Interview with Tosca Lee, author of The Line Between

What can you tell us about your new release, The Line Between?

The Line Between is the story of a young woman named Wynter Roth, who has just been expelled from a self-contained doomsday cult right as a pandemic begins to sweep across the nation. As she struggles to start over in a world she’s been taught to regard as evil, she finds herself face-to-face with the apocalypse she’s feared all her life—until the night her sister shows up at her doorstep with a set of medical samples and Wynter learns there’s something far more sinister at play.

It’s a thriller set on the American prairie filled with action, conspiracy, and even a touch of romance.

What or who inspired you to become an author?

Books! I grew up loving books of every genre. And teachers. Many teachers throughout my life from grade school through college and after encouraged me to write, to stick with writing, and in my journey. I am so grateful to and for them.

What’s on your top 5 list for the best books you’ve ever read?

I have a lot of author friends, so it’s very hard to answer this question! (Are you trying to get me killed?) One of my all-time favorites is The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. I have read it many times. Anne Rice’s books have been favorites of mine for decades. Anne Lamott. But I’m meeting new favorite books all the time!

Say you’re the host of a literary talk show. Who would be your first guest? What would you want to ask?

I’d love the chance to explore some of the stories behind the headlines that inspired The Line Between—including that of a real-life Russian scientist who injected himself with 3.5 million year-old bacteria thawed from the Siberian permafrost. I’d like to ask: “What in the world possessed you to do that?” And “So how’s that going for you?”

What’s your favorite thing about writing?

Connecting with readers. I think most of us who write do it for the same reason we read: to know we’re not alone. I love my readers, and it’s such a privilege to create new adventures for them.

What is a typical day like for you?

This might be another thing I like about writing for a living; I don’t have a typical day. Some things are constant: family, kids, activities, meals. But as far as the work goes, I might be on deadline, or editing, or doing an interview, or just taking a few days (or weeks) off between projects. When it’s go time, though, I’m writing hard, long hours, as deadline looms closer. I’m usually writing through the night the last few days.

What scene in The Line Between was your favorite to write?

Beginnings are often the most difficult part of a book (for me, at least) to write. But I love the promise of book’s beginning. The crook of a finger that says, “C’mon. let’s go… because you won’t believe what happens next.” I really enjoyed writing the first chapter of The Line Between in particular because it’s an unusual scene.

Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?

I just always try to be of service, to do my best—and to have fun while I’m at it!

Tosca Lee is the author of the new book The Line Between

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