Authors Interviewing Characters: Greta Kelly

THE THROW AWAYS

Family loyalty, generational secrets, and three women who refuse to be underestimated: Greta Kelly’s THE THROWAWAYS (October 20, 2026, Sideways) is a darkly funny, high-stakes thriller about the complicated bonds between women, the legacies they inherit, and what happens when the past refuses to stay buried.

“A well-written, twisty thriller with an intricate plot, engaging characters, and a satisfying emotional core.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

The Calloway women are notorious for three things: Olympic-level banter, an inexplicable fear of dolls, and secrets.

And one of these things is going to get them killed.

Aster Calloway only sold her grandmother’s Fabergé music box on eBay to finance her mom’s mayoral campaign. It’s not like Poppy Calloway has any real business running for office, but the only other candidate is her book-banning high school nemesis—and she’s in the lead. But what Aster doesn’t realize is that selling the heirloom has toppled the house of lies her grandmother, Iris, has been living in for the past forty years.

Because hidden inside that jewel-encrusted music box was a list of names—names that protected defected KGB operative Iris, her daughter, and her granddaughter. Now the list is gone, and a creepy doll is on Poppy’s doorstep, which can only mean that the list is in play…and the three most dangerous spies in the world are on the hunt:

The one who broke Iris’s heart.

The one who gave her Poppy.

And the one who wants all the other spies, and especially those bickering Calloway women, dead.

—

An Interview with Iris Calloway of Seven Devil’s Antiques

Iris Calloway (66) meets me behind the pristine cash register at Seven Devil’s Antiques. Well. Meets might be a stretch. After rescheduling this interview three times and standing me up a further four, this intrepid writer was left with little choice but to pop by Iris’s store for an impromptu chat. Judging by the expression on Iris’s face when I enter… this may not have been my wisest decision. But like any dogged reporter, I press on. Iris Calloway’s daughter, Poppy Calloway, (41) is running for mayor of Seven Devils, Wisconsin, and what better way to get to know our would-be new mayor than to cozy up to her mother? 

Greta: Thank you so much for taking the time to meet me today—

Iris Calloway: Your inability to take a hint left me little choice in the matter.

Greta: *coughs* Yes… well as you know the Seven Devils Chronicle is running a spotlight on your daughter, Poppy Calloway, and we simply had to hear from you. Tell me, did you always know that Poppy would have a career in politics?

IC: [She leans a hip against the wall behind the counter, giving me a good look at her impeccably tailored grey wool trousers which she has paired with an indigo silk blouse. Elegant as always, Ms. Calloway has finished the look with her signature red lipstick.] I’ve known many political operatives over the years. Poppy has an advantage on all of them. 

Greta: Poppy’s adversary in the election, Tiffany Harden, has been vocal about your daughter’s lack of credentials. What advantage do you think Poppy has on her opponent?

IC: A functioning conscience.   

Greta: Are you implying that Tiffany Harden doesn’t have a conscience?

IC: I imply nothing. How you categorize Tiffany—a person who wants to ban books she hasn’t even bothered to read is entirely your business. [She cocks her head to one side, inspecting me like a knickknack she isn’t sure where to shelve.] If you’re finished, I do have work to do. 

Greta: No! Our readers are ravenous for a peek into the mysterious inner workings of the Calloway family. 

IC: We’ve lived here for twenty-two years, what could you possibly need to know?

Greta: Yet in that time, no one has been able to nail down where you came from? What role did Poppy have in the tragic death of Sean Woods? Why did you set fire to the Star Valley Supper Club? And how is your granddaughter, Aster, paying for her new apartment in—

IC: Aster is none of your concern and Poppy had nothing to do with Sean’s death—it was an accident. [Iris straightens for the first time, and I don’t think I’m imagining the way her hand strays close to the antique sewing shears that sit beside the register.] Anyway, the supper club wasn’t damaged.

Greta: You’re claiming the candle you knocked over just accidentally set Dr. Zimmerman on fire?

IC: I was distracted. [A slow smile spreads across her lips as she says this, a smile that make the walls of the store close in around us.] He was asking so many questions, you see. 

Greta: Are you threatening me?

IC: I’ve never found much use in threats. Why surrender the element of surprise?

Greta: [Looks back toward the door.] Um—

IC: For example, if I had bothered to threaten you after your incessant phone calls, I wouldn’t have the pleasure of looking you in the eye when I asked you where you were on the night of October 11th, 2014. 

Greta: [Backs away from the counter.] I’m not the subject of this interview.

IC: I never agreed to be the subject of one either, yet here you are, prying into my life as if the stream of information only flows one way. I assure you, it doesn’t.

Greta: We’re done here.

IC: You should call your mother. She worries. 

..

This interview occurred mere moments before a mysterious package arrived on Poppy Calloway’s doorstep, warning her that a forty-year-old Cold War spy-game had just turned hot. A game that would put every soul in Seven Devils in the crosshairs and leave the Calloway women irrevocably changed. 

—

Greta Kelly is the co-host of SFF Addicts Podcast and the author of The Throwaways as well as The Warrior Witch duology and The Queen of Days, fantasy books with a touch of magic, a handful of snark, and killing-spree endings. She currently lives in Wisconsin with her husband EJ, and daughters Lorelei and Nadia who are doing their level-best to take over the world. You can follow her on Instagram, X and TikTok @gretakkelly.

 

 

Tags: featured, women writers

Category: Interviews, On Writing