Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: The Twilight Wife
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://ajbanner.com/
CITY:
STATE:
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
http://ajbanner.com/biography/ * http://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/A-J-Banner/2105635219
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born in India; married.
EDUCATION:Graduated from University of California, Berkeley.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer. Previously worked at veterinary clinic.
AVOCATIONS:Hiking, reading.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
A.J. Banner is an author who lives in the Pacific Northwest, where she writes suspense novels. She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, and has worked at a veterinary clinic.
The Good Neighbor
In 2015, Banner published her first novel, The Good Neighbor. In an interview with Ognian Georgiev for the Land of Books Web site, Banner summarized the book’s plot, stating: “The Good Neighbor is a novel of psychological suspense, in which a young woman suffers a tragedy and is forced to question everything she thought was true about her friends, her neighbors—and even her husband. The novel is set in the Pacific Northwest in the blustery days of autumn.”
Sarah, a resident of Shadow Cove, Washington, has recently married Dr. Johnny McDonald, a handsome dermatologist. In her interview with Georgiev, Banner remarked of her protagonist: “Sarah’s a contemplative, introverted writer … who is also somewhat idealistic and wants to believe the best about people. But as a writer, she also pays attention to detail and to her intuition.” A terrible event occurs when Johnny is gone one evening. As Sarah and Johnny attempt to rebuild their lives, Sarah learns that the tragedy that occurred may have been orchestrated by someone she is close to. She begins to doubt her relationship with Johnny, as well as her bonds with her friends and neighbors.
The Twilight Wife
In The Twilight Wife: A Novel, published in 2016, Banner tells the story of a marine biologist named Kyra Winthrop. Kyra was involved in a diving accident that caused her to have partial memory loss. She does not recall what happened to her in the past few years. Kyra lives with her overly protective husband, Jacob, on a Pacific Northwest island. She begins having disturbing dreams and remembering snippets from the days surrounding the accident. Kyra has memories involving Aiden, a good friend of Jacob’s, and she wonders what kind of relationship she had with him. She also remembers there being more people around at the time of the accident than she was told. Kyra comes to believe that what Jacob and others have told her about her accident is not accurate and worries that she may still be in danger. When she accesses more key pieces of her memory, Kyra begins to doubt her relationship with her husband and uncovers disturbing secrets about the island where they live.
In an interview with a contributor to the Simon and Schuster Web site, Banner was asked about her inspiration for the book. She responded: “I do recall having an idea, some time ago, to write a story about a woman who suffers a head injury during a scuba diving accident, and when she awakens, she can no longer recognize faces. She suffers from prosopagnosia. I thought she could discover that the people around her weren’t who they claimed to be.” Banner continued: “But the problem with this approach was, she would still recognize voices and mannerisms, so she would need to also have lost her memory. Even more problematic: I learned that once a person loses her ability to recognize faces, this ability rarely, if ever, returns. On the other hand, memory is more elastic—it can return. I was still enamored with the idea of a diving accident, and I held on to the idea of memory loss.”
Critics were divided in their assessments of The Twilight Wife. Susan Clifford, a writer in Xpress Reviews, commented: “What could have been an exceptionally readable and suspenseful thriller suffers from repetition and an overabundance of adjectives.” More favorably, a contributor to Publishers Weekly asserted: “Banner’s ability to maintain tension while teasing out the truth of her hazy past will keep readers engaged.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Publishers Weekly, October 24, 2016, review of The Twilight Wife: A Novel, p. 55.
Xpress Reviews, November 18, 2016, Susan Clifford, review of The Twilight Wife.
ONLINE
A.J. Banner Home Page, http://ajbanner.com/ (July 18, 2017).
Land of Books, https://landofbooks.org/ (August 16, 2015), Ognian Georgiev, author interview.
Simon and Schuster Web site, http://www.simonandschuster.com/ (July 18, 2017), author interview.*
As a child, A. J. Banner loved reading everything from Nancy Drew to Tolkien to her parents’ spy novels, “borrowed” from their bookshelves and hidden beneath her pillow. She wrote her first thriller, Mystery at Crane Corner, at the age of 11. She drew her own cover art and bound the pages with staples.
Born in India and raised in North America, A. J. graduated from high school in southern California and received degrees from the University of California, Berkeley. She tried various professions after college, including a stint in law school and a memorable job at a veterinary clinic, since she loves animals, but eventually she returned to writing. Her new novel of psychological suspense, THE TWILIGHT WIFE, is out now from Touchstone, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.
Her debut novel of psychological suspense, THE GOOD NEIGHBOR was the #1 Kindle bestseller for 34 days, remained in the top five on the Kindle bestseller list throughout the book’s release month, and was in the top 50 in the Kindle store for 145 days in a row. THE GOOD NEIGHBOR was named by Harper’s Bazaar as a book that could be the next GONE GIRL.
A longtime fan of Agatha Christie, Daphne du Maurier, and Alfred Hitchcock Presents, A. J. feels at home writing stories with unexpected twists and turns. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and five rescued cats.
QUOTED: "I do recall having an idea, some time ago, to write a story about a woman who suffers a head injury during a scuba diving accident, and when she awakens, she can no longer recognize faces. She suffers from prosopagnosia. I thought she could discover that the people around her weren’t who they claimed to be."
"But the problem with this approach was, she would still recognize voices and mannerisms, so she would need to also have lost her memory. Even more problematic: I learned that once a person loses her ability to recognize faces, this ability rarely, if ever, returns. On the other hand, memory is more elastic—it can return. I was still enamored with the idea of a diving accident, and I held on to the idea of memory loss. "
A Conversation with A. J. Banner
What significance does the title hold to the narrative? Is Kyra a twilight wife? What connotations does the word twilight have for you?
The word twilight suggests falling away into darkness, the strange, dreamlike in-between time, when day isn’t quite finished and night hasn’t quite begun. Kyra hovers in that limbo, not entirely herself without her memory and plunging into a terrifying night as her life unravels. However, she also finds beauty and hope in twilight. She remembers magical nights, when she walked the beach and discovered unusual marine species beneath the moonlight. And night always becomes day again. Darkness leads to dawn. She discovers her own inner strength and reclaims her life.
How and when did you first come up with the conceit for the novel? What sparked that initial idea that became the book?
My ideas come from mysterious, deep thermal sea vents. I can never pinpoint the exact origin of a concept. But I do recall having an idea, some time ago, to write a story about a woman who suffers a head injury during a scuba diving accident, and when she awakens, she can no longer recognize faces. She suffers from prosopagnosia. I thought she could discover that the people around her weren’t who they claimed to be. But the problem with this approach was, she would still recognize voices and mannerisms, so she would need to also have lost her memory. Even more problematic: I learned that once a person loses her ability to recognize faces, this ability rarely, if ever, returns. On the other hand, memory is more elastic—it can return. I was still enamored with the idea of a diving accident, and I held on to the idea of memory loss. I live in the rural Pacific Northwest and loved the idea of setting the novel on a remote, rainy, shadowy northwest island, which became integral to the plot.
Kyra and Jacob discuss the nearshore, the volatile confluence of sky, land, and water. How did you learn about this term, and what significance does it hold for you?
At the seashore, I feel most at home and somehow closest to the universe and timelessness. When I read about the nearshore in a marine biology textbook, I thought, This is what I love, this place where sky, ocean, and land come together. I loved the term—it seemed magical—and it seemed appropriate for Kyra, as she stands at a confluence in her life, at the junction of past, present, and future, where everything in her life is volatile and in flux.
Kyra begins to suspect that the people in her life are holding back important information. Is there ever a time when holding back could be a good thing for another person? Or do you believe that full disclosure is the only way to go?
This is a complex issue. I think the answer depends upon the situation and individual preference. For example, I recently read about a man with terminal cancer who didn’t want to know his prognosis. He seemed calm and content until a doctor told him point-blank that he was dying of cancer. The man became very depressed, rapidly deteriorated, and died. Other people might want the whole truth all the time. On the other hand, if a young child’s dog is killed by a car, will the parent give the child all the horrible details about the dog’s injuries? Perhaps not.
Your first book, The Good Neighbor, also deals with deception and uncovering the truth about those we love. What makes these themes so compelling to you?
As a writer, I find a variety of themes compelling, but the idea of deception is universally fascinating. If a character needs to uncover a dark truth about the people closest to her, or even herself, wouldn’t that keep you turning the pages? I’ve always loved mysteries, from Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys to Agatha Christie, and psychological suspense is merely an extension of that fascination. Haven’t we all known someone who wasn’t quite who he or she appeared to be? In fiction, deception raises the stakes for the main character, who may find her concept of reality and her very life at risk.
Kyra asks, “Did we seem happy?” How can you tell when a couple seems happy together? Is there anything about the way that Jacob and Kyra interact that makes them seem unhappy? What do you think of the appearance of happiness versus real happiness in a marriage?
I hope it’s impossible to tell, in the beginning of the book, whether Kyra and Jacob were truly happy together. This is part of the story question that creates tension—were they happy or weren’t they? I doubt any marriage is ever always happy. But in our culture, I believe we expect to enjoy some fundamental stability or satisfaction in marriage. People can hide deep, personal secrets never shared with the outside world. For Kyra, the question is, what was wrong and what were her intentions before she lost her memory?
Did you invent the type of amnesia that Kyra suffers from, or is that form of memory loss actually possible? What research did you do to write so realistically from the perspective of someone who can’t trust their own recollections? What was the hardest part about the process of writing an amnesiac character?
Ha, you caught me! I made up the form of memory loss to suit the kind of story I wanted to tell, but from what I’ve learned, forms of amnesia can be complex and indefinable. The brain remains a mystery. The story of the man who lost his memory and started speaking only in Swedish, a language he had never learned—it’s true! I read about his strange life and death. It’s entirely possible to lose both anterograde and retrograde memory, and it’s entirely possible for memories to return. But because I’ve never heard of anyone with Kyra’s form of memory loss, I can’t say whether it’s actually possible.
Were there any interesting details about marine life that you learned while doing research that didn’t make it into the book? Can you share with us?
I learned so many fascinating facts about sea life, I thought I might want to drop writing and become a marine biologist. Just kidding, but seriously, I love the research. Did you know that over nine out of ten coiled (spiral) seashells today are dextral? This means they coil to the right. There are a few sinistral specimens—shells that coil to the left—but they are rare and sought-after by shell collectors. To learn the reasons for the abundance of right-coiling shells, read an engrossing book called Spirals in Time: The Secret Life and Curious Afterlife of Seashells by Helen Scales. She also notes that nobody knows how many mollusk species (she spells it mollusc) exist in the world, but estimates run from 50,000 to 100,000 known named species.
What symbolism did you see in unearthing the marker for thymus citriodorus in the old garden? Why did you choose a garden as the safest place for Jacob’s mother?
Spoiler: the garden was the safest place for Jacob’s mother because her abusive husband was allergic to lavender, but also, it was a place where she could focus on the positive, on growth and possibility, on nurturing herself. In the same garden years later, Kyra unwittingly unearths a key to unlocking her own past, and an indication of what her future could hold.
What are you writing now?
I’m writing another novel of psychological suspense, also set in the rainy, remote Pacific Northwest and featuring a woman in jeopardy, who begins to question the sincerity and motives of those closest to her. Hmmm, this is becoming a theme in my novels, isn’t it? But a fun and intriguing theme for readers, I hope! I’m conducting research into the way a small-town detective (not the main character) might investigate a death that may or may not have been murder.
Born in India and raised in North America, A. J. Banner received degrees from the University of California, Berkeley. Her first novel of psychological suspense, The Good Neighbor, was the #1 Kindle bestseller for thirty-four days and was named by Harper’s Bazaar as a book that could be the next Gone Girl. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and five rescued cats.
As a child, A. J. Banner loved reading everything from Nancy Drew to Tolkien to her parents’ spy novels, “borrowed” from their bookshelves and hidden beneath her pillow. She wrote her first thriller, Mystery at Crane Corner, at the age of 11. She drew her own cover art and bound the pages with staples.
Born in India and raised in North America, A. J. graduated from high school in southern California and received degrees from the University of California, Berkeley. She tried various professions after college, including a stint in law school and a memorable job at a veterinary clinic, since she loves animals, but eventually she returned to writing. Her new novel of psychological suspense, THE TWILIGHT WIFE, is out now from Touchstone, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.
Her debut novel of psychological suspense, THE GOOD NEIGHBOR was the #1 Kindle bestseller for 34 days, remained in the top five on the Kindle bestseller list throughout the book’s release month, and was in the top 50 in the Kindle store for 145 days in a row. THE GOOD NEIGHBOR was named by Harper’s Bazaar as a book that could be the next GONE GIRL.
A longtime fan of Agatha Christie, Daphne du Maurier, and Alfred Hitchcock Presents, A. J. feels at home writing stories with unexpected twists and turns. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and five rescued cats.
A. J. Banner grew up reading Agatha Christie, Daphne du Maurier, and other masters of love and mystery. She enjoyed sneaking thrillers from her parents' library, which gave her excellent fodder for her novels of psychological suspense, The Good Neighbor and The Twilight Wife. The Good Neighbor was a #1 Amazon bestseller for 34 days in a row, and The Twilight Wife is a USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestseller. A. J. is hard at work on her next novel in her home office overlooking a Pacific Northwest forest. Sign up for her e-newsletter here: http://ajbanner.com/
QUOTED: "The Good Neighbor is a novel of psychological suspense, in which a young woman suffers a tragedy and is forced to question everything she thought was true about her friends, her neighbors – and even her husband. The novel is set in the Pacific Northwest in the blustery days of autumn."
"Sarah’s a contemplative, introverted writer ... who is also somewhat idealistic and wants to believe the best about people. But as a writer, she also pays attention to detail and to her intuition."
A.J. BANNER: I’M THRILLED BY THE REVIEWS OF THE GOOD NEIGHBOR
Aug 16
Posted by Ognian Georgiev
The Good Neighbor occupied the top of Kindle Amazon list since the start of August. The debut novel of A.J. Banner already received 700 reviews despite the fact that the official release of the book is set to September 1. “Captivating story”, “This book had everything”, “Fascinating mystery,” are some of the readers’ opinions about it.
It’s a great pleasure to welcome the current #1 Amazon Bestselling author at Land of Books.
Photo credit: Carol Ann Morris
Photo credit: Carol Ann Morris
– A.J., Tell us about your new book, The Good Neighbor. What is it about?
– The Good Neighbor is a novel of psychological suspense, in which a young woman suffers a tragedy and is forced to question everything she thought was true about her friends, her neighbors – and even her husband. The novel is set in the Pacific Northwest in the blustery days of autumn.
the_good_neighbor
– What inspired you to write this story?
– My ideas are mysterious visitors lurking in the shadows, waiting to slip inside my head. I’m not sure where the idea for The Good Neighbor came from – maybe from the question, “what would you do if you discovered that everything you believed about your life was a lie?”
– What was the biggest challenge during the writing process?
– One big challenge was to make each scene authentic without dwelling on details. For example, how do I show a young woman climbing a ladder to rescue a little girl from her burning bedroom, then carry the girl down the ladder again? In a believable way? I rewrote the scene a few times. In the end, the reader doesn’t see the work involved in revising scenes. The story should read smoothly, without a hitch.
– Tell us something more about your main characters Sarah and Johnny? Are they based on individuals from your real life?
– They’re perhaps composites of many people I know in real life. Sarah’s a contemplative, introverted writer (a bit like me) who is also somewhat idealistic and wants to believe the best about people. But as a writer, she also pays attention to detail and to her intuition. Johnny, a dashing dermatologist, may or may not be the loving husband he appears to be.
– How much time did you need to finish the story and to publish it?
– I worked for a year on developing and revising this story with help from a freelance editor, then I revised again for my agent for another year and again for my fabulous editor at Amazon Publishing. The entire process took about three years. I sprouted a few gray hairs, but the process was extremely fun and rewarding.
– Have you been pleased with readers’ reception to The Good Neighbor?
– I love to connect with readers. I’m thrilled by the responses I’ve received from early reviewers of The Good Neighbor, and I’m grateful and amazed by the support I’ve received from friends and other authors. I feel the best way to promote my book is to give back to my readers and supporters, to support them in turn. I post regular updates, news and book giveaways on Facebook and Twitter, alert readers to wonderful books by other authors, respond promptly to messages, and of course I have a website. I’ll post on blogs, and my appearance schedule is easy to find on my website. My team at Amazon Publishing has been beyond amazing. They’re working tirelessly to promote The Good Neighbor!
– Tell us about A. J. Banner?
– I’m a nature lover, hiker, voracious reader, and mom to three cats. Two of my favorite movies: Pitch Black and Napoleon Dynamite. I have a particular fondness for Castelvetrano olives and carob peanut clusters. And I recently found out that I’m not allergic to airborne pollens.
– What are your writing habits?
– My best writing time is early morning before the cats wake up and wreak havoc, flinging their toys into the air. Before the obligations of the day set in, I find a few hours to write at my TreadDesk in my home office overlooking a forest, or I claim a corner of the living room couch to write on my laptop beneath the skylights.
– What are you working on next?
– I’m hard at work on a new psychological thriller with a few cool plot twists. Stay tuned!
– Is there a question I haven’t asked, but that you would like to answer?
– What do you find most rewarding about being an author? The most rewarding thing by far is hearing from readers who loved my book. One reader recently wrote that she downloaded The Good Neighbor by accident but then she couldn’t stop reading the book wherever she went – on the plane, in the train, and at home in bed. This kind of note delights me.
Check out more about A.J. Banner at her Website
Facebook
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Take a look at her book
The Good Neighbor
QUOTED: "Banner's ability to maintain tension while teasing out the truth of her hazy past will keep readers engaged."
The Twilight Wife
263.43 (Oct. 24, 2016): p55.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
The Twilight Wife
A.J. Banner. Touchstone, $15 trade paper (256p) ISBN 978-1-5011-6211-5
Banner (The Good Neighbor) milks every ounce of suspense out of this harrowing plot that reveals memory to be both unreliable and impossible to fully wash away. Kyra Winthrop is a 34-year-old marine biologist who lives on a secluded island in the Pacific Northwest with her ever-present husband, Jacob. After a diving accident leaves her with memory loss, she can't remember the last four years and spends her days hoping to regain her past. As she tries to cope, memories--and eerie recurring dreams--begin to come back but also bring more questions than answers. What was her relationship to her husband's friend Aiden? Why does she think there were more people involved in her accident than she's been told? Not all on the island, and in her marriage, is what it seems. Overly emotive writing--"I'm infused with excitement, trepidation, and fear"--and a twist that can be seen coming from very early on keep this from being a riveting thriller. However, Kyra is a believable, empathetic protagonist, and Banner's ability to maintain tension while teasing out the truth of her hazy past will keep readers engaged. (Dec.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"The Twilight Wife." Publishers Weekly, 24 Oct. 2016, p. 55. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA468771788&it=r&asid=74b9fc334259f71b8b7bc7e058eef5b5. Accessed 21 June 2017.
QUOTED: "What could have been an exceptionally readable and suspenseful thriller suffers from repetition and an overabundance of adjectives."
Gale Document Number: GALE|A468771788
Banner, A.J.: The Twilight Wife
Susan Clifford
(Nov. 18, 2016):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 Library Journals, LLC
http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/reviews/xpress/884170-289/xpress_reviews-first_look_at_new.html.csp
Banner, A.J. The Twilight Wife. Touchstone: S. & S. Dec. 2016. 304p. ISBN 9781501152115. pap. $15; ebk. ISBN 9781501152122. F
Marine biologist Kyra Winthrop remembers nothing about the diving accident that left her with a rare form of memory loss. She's dependent upon her doting husband, Jacob, to fill in the blanks. Now with few close friends, Kyra lives a rather solitary life on an island in the Pacific Northwest. Suddenly, she begins to recall small bits--a crumbling marriage, two miscarriages, and other possible relationships. Jacob remains kind, comforting, and disturbingly overprotective, but Kyra's life is unfolding into a juddering nightmare. This taut psychological thriller ticks all the requisite boxes with a compelling plotline, lovely young heroine, gorgeous seaside setting, and seemingly supportive spouse. But Banner's overly descriptive style leaves little to the reader's imagination. What could have been an exceptionally readable and suspenseful thriller suffers from repetition and an overabundance of adjectives that could have been cured with better editing.
Verdict Banner's sophomore effort (after The Good Neighbor) joins the works by Ruth Ware, S.J. Watson, and Gillian Flynn in this burgeoning genre of page-turning tension and shocking endings but doesn't match those authors' stylistic talents.--Susan Clifford Braun, Bainbridge Island, WA
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Clifford, Susan. "Banner, A.J.: The Twilight Wife." Xpress Reviews, 18 Nov. 2016. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA473692707&it=r&asid=5551277f674245c346c9acdd69461d57. Accessed 21 June 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A473692707