Behind The Book With Katie Garner 

In the summer of 2023, I did my first Q&A with Katie Garner which you can read here by clicking this link https://booknotions.com/qa-with-katie-garner/ . I was very grateful to speed through an early copy of Katie’s second novel The Family Inside which is out today on January 28^th! 

Q: Welcome back Katie! For those who haven’t read The Family Inside, can you give a brief description of the novel?

A: Absolutely! THE FAMILY INSIDE follows Iris, a single mom who mysteriously lost her husband 3 years ago. Unable to keep up with her mortgage, Iris confides in her new boyfriend, Hugh, who suggests she and her daughter can stay with him at his house for a while. He confesses he’s recently sold his house and is staying with his mother to help her with some things that need to be fixed.

Iris agrees and moves in, only to learn his mother’s house is a sprawling, crumbling mansion—and the lies have only just begun when she discovers other family members are also living there.

Q: Where did the idea come from for The Family Inside? Did it take you almost two years to write it? I remember when we did our first Q&A you were working on this book. 

A: I initially got the idea in 2020 when I was standing in my kitchen watching true crime documentaries. Every single one I’d been watching seemed to end the same way—with everyone wholeheartedly believing they knew the identity of the killer—yet no justice was ever found. I thought about how I would react if I knew the person who had killed my loved one (and got away with it) and the idea of THE FAMILY INSIDE was born. 

If I remember right, I wrote the first draft over the course of 2020 and then revised it in 2022. I didn’t write or edit at all in 2021 when I was pregnant and had my son. When THE NIGHT IT ENDED was sold in 2022, THE FAMILY INSIDE was slated to be book 2 in the 2-book deal. Publishing is slow, so most of the time, any book you’re reading usually has been years in the making!

Q: Which scenes were your favorites to write? For me it was hard to choose since I enjoyed the book so much, but I shall choose one. I love the scene where Iris finally makes it to the attic and the shocking secrets she found! 

A: Yes, I love that scene! It was a little difficult to write, just because there were so many revelations, I needed to unfurl in a single scene, so I needed to get the pacing and twists right. My favorite scenes to write about were the ones between Iris and the family. I had a few scenes I ended up cutting in early drafts of Iris having dinner with them, for example, and the tension that bubbles just below the surface when the characters all have their own secret motives. 

Q: What lessons & emotions do you hope readers learn after they read The Family Inside? For me it’s a reminder that family isn’t just blood, it’s the ones we choose as well. 

A: Found family was a big part of the book. I also wanted to convey the theme of justice. Each character in the book deals with their own version of justice and how they feel they need to execute it. I grappled a lot with right and wrong and what I would do (and would want to do!) in certain situations, and what message I wanted to convey by the end. 

Q: If you were to write a sequel to The Family Inside, what would the characters be doing right now? I wouldn’t mind reading a sequel where Iris solves the unsolved murder of her husband with Sloane & Ellory’s help! 

A: I do leave it open to a sequel, but no sequel is on the horizon right now. For me, I love it when books are left a little open-ended, it allows you to wonder about the story after you read the final page. As for where the characters are right now…I have some ideas but can’t spoil anything! 

Q: If/when Hollywood gets the rights to The Family Inside, who would be your dream cast to play the characters? Some suggestions I have are Megan Fahy from White Lotus plays Iris or maybe even Jenifer Olson. Though Jenifer could play Sloane. I know you described Hugh looking like Henry Cavill so I kinda pictured him! 

A: I mean, you can never lose with Henry Cavill! It’s funny but when I create characters, they form naturally in my head, then it gets tough when it comes time for me to attach an actor or actress to what I know they already look like. So in my head, Hugh looks closest to Matt Bomer (who definitely resembles Henry Cavill!). Iris looks like Jenna Coleman, and Sloane looks like Christina Hendricks.