spoilers! I knew how the book would end, and in fact I knew exactly what the last scene would be, but there is a rather impactful event that the characters have to deal with in the last third of the novel that was not in my original outline at all—and the book is much better as a result.
For me, that’s the most exhilarating part of writing: when the story takes on its own life and makes unexpected twists and turns. It can be a little terrifying too, but you just have to run with it and have faith!
Q: An AP News review of the novel says, in part, “Bright and Deadly Things features a special kind of psychological horror that’s just as terrifying in the dark of night as it is in the light of day.” What do you think of that description?
A: I love that description—in fact, I may frame that whole review! The reviewer picked up on the sense that, as the novel progresses, Emily’s fears and concerns and paranoia, that might ordinarily only thrive in darkness, are starting to bleed into daylight hours too. What could be more horrifying than realising that the rising of the sun won’t make you any safer?
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I’ve been working on an outline for my next psychological thriller, but I’m afraid it’s not advanced enough for me to tell you anything about it—sorry!
I’ve also been writing something in a different genre as a sort of literary “palate cleanser” after producing four psychological thrillers in a row—it may never be published, but regardless I’ve enjoyed stretching my writing wings in a different direction and I’m already certain that it will result in me feeling a little fresher when I do start writing my fifth thriller.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: That is a scarily open-ended question—the pressure of coming up with something interesting is making me feel a little like a rabbit in the headlights! Let me instead say that if you want to know anything more about me or my books, you can find me at www.lexieelliott.com, and @lexieelliottwrites on Instagram and Facebook.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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