You Are Fatally Invited: A Debut Thriller
You Are Fatally Invited by Ande Pliego
Author Interview + Book & Author Info + Author Pet Corner!Don’t miss any ITW Debut Author interviews! Click the link here.You Are Fatally Invited
An exclusive thriller writer’s retreat hosted on a private island turns lethal when one of the authors is found murdered.
“Twisty and fabulously fun . . . This debut is not to be missed!”—Amy Tintera, New York Times bestselling author of Listen for the Lie
“Deliciously twisted . . . perfect for thriller fans hungry for a fresh spin on a locked-room murder mystery.”—Erin A. Craig, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Thirteenth Child
When renowned anonymous author J. R. Alastor hires former aspiring writer Mila del Angél to host a writing retreat at his private manor off the coast of Maine, she jumps at the chance—particularly since she has an axe to grind with one of the invitees. The guest list? Six thriller authors, all masters of deceit, misdirection, and mayhem.
Confess the crimes, survive the tropes.
Alastor and Mila have masterminded a week of games, trope-fueled riddles, and maybe a jump scare or two—the perfect cover for Mila to plot a murder of her own. But when a guest turns up dead—and it’s not the murder she planned—Mila finds herself trapped in a different narrative altogether.
One by one, you’ll lose your turn.
With a storm isolating the island, and the body count rising, Mila must outwit a killer who knows literally every trick in the book.
Until only one of us remains . . .
To purchase your copy of You Are Fatally Invited click the following link: Penguin Random House.Interview with You Are Fatally Invited Author Ande PliegoYou Are Fatally Invited is basically a locked-room mystery, using an island instead of a room. What drew you to that scenario for your debut?
Awkwardly (creepily?) enough, I’m fascinated by what people do under duress when they’re cut off from help, the societal safeguards are removed, and they must fend for themselves.
I’ve always been drawn to Lord of the Flies type stories exploring this kind of mind game, and Agatha Christie’s Cards on the Table is one of my all-time favorites; it tells the story of a murder that happens in one room, under the noses of the suspects. The only thing the detective can use is psychology to determine who did it and why. And Then There Were None is another classic, but here, there is no true detective—or rather, every character is both detective, victim, and potential murderer.
That fascinates me—so I sought to do something similar with You Are Fatally Invited.
You Are Fatally Invited has a fabulous plan of a house at the beginning. Was that your idea? How did that lovely graphic come about?
I’m thrilled you asked about the map!
I had the idea for it when I was drafting the Clue scene; for those of you new, You Are Fatally Invited has a number of trope-inspired games the authors must play on the island, and one of those is a twisted game of Clue.
They receive a game board that’s a map of the house they are in (complete with passageways they didn’t know existed), and cards with them as the characters, and sins. To find out which one of them is their murderous anonymous host is, they must match their character cards to their sins (i.e. confess).
When we started talking cover for the book, I pitched the idea of including the map of the house—my publishing team was excited about the idea, and let me run with it. I drew it over many (many) late nights (and before-dawn mornings), and thankfully, everyone loved it and wanted it in the book.
Tell us about the publishing journey for your debut, You are Fatally Invited :
My agent and I actually had another book (different audience, different genre) out on submission to publishers while I drafted You Are Fatally Invited, which is the fifth book I’ve written. With the rejections pouring in on that first book—which was, to borrow the sentimental term, the book of my heart—I channeled a lot of my messy feelings of frustration, want, and hopelessness into You Are Fatally Invited, and gave it a hopeful twist that would become very cathartic for me.
And when the book was finished, I honestly expected we would send it out into the void to diminish and go into the West (disappear). Plot twist: less than two weeks from sending the book out, we’d sold in the UK, US, Italy, and Germany, and I landed an incredible film agent (!).
But the most important thing for anyone to know is that I nearly put down my pen half a dozen times the year before YAFI sold—the last time being the week before we sent it out to publishers. If I had, none of this would have ever happened. That’s a terrifying thought. And so my mantra has become: you never, ever know what’s around the corner, and the only failed writer is the one who gave up. Never give up, never surrender, etcetera.
What is your favorite aspect of You Are Fatally Invited ?
Throughout the book, there are snippets of a book on how to write fear, written by the legendary anonymous author who invites all the thriller authors to his island for the writing retreat.
The book’s called The Ink In Your Veins, and is part dissection of the mechanics of thrillers, and part musing on the fear genres and why we are drawn to them, all wrapped up in an eerie, progressively unhinged voice; it’s easily the most fun I’ve ever had writing.
A world traveler, you now live in the Pacific Northwest (an area I also call home). What do you love most about our area?
As someone who was cut their teeth on big cities by the coast, moving to a land-locked tiny town in the middle of wheat fields has been a bit of a, ahem, shock to my system, but I do love how many stunning outdoor areas are within driving distance. Coeur d’Alene is a gorgeous lakeside town fairly close to us, and I absolutely adore Seattle whenever I can get over that way.
What are you working on now?
Adult Thriller 2, coming your way from my publishers in April 2026! And man, authors aren’t kidding when they said the sophomore novel is the hardest to write.
It’s the sixth book I’ve written, so you’d think I’d have this down, but it’s been a huge adjustment adding in all the other voices of my team from the very inception of an idea. I am halfway through rewrite (redraft?) number five, and think I’m only just now landing on what this story’s meant to be, and I’m psyched.
As a teaser: if you love the locked-room vibe of YAFI, multi-POV stories, and books about books, you might enjoy this one.
Words of Wisdom for Aspiring Writers:
Believe me, I could go on with things I’d recommend, but I’ll keep it short here: never stop reading, writing, trying to better your craft, and learning all you can about the industry. (And pop over to the “For Writers” page on my website (www.andepliego.com) for an alarming amount of writing/publishing talk from yours truly!)
Great Advice!Author Pet Corner!
I have the sweetest feline familiars, who have shattered all negative connotations about cats:
Fable, who is my very orange but scary-intelligent cuddler who just wants to be loved (and get into mischief), and his littermate Rune, my little gray girl who likes a bit of space but is often overwhelmed with adoration for me (and only me, ha).
Together we make up the Tortured Writer’s Department (it’s me, I’m the department, they’re the emotional support).
Ande Pliego
Ande began writing stories when she discovered she could actually wield her overactive imagination for good.
A lover of stories with teeth, she writes books involving mind games, dark humor, general murder and mayhem, and most importantly, finding the hope in the dark.
You Are Fatally Invited is her debut novel, releasing February 11th, 2025, from Bantam.
Stay up to date with Ande by clicking the link here: Website.Elena Hartwell/Elena Taylor
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