Facts: Gillian McAllister
Age: 38 years.
Family: Husband, one child.
Lives: Just outside Birmingham, UK,
Occupation: Writer.
Previous books: “Den natten” (2022). Plus five others that have not yet been translated into Swedish.
Current: With the crime novel “Wrong time, wrong place”.
“I hadn’t seen the theme of waking up yesterday in a crime novel before,” Gillian McAllister told TT in a video interview from her home just outside Birmingham.
In the book, the main character Jen watches her son commit a murder from her window. But when she wakes up the next day, everything is as usual. She realizes that it is actually the day before the murder And so it goes on. Jen travels back in time while being aware of everything that is happening and has happened. The question is whether she can use this to explore what led to the murder – and maybe even prevent it.
— I hung up two clotheslines, on one were notes about what had happened, on the other how to go back in time. I wrote the book when we were in lockdown, so I had a lot of time.
“Monday all week”
The inspiration comes from the movie “Monday all week” and the Netflix series “Russian doll”. In the former, Bill Murray relives the same day over and over, in the latter, the main character dies in an accident but is immediately transported back to the birthday party she has just left. The question is when “Wrong time, wrong place” will be a movie?
— There I have to use my right not to say anything, says Gillian McAllister.
TT: But if it becomes a film, do you want to be involved?
— Yes, but mostly to see what a screenwriter can do with what I’ve written.
Changed the genre
The book contains a couple of unexpected twists. Gillian McAllister cites the twist in Gillian Flynn’s “Gone girl” as one that was so good it changed the genre.
— A twist must come so that the reader’s reaction is “yes, of course, it goes without saying”, and not “but what now?”, says the prolific author.
The next book is coming in August. The book after that will soon be submitted to the publisher. She has plenty of time to write because her husband is on paternity leave and takes care of their baby.
TT: What would you do if you could travel back in time?
— I would do some of the things that I have done before, for example having children.
Gillian McAllister lives outside Birmingham, UK, with her husband and their children. She was previously active as a lawyer but has been writing full-time since a few years ago. Press photo.