"I'm more and more interested in exploring male perspectives in my writing—partly because I want to figure out how to raise a good man!"

Thriller author Julia Dahl on revisiting those first dark weeks of motherhood, inching toward becoming a plotter, and her dark new mystery, I DREAMED OF FALLING

Check out the collection of past Words With (Author) Friends, wherein I g-chat with an author and you get to read over my shoulder, and order Julia’s chilling new mystery, out September 17!

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Julia: hi!

Me: Thanks for being here! And congrats on I Dreamed of Falling!!

How are you feeling?

Thank you! I'm excited mostly. When those first reviews come in and they're good its SUCH a relief. And then the goalposts change...I wanna sell a bunch of books! It's weird how 15 years ago before my first book came out I would have said that if I was 47 years old and publishing my 5th novel I can't imagine there would be anything else I could hope for...and yet! But I'm trying to teach my son that always wanting more is a recipe for an unhappy life, so I'm doing my best to just enjoy the ride - and work on the next book!

Enjoying the ride + working on your next project might be the recipe for sanity around publication!

Can you share a little about the book?

Sure! I Dreamed of Falling is the story of Roman Grady, the only reporter in a tiny Hudson Valley town, whose long-time girlfriend and the mother of his son, Ashley, is found dead on a hillside at her former girlfriend's house. The police assume it's an overdose - she had some history of drug use and her ex's house is a place where people use - but Roman doesn't believe it. As he digs around, he realizes that there was SO much he didn't know about Ashley, and all the people he'd grown up with. It's a murder mystery for sure, but it's also a story about a loving but flawed family struggling to make it work in a town that's rapidly changing around them.

Sounds so dark and layered. Where'd the idea come from?

It's the first of my books that isn't inspired by a story I covered as a reporter. Instead, the germ of this story came from the first months after my son was born. I thought, at 38, in a stable, loving relationship, that I'd be prepared and capable. But I felt completely useless. I was overwhelmed and exhausted and I just wanted to hide in bed. What I had that so many people don't is a sister-in-law who basically said, let me help. She took over when I was at my lowest. And when I went back to work, she stepped in so we didn't have to find a nanny or do daycare. It was a miracle. Almost nine years later, she and my son have a really special relationship. She's like his second mom/best friend and their connection enriches all our lives.

But, because I'm a mystery writer, I started thinking, what if? What if I'd been 21 instead of 38 when I had my son; what if my partner and I had been surprised by the pregnancy? What I'd been financially unstable and hadn't yet explored the world? What if, when I gave birth, I was even more depressed...and someone, say, my partner's mom (in this book her name is Tara), stepped in and said: I'll take over. What if I let her? And four years later I didn't have much of a connection with my son? That's where I Dreamed of Falling starts.

Oooh, that gave me goosebumps. What made you decide to tell the tale from Roman's POV?