Lis Angus, author of That Other Family, a domestic thriller, is visiting Ascroft, eh? today. This is her second novel. I really enjoyed her first novel, Not Your Child, so I’m looking forward to hearing about her new book.
Welcome, Lis.
Tell us about your novel.
It’s a domestic thriller featuring Julie Walker, an Ottawa librarian who’s living an ordinary life with her husband and three teenagers. Then a stranger tells her that her late father had another family, another wife and children. Julie at first refuses to believe it, but then unpleasant incidents start happening. As these incidents escalate, it becomes clear that her entire family, including her mother and children, are in peril. She has to fight to keep them safe, while not knowing who to trust for help.
Is it part of a series?
No, it’s a standalone novel, though it takes place in Ottawa, like my previous book, Not Your Child. When I was thinking of a second book, I guess I didn’t have the heart to subject my first novel’s characters to another set of terrifying challenges. For the kind of novel I write, where threats and danger emerge from a core part of a family’s backstory, I think it’s difficult to have a second story with a similar kind of drama emerge from that background. And as the story in That Other Family took shape, it was clear that it needed a completely different cast of characters.
Where did the central idea for the story come from?
Val McDermid says that question never has a simple answer: ideas spark from many places. One of the sparks for this novel was a true story about a former mayor of Toronto, who was discovered to have had a second, secret family, with two sets of children who were unaware of each other’s existence. But the characters in That Other Family are entirely fictional, with their own story and trajectory. I think what caught my imagination was simply the image of a stranger showing up and claiming that Julie’s father had a secret double life. Then I had to figure out what could have led to that, and what impact that backstory could have on her life in the present-day.
Is there a theme or subject that underlies the story? If so, what prompted you to write about it?
While I didn’t deliberately set out to write thematically, now that I have a bit of distance from both books, I see that they both revolve around family, secrets, love and deception, identity, and the challenges of parenting while facing menace and danger. These are themes that appeal to me— and I think they also resonate with a lot of readers, evoking feelings connected to our most personal experiences and fears. Those themes run through a lot of novels considered domestic thrillers or domestic suspense, and I think that’s why.
How do you create your characters? Do you have favourite ones?
My characters emerge in the writing. Both books feature the viewpoints of multiple characters, and I try to show the characters’ thoughts and emotions as closely as I can. So I imagine myself inside the character and try to convey their experience in a way that readers can feel them too. But I have a limited ability to imagine myself inside a character I have nothing in common with. So it’s no coincidence that the protagonists in both my books are mothers and that the stories deal with mothers and children: those are issues and relationships I’m familiar with. Both books have characters at three stages of life —adolescents, a middle-aged protagonist, and an older character. Having lived all three ages, I’m no longer a middle-aged mother or a teenager, but I still vividly remember how I felt at those ages and can imagine how I’d react in those situations.
How do you bring to life the place you are writing about?
My setting in both novels is Ottawa, a city I’m familiar with. I’ve walked those neighbourhoods and often I take photographs. I try to get enough detail on the page that the reader can picture the setting. But I try to leave room for readers to use their own imagination. If someone knows Ottawa, I think they enjoy encountering familiar places; but readers who have never visited the city should be able to picture things for themselves and feel at home in the story.
What research do you do to provide background information to help you write the novel?
I do a lot of googling and online research, but I don’t obsess with perfecting every detail. I like the word “verisimilitude” — events should seem believable and plausible, but I don’t go out of my way to, for example, interview police officers about how they’d act in a given situation. I don’t want readers to trip over something that’s clearly incorrect, but so far I seem to have trod a good middle ground, as I haven’t had anyone complaining about inaccuracies.
Is there anything else you’d like to tell readers about the book?
I think if you like stories where ordinary people have to confront extraordinary situations, and you are intrigued by family dynamics, you’ll enjoy this book.
I have a bonus download for new subscribers to my newsletter, with “outtakes” from That Other Family: scenes that didn’t make it into the final version, but give a flavor of the characters and story. Readers can sign up at https://lisangus.com/sign-up. And That Other Family has its own Facebook page, where I post reviews and other book news as it comes in at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61582944595750.
Thank you for answering my questions, Lis, and good luck with That Other Family.
Readers can learn more about Lis Angus by visiting the author’s website and her Facebook, Instagram and BlueSky pages. The novel also has its own Facebook page.
The novel is available at your favourite retailers: https://books2read.com/thatotherfamily
About Lis Angus: Lis Angus is a suspense writer living in Eastern Ontario. She grew up in Alberta, then lived in Germany for two years before moving to Ottawa to study journalism and social sciences.
She has graduate degrees in psychology and business from York University in Toronto. Her early career was spent working with children and families in crisis, and in her later career she was a telecommunications consultant and policy advisor, conference organizer, business writer and editor.
She’s a member of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, Crime Writers of Canada, and Capital Crime Writers. She and her husband have two daughters and two grandchildren, and live in a small town south of Ottawa.
dianneascroft.com 