Tuesday, January 31, 2023

What Hank's Writing? During Pre-Launch Jitters, an introduction





HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: ​​I'm so excited, I just can’t hide it (yes, I am singing) because next week at this time,THE HOUSE GUEST will be in bookstores, and on shelves, and online, and, I deeply profoundly hope, in your hot little hands. So far, so good. It’s an Amazon Editors’ Pick for Best Mystery Thriller and Suspense, and was (so far) up to number 7 (yes, 7!) in new releases of psychological suspense. (It actually went to 6, but hey. This photo is handy.)

It got a starred review from Library Journal, which called it “binge-worthy!" And Publishers Weekly raved “Ryan is a master of suspense.” So that's very very very wonderful.


It does not, however, take away one bit of nerves. It really doesn't.

So in What We're Writing week, let me introduce you to the main character of THE HOUSE GUEST, Alyssa Macallen. Alyssa is reeling and baffled because her husband of eight years, to whom she thought she was happily married, has walked out. Without explanation, and without answering any questions about it. Just... gone. Why?

Even more, she's fearful that Bill, the powerful affluent and quite manipulative Bill, is scheming to ruin her. Why? She has no idea.

Though she is living alone in their gorgeous house right now, she knows Bill has been coming inside when she's not home. He has control of the alarm system, so she leaves her own special traps throughout. A flower on the front step. A vase in a certain place. And a few other things. (And you'll have to read more about that.)

One night, after a solitary miserable drink in a neighborhood hotel bar, Alyssa meets someone who seems even sadder than she does. And Alyssa decides that instead of wallowing in her own grief, she'll offer help to someone else. And here's a little bit of that.


From THE HOUSE GUEST


She’d tried to help people too, starting in law school, but Bill had persuaded her to leave. Not really persuaded, she corrected herself, she’d swooned with wanting him. Being Bill’s wife, she’d soon learned, was a job in itself. No bar exam, but in this privileged world there were other tests, constant and sometimes intimidatingly puzzling tests. Tests of manners and money, of actions and clothing and hierarchy. Still, she hadn’t missed law school, or her friends from back then, not for a second. Not for eight years at least.

Then, a few months ago, Bill had grown—complicated. Moody. Seemed to become more high-strung, wielding his power. Criticizing her, snappish and belittling. Accusing her of being forgetful, pouncing on her mistakes. Closing his study door. She’d written it off as business, something in Bill-money-world.

She’d tried to be patient. But she couldn’t resist. She’d looked them up, the symptoms. How to know if your husband is cheating. Embarrassed but obsessed, she’d taken the quizzes in Marie Claire and Psychology Today. Moody, yes. Dismissive, yes. Changed, yes. Demeaning, vague, volatile. Yes yes yes.

On a scale of one to ten, does he seem to be trying to bait you? Does he go out of his way to taunt you? Scare you? Ten, she checked the box. Ten.

At least Bill never hit her. Never physically harmed her. Not like Bree.

Bree.

She trudged upstairs, thinking of the woman in the bar. Alyssa knew unhappiness when she saw it. After tonight’s conversation, tentative steps on emotional thin ice, Bree let Alyssa pay for her wine, thanked her politely, then said goodbye. Alyssa had written her own phone number on a napkin, and slid it across the zinc bar to Bree. “Call me if you need anything. Really.” Alyssa had hesitated, fearing it might seem too forward. Too aggressive. Too intrusive.

But men did that without a second thought.

Bree had accepted the napkin, tucking it into a pocket, but had not offered her own number in return. And with a wave, she’d walked away, leaving Alyssa alone again.


Now Alyssa washed her face, drew on a big soft t-shirt. Sliding under the covers, she put her phone on the white bedside table, and plugged it in to charge.

She promised herself she’d stop being paranoid, stop wishing for secret messages, start facing reality. She closed her eyes, resolute. She thought of Bree, alone in that not-quite-seedy hotel, equally apprehensive and ambivalent. Why were women always the ones who were harmed?

The sounds of the night surrounded her, the sounds of her solitude, and her anxiety. Had someone moved the tulips? No one had stepped on the front-steps flower, so how could they– --Bill--have gotten in?

A million ways, her mind rebuked her. Instead of sheep, she counted fears, individual nameless fears. She was afraid to go to sleep—what if she’d missed something? What if someone was inside? What was Bill trying to do? But if she stayed awake, there was danger in every sound. Sixty-five hundred square feet, and a guest house. And every square foot was paved with uncertainty.


***********

Talk about every step paved with uncertainty—welcome to pre-launch week! But this sets up a few things: not only Alyssa’s situation, but women helping women, female empowerment maybe in the works, a double standard for men and women. 

 THE HOUSE GUEST has been called Gaslight meets Thelma & Louise meets Strangers on a Train.

Reds and readers, what would you predict that means? (And cross your fingers for me! I cannot do it without you, wonderful ones!)





67 comments:

  1. Clever, captivating, unputdownable . . . . I loved this book!

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    1. Oh! I am incredibly grateful. I hope you know how much—and how much it truly matters, in oh so many ways. Thank you! Xxxxx

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  2. When you want to tell a character to please don’t do that, you’re either lost to reality or well invested in the story. Pat D

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    1. This is one of my favorite conversations! And thank you for all your amazing support, dear, Pat! That’s what I love about this – – a book is not about what the reader would do, but the reader understanding what the character does. And I love that Alyssa does things the reader may not.agree with, but then she turns out to be right. No spoilers but… xxxx

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  3. Hank, your excerpt is sure to hook anyone here who reads it. I'm cutting it a little close, because I plan to have my review up on next Monday, but I'm headed for bed now to begin The House Guest. It's probably a big mistake to start it before this late of a bedtime. I know it's going to be hard to put down. Your books always are. I love how you still get excited about your book launches. It's contagious, as I'm excited for you. So, off I go to some great reading.

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    1. Oh, I cannot tell you how nerve-wracking it is to have a wonderful reviewer reading! Crossing fingers like crazy ….

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  4. Very intriguing. And you want lots of uncertainty at the beginning of a novel.

    I'm sure next week will be wonderful for you.

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    1. Awwww thank you so much !

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  5. You go, Hank! I can't help but already be suspicious of Bree, too...

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    1. Oh my goodness, thank you! And yes, it is called The House Guest , after all .. xxxxx

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  6. Great excerpt and something suspicious is going on with Bree. Look forward to seeing what it is.

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    1. Glad I'm not alone in thinking that, Dru.

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    2. Hooray! And I can’t wait for everyone to see your wonderful day in the life profile of Alyssa coming up ! Thank you so much, so incredibly much, for including me!

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  7. This snippet already has me wanting to turn pages. Definitely a must have mystery.

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    1. Oh, thank you! This is so wonderful to hear! I am so nervous!

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  8. Ooh, I have so many questions. I can’t wait to go on this ride! The House Guest will be another smash, Hank.

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  9. HANK: Brilliant, twisty mind games.
    You know that I LOVED reading THE HOUSE GUEST!

    I am happy to see your excitement online each day leading up to next Tuesday.
    Congratulations, dear friend.

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    1. Oh, thank you! I am so honored… and you are such a treasured friend. This has been a very goose bumpy ride !

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  10. I am already guessing. FCF will be fun today!

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    1. It will be really hilarious to hear how to read it with her accent! She is the best. And then we are going to chat live afterward. So great— and so pleased you are coming !

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  11. Congratulations! Thelma and Louise made me put down my coffee.

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    1. That is the best thing you could have possibly ever said !

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  12. I love this excerpt so much! I'm really looking forward to reading this one.

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    1. Oh, thank you so much! Eager to hear what you think …. Xxxxx

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  13. I remember when this was still a work in progress, Hank -- you shared the opening in a 'What we're writing' post here, I think, and it has stuck in mind -- in a good way. And I still don't trust Bree; she seems suspicious to me. It's exciting to see your new book almost out in the world, and I'm looking forward to today's FCF reading! I wish you every success with this latest thrilling page-turner. You've got this!

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    1. Thank you! Yes, it is very touching and reassuring to remember how we were all together through the entire genesis of this! It is such a process, and so much fun to be on the ride with you all !

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  14. Oh this sounds so good! Can't wait to read. Recently finished Her Perfect Life (brilliant and fun) and next up is The First to Lie. Then I'll settle in with The House Guest. Its been so interesting to share the progress of story creation through 'what we're writing.'

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    1. Thank you! I love what we're writing--it's always such an insight..and a good way to keep up with the reds' writing brains!

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  15. Hank, you know when those cartoon characters step up to bat and smash the ball and we see it disappearing around the curve of the earth? Well, pretty sure that's what 'Gaslight meets Thelma & Louise meets Strangers on a Train' means. The House Guest is sailing wayyyy beyond the ballpark! Congratulations. And thanks, I'm already nervous for Alyssa!

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    1. AAwww..I am truly holding on to that wonderful image! Thank you!

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  16. Congratulations, Hank. Looking forward to your new one.

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  17. Hey Hank - congrats on this great new story!!! I remember when we first met eons ago - I've enjoyed your books ever since.

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    1. Oh, so lovely to hear from you! Yes, dinner at the balcony restaurant at Grand Central Station, wasn't it? xxx

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  18. Congratulations on the new book, Hank! I'm sure it will be a spectacular success.

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  19. Does Bree smell funny? Because she sure sounds fishy to me. Oooh, twisty, gaslighty, and girlfriends on the run creating havoc? I'm there.

    Hank, I'd be a nervous wreck! Good luck with the launch, dear. Sounds like you have a nice headstart with that #7 position already!

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    1. It was amazing to see, I have to admit! (ANd fishy is as fishy does. You will have to see! xxxox)

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  20. Reading all of your comments, and love you so much! But just in general… Well, the book is titled THE HOUSE GUEST— so it would be not a stretch to think that the houseguest is going to upset the equilibrium of someone’s life. But that would be pretty obvious, wouldn’t it? So, as an author, my job is not to do what you think I might do . And not to do what the second thing you might predict is, either :-)

    So ask yourself… What if the house guest is a good thing? What if every decision Alyssa makes is right? What if the house guest is the best thing that ever happened to her? Or… What if Bree is NOT the house guest?… hmmmmm…

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  21. Congratulations, Hank on your new novel THE HOUSE GUEST! Diana

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  22. I was interested before you wrote the little blurb above. Not the expected house guest? I'm wondering if the guest house is involved?

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  23. Congratulations, Hank! Can't wait for release day.

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    1. Awww., thank you! It's always ....entertaining :-) isn't it? xx

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  24. This little snippet you shared has given me butterflies in my stomach. I have so many questions that I don’t know where to begin! For one, why didn’t Bree share her phone number? And can Alyssa have the alarm code changed?

    I’m excited for you, Hank, because it’s apparent that this is another extraordinary book, just like all your others!!

    DebRo

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    1. Aw, thank you..that is so kind of you! But what if Bill controls the alarm, too?

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  25. Great excerpt, Hank! I can't wait for THE HOUSE GUEST, and from the Amazon numbers, neither can a lot of other readers. I swear, you get better and better with each book!

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    1. Oh, Julia...one can only hope. And thank you--I think that's what we all strive for! And I am so honored to hear that from you, fabulous one! xxx

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  26. Breaking news! If you want to hear the first chapter of THE HOUSE GUEST read out loud, come to first chapter fun at 12:30 PM ET today! And Hannah will read it! Very excited about this ..

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  27. I'm very happy for you, Hank--the book is clearly going to be a smash! The excerpt is intriguing, and anything that combines Strangers on a Train with Gaslight has got to have an amazing number of twists, tricks, and scary bits. Can't wait to read it.

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  28. You are a master of suspense and the unreliable narrator with twists and turns. Have you considered a different genre? Regular fiction, traditional mystery or even non-fiction?

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    1. I just burst out laughing. First, thank you! Second, my brain is totally fried right now. A book? What's a book? xoxox

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  29. Hank, this is so intriguing!! I can't wait to read The House Guest!! What is Bill up to? Who is Bree, really, and is she up to no good?? I know this is going to be a smashing success for you!!!

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    1. That is so lovely of you! Yes, and since I have no outline, I did not know those answers for a while! xx

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  30. Relax, dear friend! THE HOUSE GUEST is brilliant! xo

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  31. Fabulous! Such an intriguing character, and that's the engine that drives the book. Congratulations!!

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    1. Cannot wait to "talk" with you about it right here next week! xx

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  32. BIG congratulations, Hank!! Honestly, I can't read the excerpt because I'll be receiving the book electronically next Tuesday, and plan to dive in and not look back. Knowing your earlier work, and reading everyone's reactions has me super excited to read this. ~Lynda

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  33. This is absolutely thrilling!!! See what I did there? I simply can not wait to get my hands on THE HOUSE GUEST. Woo hoo! You're a rock star, Hank!

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    1. I see what you did there! xooxooo And love you.. Thank you! Aww..xoxo

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  34. I was thrilled to be one of your Super Readers - absolutely love The House Guest..fabulous! 5 Plus stars!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💕

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