What a difference a year makes. In 2014, Mary Kubica, Plainfield mother of two, was a first-time author making the rounds of local bookstores and libraries to introduce herself to readers as her twisty and twisted debut novel, “The Good Girl” was gathering buzz and earning favorable comparisons to the works of Gillian Flynn. On Sept. 22, Kubica will appear at the Park Ridge Public Library as a certified New York Times bestselling author with a new novel, “Pretty Baby” that is earning equally rapturous reviews.
“It’s been really exciting,” said Kubica, a former teacher. “When ‘The Good Girl’ came out nobody knew who I was; they had maybe heard of the book but hadn’t read it. (Now) when I go to events for ‘Pretty Baby,’ it seems a good portion of the audience has read ‘The Good Girl.'”
“Pretty Baby” is a multi-perspectived thriller that unfolds through the alternating voices of Heidi, a compassionate Chicago social worker, Chris, her loving, but overworked and oft-absent husband, and Willow, a homeless teenage mother, whom Heidi ultimately invites to move with her baby into her home. Let’s leave it at that, except to say that as with “The Good Girl,” it’s an increasingly harrowing suspense novel that builds to a “now you know the rest of the story” climax.
“After I sold ‘The Good Girl,’ I was offered a two-book deal. I had no idea what I was going to write,” Kubica said. “They were so excited about ‘The Good Girl.’ I thought the second book had a lot to live up to.”
A vision of Willow and her baby came to her. “I had no idea who she was or what the story was going to be, but that was my starting point,” she said. “I hopped on my laptop and started working. I wrote right away what became the opening scenes in which Heidi encounters Willow for the first time and at that point I was off and running.”
As is Kubica’s writing career. She has completed her third suspense novel (“Don’t You Cry”) to be published next summer, and is about to “dive into” her fourth. “The Good Girl” has been optioned for the screen by Anonymous Content, producers of TV series and feature films such as “True Detective,” “The End of the Tour” and the upcoming Leonardo DiCaprio western, “The Revenant.” Presently, it is being discussed as a television mini-series. Kubica will have creative input into the production, but will not write the screenplay. Her choice. “I have no idea how that side of the business works,” she said. “It’s better left in the hands of professionals.”
In her book-related travels, Kubica has had the opportunity to interact with favorite authors. She met Alice Hoffman at the Tucson Festival of Books. “That was huge,” Kubica said. “I’ve been a fan of hers as long as I can remember.”
And now, Kubica has her own growing fan base. “Everyday, it seems, someone is posting a comment about either of the books (on Twitter or Facebook),” she said. “They are so supportive. It makes my day. I’ve had a number of groups invite me to Skype with their book club. That’s a really fun thing I’ve also gotten to do.”
Success, years in the making (it took her four years to write ‘The Good Girl’ and several more to find an agent and then a publisher), has not spoiled Kubica. “Everything is pretty much the same other than from time to time I get on an airplane to go talk to readers,” she laughed. “I’m able to keep my routines. I take my children — second and fourth graders — to school and use that big chunk of the day to write so by the time I pick them up, I can just focus on them. I have the best of both worlds.”
Mary Kubica discusses ‘Pretty Baby’
7 p.m. Sept. 22
Park Ridge Public Library, 20 E. Prospect Ave.
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To register, visit www.parkridgelibrary.org or call 847-825-3123