Gabbie Hanks: On Delusional Optimism
In this interview, author Gabbie Hanks discusses exploring family dynamics in her thriller novel, Nasty Little Secrets.
Gabbie Hanks is a former librarian and now works in literacy for the government. She is an avid psychological suspense reader. Follow her on TikTok and Instagram.
In this interview, Gabbie discusses exploring family dynamics in her thriller novel, Nasty Little Secrets, her hope for readers, and more.
Name: Gabbie Hanks
Literary agent: Victoria Skurnick, Levine Greenberg Rostan Literary Agency
Book title: Nasty Little Secrets
Publisher: Zando
Release date: June 16, 2016
Genre/category: Thriller
Elevator pitch: An infamous murder case is blown back open when a crime writer’s sister goes missing—and her bestselling book might be the key to finding her. Propulsive and razor-sharp, Nasty Little Secrets is a crackling psychological suspense about family secrets and small-town scandal, which grips you until the final, jaw-dropping twist.
What prompted you to write this book?
Two months before I turned 25, I moved from my hometown of West Palm beach, Florida to Des Moines, Iowa. My father received an exciting job offer and he, my mother, and my little sister were going to relocate to the Midwest. My family is incredibly close, so this left me with a quandary: Did I stay in the only place I ever lived or move to a place I’d never even visited?
The 1,500 mile move from “paradise” to a “fly over state” would have been challenging for anyone, but for me it also meant leaving a job I adored as a librarian.
There was definitely an adjustment period. The first four to five months of my time here was challenging, isolating, and, frankly, lonely. I missed my life back in Florida. I missed my friends and my job. Simultaneously, my family had completely immersed themselves into their new life in Iowa and were flourishing. They were deliriously happy here and it made me feel strangely othered. How could the people I love, who had the same shared experiences, be so happy when I was so miserable? I decided to take these feelings and use them by writing a novel.
My feelings about living a completely different experience than my family poured themselves into the book. I wanted to explore the opposite of my situation—someone forced to return home to a place they despised. I also liked the idea of writing about feeling so completely differently than your family that it makes you question yourself. So, I wrote a story about my hometown and pondered the idea of how close-knit, happy families could be ripped apart by tragedy and differing viewpoints. I became obsessed with exploring family dynamics and the way siblings interacted with one another.
The idea for the main character Rose, was formed out of my desire to spend a few months in the mind of someone more assured and confident. Someone who was dealing with things far worse than I was and taking it in stride. Writing about Florida also helped to ease some of my own homesickness during my grueling first winter in Iowa (and first blizzard).
As I worked on the book, I learned valuable lessons about perspective and patience. Sometimes things take time, and what might feel like a hardship in the moment is necessary for your growth. Without Iowa and that difficult move, I wouldn’t have had the idea for my book or the time and motivation to write it. I wouldn’t have been in the right headspace to address and explore the topics in the book. And while I am in a much happier and healthier place now, those challenging first few months allowed me to create the story and characters that I did. As well as the ones for the future. Now, I love living in Iowa and am grateful for everything the experience has brought me.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
I came up with the idea for Nasty Little Secrets about a year before I actually wrote it, sometime in 2022. It came to me one night when I was working at the library, covering a late shift at the Reference desk. I scribbled it down in a Moleskine and completely forgot about it. When I moved to Iowa a year later, I had a lot of time on my hands. The idea began to take shape, and I started drafting the book during the winter of 2023. It took me about a year to complete a first draft. During that time, the book’s themes were heavily influenced as I started to rebuild and reshape my life as an adult. My feelings of loneliness, isolation, and homesickness definitely influenced the plot of the novel. I think the book would have had a much lighter tone had if I had written it before my move. Writing this book ended up being incredibly therapeutic for me and ultimately helped me both grieve my hometown and fall in love with my new city. In January of 2024, I submitted the book for a scholarship to Thrillerfest and received one. There, I pitched to my agent and signed with her. We sold the book a few months later in October of 2024.
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
So many. There are a ton of moving parts and processes in the publishing industry, and I feel like a lot of them are well-kept (nasty little) secrets. I was a huge reader and a librarian, and I still had no idea going in how many rounds of editing a book goes through before it’s published, or how many people have a hand in getting your books into bookstores. There are so many people who helped Nasty Little Secrets become what it is and I’m so grateful.
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
Yes! Quite a few actually. This was the first book I had ever drafted in its entirety, and while I had a full outline beforehand, I didn’t stick to it. Plot twists came to me in the moment, and I changed so many things as I wrote. Even the ending completely changed from what I had planned. I was genuinely shocked how inspiration struck and the theme dictated where the book would go. It felt like the characters had a mind of their own and I couldn’t stop them. I also was surprised by how much I loved the collaboration in publishing a novel. Writing can sometimes feel like a solitary activity, but it brought me so much joy to work together with so many talented people to shape Nasty Little Secrets into a book I’m so proud of.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
As some who loves a good thriller herself, I hope readers enjoy the twisty nature of the story and it keeps them guessing. That was always my goal. I also hope they enjoy spending time in Rose’s head. Rose is a character that is so caustic and disagreeable that you have a visceral reaction to the way she speaks and acts, but in a way that keeps you interested. These aggressive traits are co-mingled with her unwavering loyalty and dedication to her family, no matter the personal cost. It was very important to me to give readers a female main character who felt genuine and distinct, even if it made her unlikeable at times. I wanted someone real.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
I always tell people, my best piece of advice is having what I call “delusional optimism.” The idea that if you truly believe that something will work out for you, it will. No matter how unlikely or difficult it seems. That assuredness and positivity will keep you going through any obstacles. As for actual writing advice, my favorite comes from Jodi Picoult; “You can’t edit a blank page.” The second I adopted that mindset; I finished my first draft of this book.
