Sarah Crouch: It Takes Time To Hone Your Voice
In this interview, author Sarah Crouch discusses how an idea scribbled on a sticky note led to her new literary thriller, The Briars.
Sarah Crouch is the USA Today-bestselling author of Middletide. She is also known for her accolades in the world of athletics as a professional marathon runner. Follow her on X (Twitter) and Instagram.
In this interview, Sarah discusses how an idea scribbled on a sticky note led to her new literary thriller, The Briars, her advice for other writers, and more.
Name: Sarah Crouch
Literary agent: Jane Dystel
Book title: The Briars
Publisher: Atria Books/Simon and Schuster
Release date: January 13, 2026
Genre/category: Literary Thriller
Previous titles: Middletide
Elevator pitch: After her marriage collapses, game warden Annie Heston flees north to the quiet mountain town of Lake Lumin, Washington, hoping the deep woods will offer her peace. She finds it—along with an unexpected connection to reclusive carpenter Daniel Barela. But when the body of a young woman surfaces in the briars along his lakeshore, Annie must rely on her wilderness instincts to hunt a killer in a small town determined to protect its own.
What prompted you to write this book?
I grew up near Mt. St. Helens and wanted to set a story in this extraordinary region. While The Briars is a murder mystery and an exploration of human nature at its core, it is also a 90,000-word love letter to the haunting beauty of the Pacific Northwest. The setting itself plays a distinct role in the novel, shaping the story and pushing each character to their limits, as the wild always does to anyone brave enough to meet it head-on.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
The idea itself was quite literally handed to me, scribbled on a Post-it note. My husband has no interest in writing fiction, but he’s full of wonderful plot ideas. I have him to thank for the bones of the story, and once we’d fleshed out the concept together, the first draft came quickly—about four months from start to finish.
Of course, the story did change quite a bit during the process. A long conversation with someone in the industry whom I deeply respect ended up altering the book’s trajectory completely. I’d been convinced that the story should be told by one character and, 90 minutes later, realized it belonged to someone else entirely. In the end, I have no regrets. The Briars was always meant to be Annie’s story.
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
The publishing experience is always full of lessons, and this book was no exception. Working with a new (and brilliant!) editor pushed me in ways I’d never been pushed before, especially when it came to bringing these characters fully to life on the page. Thanks to Laura Brown, the three voices at the heart of this story carry a depth and distinction far beyond anything I could have achieved on my own.
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
Because the main character is a game warden, this novel required a surprising amount of research. I found myself learning everything from the kind of oil used to bait a mountain lion’s snare to the complex, ever-shifting responsibilities of a game warden in a small town. Now, on the other side of that process, I have the utmost respect for the women who take on these demanding wilderness roles in fields heavily dominated by men.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
My highest aim as a writer is to translate my lifelong love affair with the Pacific Northwest into words that come alive on the page. If readers can close The Briars feeling as though they’ve walked beneath the firs, breathed the clean forest air, and lived for just a little while in this quiet mountain town, then I’ve done my job!
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
By the time a publisher finally picked up one of my books, I had eight full manuscripts tucked away in a drawer. I’d drafted nearly one million words and spent the better part of a decade trying and failing to break through. What I didn’t understand then was that none of those pages were wasted. They were the bricks that built the wall of my eventual career. It takes time to hone your voice, to figure out what you want to say and how you want to say it. Nothing replaces steady, stubborn hours in the chair. Remember: Day by day, paragraph by paragraph, you are becoming the writer you’re meant to be!
