Imposter is an Apple Best Books of September!
Two sisters, a lifetime of secrets...
Lilian and Rosie were once the closest of sisters, but the untimely death of their parents pulled them apart. Now, three years on, Rosie has reached out to her big sister, asking to meet. Driving on an icy road in the middle of a snowstorm, Rosie admits that she has something important to tell Lilian—a secret she describes as a matter of life and death. But before she has a chance to tell Lilian, a car careens into theirs, with devastating consequences.
Lilian survives unscathed, but Rosie is left with a traumatic brain injury, unable to communicate. Lilian is convinced that someone deliberately rammed Rosie’s car. But why? As Lilian begins to explore her sister’s past, she uncovers disturbing secrets that make her question if she ever really knew Rosie.
The closer Lilian comes to the truth, the more danger she and Rosie find themselves in. But Lilian is certain of one thing: she abandoned her little sister once before and will never do so again. Even if it means sacrificing everything.
Reviews:
Brimming with gasp-worthy surprises, Imposter is my favorite kind of thriller: twisty, unsettling, and emotionally rich. Bradeigh Godfrey expertly amplifies tension throughout her impressive, propulsive debut, one which culminates in an ending that even the most seasoned reader will not see coming.
Megan Collins, bestselling author of The Family Plot
As slick and slippery as a dark, icy road, Imposter has it all. With its rocket-paced plot, and deep dive into the abyss of family dysfunction and traumatic brain injury, Godfrey's deft debut grabs from the electric first pages and holds tight through the stunning conclusion. Tense, immersive, and smart, this is a must-read for fans of Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen.
Lisa Unger, New York Times bestselling author of Last Girl Ghosted
Suspense readers will swoon over Bradeigh Godfrey's Imposter, which is everything a psychological thriller should be: unsettling, totally immersive, and completely unpredictable, with flawless writing and characters that readers will identify and empathize with. Spine-chillingly, jaw-droppingly good!
Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author of Local Woman Missing
Author interview with Bradeigh~
Tell us a little about
yourself and how you started writing.
I’m a physician and a mom of four, which means that I didn’t have time to write for a very long time. Or at least, I thought I didn’t. Medical training and babies felt so all-consuming that I stopped reading for fun or doing anything creative at all. But when my youngest was a baby, I started getting little urges to write down the stories that had always lived inside my head. For a long time, I ignored those urges—who was I to think I could write a novel? Besides, I was busy enough already. But the desire to write built and built until it felt like pressure inside my head, like my skull might actually burst. One day, during my daughter’s nap, I sat down and started writing. It was such a relief. The words kept flowing out of me, and I haven’t stopped since.
Finish this: “I can’t write without…”
I’ve had to train myself to write anywhere and everywhere, but ideally, I will have a scented candle burning, my Hydroflask full of water, and an icy-cold LaCroix on my desk.
Do you have a ‘day job’ as well?
Yes,
I’m a physician specializing in physical medicine and rehabilitation. This
means I take care of individuals with all sorts of injuries and disabilities:
brain injuries, strokes, amputations, and more.
Do
you have a manuscript(s) in your drawer? If so, will it ever see the light of
day?
Yes!
Several. Imposter was the fourth full-length manuscript that I wrote and
polished. The first one will never see the light of day, but it taught me the
basics of novel-writing, and several scenes from that manuscript are now part
of Imposter. The second is a book that is still very close to my heart,
but it’s more suspenseful women’s fiction than a true thriller, so we will see
if I ever pull that one out again. The third manuscript is the one that landed
me my agent, but when we went on submission, it didn’t sell, though we had
several close calls. However, that book is going to be published next year as
my second thriller, so things do have a way of working out!
Do you have a go-to first reader after you feel your manuscript is ready?
My
critique partner, Alison Hammer, who is also my co-author in my other writing
career (we write romantic women’s fiction under the pen name Ali Brady), reads
everything I write. And Genevieve Gagne-Hawes, the in-house editor at my
literary agency (Writers House), is brilliant at guiding my early drafts
through revisions.
Can
you tell us about your challenges in getting your book published?
I had a very long road to getting published. As I mentioned before, my fourth full-length manuscript finally landed me a book deal. I had queried three books before that. While that might sound sort of depressing (and it was, sometimes), I knew I was getting closer with each manuscript. When I queried the first one, I only got a few requests from agents, but the second had a fifty-percent request rate, which is quite good. That second manuscript also had multiple agents interested enough to ask me to revise and resubmit, and a few talked with me on the phone.
I was just about to start revising the manuscript for those
agents when I decided on a whim to participate in a Twitter pitch party
(#PitMad) with my third manuscript, which I had recently finished. I ended up
with four offers of representation. I figured I had it made! So it was a rude
awakening when I went on submission and the book didn’t sell. That was a huge
blow, and I floundered for a few months, trying to decide if I should revise
that third manuscript or write something else. I came very close to quitting at
that point. My agent suggested I write something related to my profession as a
physician, and that’s where the idea for Imposter was born. That book
went through several revisions until it eventually sold to Blackstone, who will
also be publishing a revised version of that third manuscript. Although it was
a long and winding road, I’m thrilled to be where I am now, and I appreciate
all the lessons about perseverance that I learned along the way.
What
are you working on now?
I’m
soon going to be starting development edits for my second thriller, which is
about a social media influencer who shares a picture of her new husband with
her followers, and one of them recognizes him as the man who killed her sister
and got away with it. I’m very excited about this book and looking forward to
diving into it again.
Is
anything in your book based on real-life experiences?
While
Imposter is fictional, I did incorporate many of my experiences during my
medical training and career, especially taking care of individuals with
traumatic brain injuries. I wanted to accurately reflect a hospital environment
and include many of the unsung heroes of the healthcare and rehabilitation
world that don’t usually show up in books and TV shows about medicine—like
physical therapists, occupational therapists, respiratory therapists,
speech-language pathologists, social workers, and more.
Do
you have a favorite character?
There
are two main characters in Imposter, and I love them both: Lilian is a
responsible, studious, somewhat anxious older sister who went to medical school
and is outwardly successful. It was very easy for me to relate to her, and I
loved bringing her to life. Rosie is the rebellious, spontaneous, stubborn
younger sister, and she was more challenging for me to get to know, but I ended
up loving her character and her voice.
What
was some unique research you had to do for a book?
The
story incorporates a rare neurologic disorder that can occur after brain
injuries called Capgras Syndrome, in which the person affected believes that
their closest loved ones have been replaced by identical-looking imposters.
I’ve never seen this in a real-life patient, so I read case reports in medical
journals, watched documentaries, and talked with colleagues across the country
who work in my field. One of the most fascinating things I learned about Capgras
Syndrome is that people affected with it can correctly identify their loved
ones in pictures and photographs—it’s only in person that they think they are
imposters. This is hypothesized to occur when the neurologic pathways that
allow facial recognition are intact, but there is damage to the pathways that
evoke an emotional response to seeing people who know and love. So the person
recognizes the face of their husband or sister or mother, but because they
don’t have an emotional response, they assume that someone must be
impersonating their love ones. This can be terrifying for the person affected
and emotionally devastated for their family and significant other, and in a few
rare cases the delusion has unfortunately led to violence against the
“imposters.” There is no cure, and although some people improve over time, many
are affected for the rest of their lives.
Do
you have any advice for aspiring writers?
If
you want a writing career, start acting as if you already have one. Treat it
like your occupation even if you’re not yet getting paid for it. You may not be
able to write full-time, but you can set aside consistent time on a regular
basis to work. Learn about the craft, join a critique group, and get outside
feedback from beta readers. When your book is as good as you can make it with
your current skill set, start submitting it to agents or publishers. And then,
start writing the next book. Professional authors have to maintain this cycle
for their entire career—write, revise, submit, start the next book—so you might
as well get used to it! It’s also important to develop grit and resilience;
this is not a path for the faint of heart. The more authors I meet, the more I
realize that everyone faces setbacks and disappointments, so learning to come
back after failure is a crucial skill.
To connect with Bradeigh:
Instagram - @bradeighgodfrey
Website: www.bradeighgodfrey.com.
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