Kate Russo: Experience Is Often My Best Motivator for Writing
In this interview, author Kate Russo discusses how letting her characters guide her kept the writing process surprising for her new literary thriller, Until Alison.
Kate Russo, author of Super Host, grew up in Maine but now divides her time between Maine and the U.K. She has an MFA in painting from the Slade School of Fine Art, and while living in London, she worked with the theater group, Love Bites, who presented two of her short plays (“The Blind” and “Bernie's Night Off”) at the Calder Bookshop Theatre. She exhibits widely in the United States and England. Learn more at KateRusso.com and connect on Instagram.
In this interview, Kate discusses how letting her characters guide her kept the writing process surprising for her new literary thriller, Until Alison, her advice for other writers, and more.
Name: Kate Russo
Literary agent: Nicole Aragi
Book title: Until Alison
Publisher: Putnam
Release date: July 15, 2025
Genre/category: Literary Thriller
Previous titles: Super Host
Elevator pitch: One the night Alison was murdered, Rachel could have stopped it. Until Alison is a novel about two young women growing up in Central Maine—one who lives and one who dies—and fraught relationship they shared.
What prompted you to write this book?
I’ve been trying to write this novel since my 20s! (I’m in my 40s now!) It started as a short story, at one point it was a screenplay, then a short story again! Now, finally, it’s right as a novel. Experience is often my best motivator for writing. When I was in college, a classmate of mine was murdered. At the time I was the News Editor of my college paper. The novel draws on my experience (mostly lack thereof) of covering such catastrophic news. The protagonists, Rachel and Alison, both grew up in Central Maine like I did. It felt crucial to tell the story of small-town Maine girls. There aren’t many out there.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
A long time. A version of this novel germinated in my early 20s. As I said, it took a lot of (incorrect) forms. I started writing the story as a novel toward the end of 2019. Even once I landed on the novel as the correct format, it still went through so many changes. I remember the first draft was in third-person, present tense. The published novel is first-person, past tense. My editors, Sally Kim and Tarini Sipahimalani, helped me envision the story as more of thriller. Earlier drafts were closer to general fiction.
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
It’s always a good thing when your editor takes you just slightly out of your comfort zone. My first novel, Super Host, was literary fiction with a lot of humor. This is what I would consider my comfort zone. With Until Alison, my editors challenged me to lean into the feelings of uncertainty and guilt that are at the heart of the novel and make it more suspenseful. I was surprised to find this process fun! I was worried I didn’t know enough about police procedure and crime scenes to write a thriller, but it turns out, when writing from the perspective of a college journalist, it’s better to not know!
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
Of course! The surprises are the best part. I always do my best to let my characters guide me. In this way, they always surprise me. When I started the book, I identified most with Rachel, but the more drafts I went through, I felt closer and closer to Alison. Both young women surprised me with their cattiness and love for each other. If my writing isn’t surprising me, I know it’s nowhere close to where I want it to be. It’s done when I realize, Wow, this story feels bigger than me now.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
First and foremost, entertainment! That’s the joy of reading! Beyond that, I hope readers will connect with their younger selves. I think it’s a universal feeling to be haunted by one’s own past. I certainly am. Until Alison was a way to reframe the pain of adolescence. And second chances are the best! We should all give and receive more of them. If you have the chance to right a wrong, it’s a gift.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
Entertain yourself. If you’re not enjoying what you’re writing, readers won’t either. If your writing is meant to be funny, then make yourself laugh. If it’s meant to be dramatic, let yourself be gripped. It’s not egotistical, it’s necessary. Writing is allowed to be enjoyable.
