Carter Wilson’s reflection on home invasion sparked latest thriller

Carter Wilson is the USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of eleven standalone psychological thrillers, including “Tell Me What You Did,” a national monthly pick by Barnes & Noble. His work has received starred reviews from major trade publications and has been optioned for film and television. He is the host of the podcast “Making It Up” and the founder of Unbound Writer, where he works with writers through coaching, retreats in the U.S. and France, and live workshops. A sought-after speaker, interviewer, and moderator, he lives in Erie, Colorado.

SunLit: You’ve mentioned that “When They Find Me” began with thinking about home invasions. How did that sliver of an idea grow into a novel? 

Carter Wilson: I was sitting around one day thinking about home invasions, because that’s how a thriller author’s brain works. I wasn’t even looking for a book idea. I started wondering what would happen if home invaders targeted a specific person but got the wrong address. 

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Each week, The Colorado Sun and Colorado Humanities & Center For The Book feature an excerpt from a Colorado book and an interview with the author. Explore the SunLit archives at coloradosun.com/sunlit.

Then I became more interested in whoever lived in that wrong house. What if she was more dangerous than the people breaking in? What if she was already hiding from someone, living in fear of being found, and the people who finally showed up were looking for somebody else? That became Annie Wolfe. Put her in a remote Colorado cabin with her 12-year-old daughter, trap everyone there during a blizzard two days before Christmas, and I had a situation I wanted to write my way into.

SunLit: Your protagonist, Annie Wolfe, has taken refuge with her daughter off the grid in a Colorado mountain town to escape Annie’s past. Another woman, Riven, is part of a survivalist family seeking revenge against a man they feel ruined their lives. How would you contrast these two characters as their paths mistakenly collide?

Wilson: Annie is hardened. She trusts no one and wants to be left alone. Riven is a little more open, but she’s been raised by a controlling, survivalist father whose influence is almost cult-like. She has a sense of right and wrong, but she also has a bond with her father that survives some horrible things. What connects these women is that they’re both fighting against the patriarchy in different ways. Their paths collide before they understand how much they have in common.

SunLit: Annie and her daughter, Coral, have a complicated relationship. Was the mother-daughter dynamic part of the story from the beginning, or did it emerge organically?

Wilson: I always knew Annie would be a mother. There’s a huge difference between how someone acts to protect herself and how she acts to protect her child, and I knew that would ramp up the tension. They also have a dog, which adds another layer of vulnerability.

The complication is that keeping Coral safe means denying her a normal childhood. Coral wants a phone, contact with the outside world, friends she can invite over. Annie sees danger in all of those things. She has to wrestle with how much of her daughter’s life she’s willing to restrict to protect her, and that conflict is there from the opening of the book.

SunLit: What convinced you to place the story in Colorado? Though you do live here, some of your previous psychological thrillers very effectively favored a New England vibe. 

Wilson: I deliberately chose Colorado, even though I rarely set my books here. I could see this place in my head. Expanse is fictional, yet I know exactly where I think it would exist. After 30 years of living here and visiting small mountain towns, I had plenty to draw from, though Expanse is smaller than most, with just 313 people. I was excited to create it, then trap everyone there in a blizzard two days before Christmas.

SunLit: Tell us about the character of Riven, who’s seeking a measure of revenge when she winds up at Annie’s doorstep. How did you approach creating Riven (and the rest of her family) and their motivations?

Wilson: That family started with the father, Coyote. I could see him immediately. He’s an outdoorsman taken to an extreme, someone who believes he’s essentially an animal and raises his children according to that belief. Kill or be killed. Do what nature dictates. Feel no remorse. When this family goes looking for someone, they think of it as a migration.

To Coyote, destroying the person who destroyed their family is simply the natural order. That’s the animal logic he uses to justify it. Riven has grown up inside that almost cult-like worldview, but she has her own sense of right and wrong. The tension comes from that awareness existing alongside her bond with her father.

SunLit: One of the best things about thrillers is their plot twists. How do you balance surprising the reader with convincing them that the plot twist ultimately makes sense?

Wilson: I don’t outline, so I discover the twists as I write. This book probably has the biggest twist I’ve ever written, and it occurred to me about halfway through the draft. Usually those discoveries come out of my subconscious. Something has been nagging at me, maybe a problem with the manuscript or a question about a character I can’t answer, and suddenly the twist reveals itself.

Then I go back and sprinkle in clues. If my subconscious has been doing its job, some of them are already there. Ultimately, a twist has to feel earned and inevitable. You want a mix of “Oh my God!” and “Of course!” for the reader and for yourself as the author.

SunLit: You’ve said that themes sometimes reveal themselves to you only after you’ve gotten well into a draft. Did any of the themes surprise you as they emerged in “When They Find Me”?

Wilson: The story is told from two female points of view: Annie, who lives in the house, and Riven, who’s part of the family invading it. As I wrote, I realized there was a rage against the patriarchy running through both of their stories. Annie wants to be left alone. Riven doesn’t want to be told what to do anymore. They’ve had very different lives, but both are fighting to have control over what happens next. That connection emerged through writing them.

SunLit: This is where we’d normally ask about your next project, but these days you’re working a couple books ahead. What are some things your fans can look forward to?

Wilson: “What She Made Me Do” comes out in August 2027. It follows a man in his mid-thirties whose wealthy mother dies in an apparent suicide. He discovers that collecting his inheritance requires playing an elaborate game that tests everything he thought he knew about his family and his own reality.

Then, in spring 2028, I have “The Dr. Happy Murders,” which I co-wrote with Josh Viola. It follows teenagers investigating their mothers’ suspicious deaths and a happiness organization connected to a series of Dr. Happy comics. It’s my first young adult novel and my first co-written book, and I’m thrilled about both.

A few more quick items

Currently on your nightstand for recreational reading:  “London Falling” by Patrick Radden Keefe. My most recent fiction read was “The Quiet Tenant” by Clémence Michallon, which I loved.

First book you remember really making an impression on you as a kid: “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” It was one of the first books that made me realize how much fun reading could be.

Best writing advice you’ve ever received: My first manuscript had something like six or seven points of view. My first agent told me to bring that down to one, maybe two. That stuck with me. 

Favorite fictional literary character: Hard to beat the Dread Pirate Roberts from “The Princess Bride.”

Literary guilty pleasure (title or genre): I don’t believe in guilty pleasures when it comes to reading. Whether you’re reading something pulpy or something considered literature, any reading is good reading.

Digital, print or audio – favorite medium to consume literature: Print, most of the time. I’ll read digitally when I’m traveling. Audio is harder for me because I tend to lose my place.

One book you’ve read multiple times: I rarely reread books, but I read the unabridged version of Stephen King’s “The Stand” a couple of times.

Other than writing utensils, one thing you must have within reach when you write: Coffee. Always.

Best antidote for writer’s block: For me, it’s building the muscle by writing consistently. I never get stuck for ideas. That doesn’t mean all the ideas are good, but I can always write something.

Most valuable beta reader: My agent, Pam Ahearn. One hundred percent.