‘The idea began with my desire to write an engaging novel for avid mystery lovers that was also suitable for emerging adult readers.’ Photo of editor L J M Owen: Supplied.
Imagine you are a retired police detective who’s been asked to speak at a crime fiction festival in Tasmania. You’re staying at a formidable manor house on the island with five other guests. Soon, a storm breaks out, the roads out are flooded; the festival is effectively cut off from civilisation. Then you discover one of the authors dead in the library. What now? Who do you choose to interview first? What trails of interrogation do you want to follow?
Murder You Wrote: An Interactive Mystery is no ordinary novel. It has a few points of difference that distinguish it from other crime fiction. For one thing, it comprises 20 different writers, offers a choose-your-own adventure format and was deliberately fashioned to create opportunities for emerging writers.
Thuy On is the Reviews and Literary Editor of ArtsHub and an arts journalist, critic and poet who’s written for a range of publications including The Guardian, The Saturday Paper, Sydney Review of Books, The Australian, The Age/SMH and Australian Book Review. She was the Books Editor of The Big Issue for 8 years and a former Melbourne theatre critic correspondent for The Australian.
Her debut, a collection of poetry called Turbulence, came out in 2020 and was released by University of Western Australia Publishing (UWAP). Her second collection, Decadence, was published in July 2022, also by UWAP. Her third book, Essence, will be published in 2025.
Threads: @thuy_on123 Instagram: poemsbythuy
