Description

In this episode of In Conversation, award-winning broadcaster Terry Shepherd sits down with UK-based author MJ Dyer to dive deep into her debut psychological thriller, We Are Monsters.

Set against the brooding, atmospheric backdrop of Bodmin Moor, the novel follows Elara, a young woman who has spent her life eclipsed by her identical twin half-sisters. When one of the twins is found dead under suspicious circumstances, Elara’s hunt for the truth spirals into a dark, dangerous descent into rivalry, identity, and the fragile line between victimhood and monstrosity.

What You'll Hear in This Episode:

• The Nightmare Behind the Book: How a severe brain inflammation illness, vivid hospital hallucinations, and a haunting old photograph inspired the eerie premise of the novel.
• The Allure of the Morally Gray: Why MJ Dyer loves writing "unlikable" characters and how Elara’s desperate desire to be noticed drives her ambiguous motivations.
• A Style Reborn: How recovering from a brain injury unexpectedly transformed MJ's writing style from plot-driven fantasy into poetic, lyrical, and deeply psychological prose.
• The Reality of the Publishing Business: MJ shares her transparent, twisty journey through the querying trenches, dealing with rejection, and how she ultimately landed her third literary agent.
• A Sneak Peek at What's Next: Inside the writing process of her second psychological thriller, Toxic Girls, arriving this November.

"I want readers to almost feel a bit disturbed, a bit haunted as they go through the story." — MJ Dyer

Connect with the Author:

• Website: mjdyerbooks.com
• Featured Books: We Are Monsters (Releasing July 7th) and Toxic Girls (Coming November).

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