Authors Interviewing Characters: Kathleen M. Willett

November 14, 2023 | By Women Writers Women Books | Reply More

Anything For a Friend Author/Character Interview

ANYTHING FOR A FRIEND

For two old friends with so much to hide, playing catch-up is a dangerous game in a propulsive novel of suspense by the author of Mother of All Secrets.

Writer Carrie Colts hopes a move to Montauk will be a rejuvenating change of pace for her family. The last thing she expects to see is her former college roommate on her doorstep. Newly widowed, and with a daughter of her own, Maya would love to reconnect. As a gesture to an old friend in mourning, Carrie extends an invitation to stay. Just for a few days. After all, there are reasons that Carrie and Maya are estranged.

Carrie soon regrets her impulsive offer. Someone has taken a pair of scissors to her college yearbook. Her herb garden is destroyed. She’s starting to receive sinister texts. And Maya is making herself a little too much at home. What does Maya really want? What is she hiding? Carrie’s afraid to ask. Because Maya knows all her secrets, and exposing them comes with a price Carrie can’t afford to pay.

Kathleen M. Willett interviews Carrie Colt

KW: So, Carrie, you’ve had Maya staying with you for three days now. It must be a bit jarring, seeing her after all these years. You two were inseparable in college, but you haven’t spoken in quite some time. How would you say it’s going so far?

Carrie: Um, yeah, it’s going so great. It’s been so nice to reconnect, especially after all this time, as you said. It’s really just. . . so nice having her. It’s like we picked right up where we left off.

KW: Carrie. That’s a lot of “so’s.” You can be real with me. There’s no need for BS. I’m the author, remember?

Carrie: Ugh. I forgot. Okay– having Maya around is freaking weird.

KW: Yes, I’ve noticed that things seem a bit awkward between you two. Can I ask. . . what were you thinking, inviting her to stay with you? After all that’s passed between you two, and not all of it good? It’s a bit surprising that you’d extend the invitation.

Carrie: I can’t explain it. As soon as I saw her, I remembered how much we once cared about each other. We were the most important people in each other’s lives for some really pivotal years. Plus, her husband just died; she was in a vulnerable position when she showed up here. I could tell she needed me. And she was there for me, all those years ago. In the biggest way imaginable. I felt like I owed her. But that’s probably the exact reason I shouldn’t have invited her. There’s so much history there. And it’s kind of crazy that she hasn’t said anything about when she’s leaving. It’s as if she lives with us now; she’s cooking meals in my kitchen, which she also reorganized, by the way. So, what, she’s just staying indefinitely? Sorry, but that’s not exactly what I meant when I offered to take her and her daughter in.

KW: Why don’t you just ask her what her plan is?

Carrie: I don’t want her to think that I’m not happy hosting her. All of this is my fault; I should have thought about how uncomfortable it would make me. I mean, imagine the one person who knows your darkest secret. . . like the worst thing you’ve ever done, or things, in my case. . . and every morning she’s sitting between your husband and daughter drinking coffee. And she keeps, like, referencing stuff from our past. Subtly enough that no one else gets it, but it feels like she’s taunting me. That’s probably just in my head, though. I’ve been paranoid lately.

KW: What about her daughter? What has it been like for you to get to know Lola?

Carrie: Lola is lovely. But she’s. . . well, she’s a little odd, isn’t she? It’s like she’s always right there, lurking, whenever I turn around. Maybe I’m only finding that surprising because I’m used to my own teenage daughter, Kelsey, who basically wants nothing to do with me. But I can feel Lola looking at me all the time, and the questions she asks me are so personal. It’s quite unnerving. She made me a sandwich, randomly, and I swear she watched me take every single bite. She’s unlike any other teenager I’ve ever met, that’s for sure.

KW: Kelsey seems to like her quite a lot, though.

Carrie: Yes, she and Kelsey seem to have bonded quickly. Perhaps too much so. I can’t put my finger on why it irks me so much to see them palling around together, putting makeup on each other, whispering. But it does. Maybe they remind me too much of Maya and me when we first met. But it’s not only that. Lola is so familiar to me. I just can’t seem to figure her out.

KW: Have you tried distracting yourself from these stressors? Diving into work, maybe?

Carrie: Ha. I tried that. But my manuscript somehow got deleted from my computer. I have no idea how it happened. I was able to recover it– Maya helped me, actually– but it was quite a close call. Not only that, but my herb garden was destroyed by some kind of animal, and I’ve been getting these creepy texts from– well, that’s not relevant. Sorry, I don’t know why I’m unloading like this. It’s just been a rough few days, I guess.

KW: Are you thinking that perhaps Maya had something to do with the manuscript and the garden?

Carrie: No, no, of course not. Maya would never hurt me. She’s more than proved that she has my back. “Never make the other one walk home alone” is what we always used to say in college; we’d always wait for each other to leave parties. She walked me through some other terrible stuff, too. So I don’t think she’s intentionally tormenting me. But still, having her back in my life is reminding me of how inferior I used to feel next to her. She was always so perfect in college: stellar grades, on time for everything, admired by our friends and professors. I, on the other hand, was a disaster. I drank too much, I missed half my morning classes, and I was constantly needing extensions on schoolwork.

KW: You were jealous of Maya?

Carrie: God, yes.

KW: Funny. She said the same about you.

Carrie: There’s no way. You’re lying.

KW: I can’t lie; the book is already written. Speaking of which, what did happen at the end of senior year, anyway? Readers will want to know.

Carrie: Nice try. We don’t talk about that. Ever. Next question.

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Kathleen Willett has a B.A. in English from Holy Cross and a M.A. in English Education from Columbia University. An English teacher who grew up in New Jersey and London, Kathleen lives in Manhattan with her husband, two daughters, and a cat named Mr. Sparkles.