Kate Robards's "The Three Deaths of Willa Stannard," the movie

Featured at My Book, The Movie: The Three Deaths of Willa Stannard: A Thriller by Kate Robards.

The entry begins:

Before I wrote The Three Deaths of Willa Stannard, I sketched out the characters in great depth. Some of my notes made it into the novel, while others were simply for me to create multi-dimensional characters. As part of my process, I located a photo depicting my vision of each character. While not a celebrity, looking back at the photos guides me in dreamcasting my novel.

My debut thriller follows Sawyer Stannard, who’s grappling with the unexpected death of her sister, Willa. To understand Willa’s last days, she begins to retrace her footsteps, diving deep into a mysterious cold case of a missing toddler that Willa, an investigative journalist, was writing about.

The novel alternates between Sawyer’s perspective in the present day and Willa’s point of view in the past, so I consider them both leading ladies. Despite sharing their childhoods, these sisters have very different personalities.

Sawyer is extraverted, enthusiastic, and bubbly. A spin instructor in her late twenties, she’s bounced from job to job. Though she intends to find out what happened to her sister, she’s not a detective; she’s a grieving sister battling her own demons. I’d cast...[read on]

Visit Kate Robards's website.

My Book, The Movie: The Three Deaths of Willa Stannard.

--Marshal Zeringue