Jessica Knoll doesn’t write comfortable books, and that’s pretty much the point. The New York Times bestselling author behind Luckiest Girl Alive, now a Netflix film starring Mila Kunis, and Bright Young Women has built a career on stories that unsettle readers into paying closer attention—whether she’s dismantling the mythology around a notorious serial killer or drawing from her own experience as a sexual assault survivor to give her heroines teeth.
Her latest, HELPLESS, out July 7, is already being called one of the season’s must-reads, landing on The New York Times’ lists for both the summer’s most anticipated novels and best beach reads. But don’t let the beach-read label fool you: This erotic thriller, about a Hollywood producer reunited with the ex who inspired her biggest project, only to find herself drugged and held captive at his remote cabin, is less about escapism and more about interrogating why we’re drawn to the romance and captivity narratives dominating bookshelves right now.
We caught up with Knoll just ahead of pub day to talk about her writing process, why she was drawn to the erotic thriller genre and the one beauty habit she can’t start her day without.
How are you feeling heading into release day?
“I feel excited. I think the lead-up to releasing a book is a rollercoaster of emotions. Sometimes when it feels like you’re close to pub date but you’re not exactly four weeks out, it can feel like nothing is happening, and now, all of a sudden, it feels like things are happening, and so my anxiety is abating, and excitement is growing.”
What’s the hardest part of your process—writing, editing, the cover, something else?
“The toughest part of my process is a rewrite after turning in a draft to my editor and having them come back to you and say, ‘There’s good stuff here, but it’s not quite working.’ There is something so disheartening about that. It feels like you put in all this work, you wrote all these thousands of words and you have to take it apart and put it back together again. I find that to be the most daunting part of the process.”
What made you decide to write in the erotic thriller genre?
“I’m a huge fan of erotic thrillers, especially the ‘90s era—Fatal Attraction, In the Cut, both the novel and the film adaptation. I think I was having a little bit of nostalgia for that period of time and that genre in particular. I also got really into the Court of Thorns and Roses series a couple of years ago. Obviously, it’s not an erotic thriller, but it’s a romantasy that has those dark romance elements to it, and I was really swept away and captivated by the relationships in those books.
I loved the world, and I loved being in the world with those people, and I think I just wanted to create that feeling of a dangerous love. I wanted to write about risk in love and in sex. That seemed really, really alluring territory to explore.”
Without giving away the twist, what do you think readers will enjoy most about the book?
“I’m hoping that what they enjoy most is the tightness and brevity of this one. It’s my slimmest novel to date. I worked really, really hard to keep the plot tight and moving—pace-wise, because I just think that there’s a lot of competition for our attention spans at this moment in time. Even as a reader myself, I feel the effects of the environment that we live in, and so I really need anything I read to be gripping for me.
Some of the best reviews and feedback that I’m getting from people is: ‘I finished this in a day. I finished it in two days.’ I’m like, ‘Great. That’s exactly what I was going for!’ I wanted to write something that people would just binge in one sitting.”
Since we’re a beauty magazine, I have to ask: Do you have any self-care rituals that help you unwind during the writing process?
“Yes, I get dressed! Sounds simple, but that’s a big one, especially since moving back to New York. When I lived in LA, I got house-stuck a lot. I just wouldn’t really leave my house, and so it was a lot of athleisure and sweatpants. I just didn’t see the point in putting on real pants, but in New York, you’re constantly bopping around, running out to get your coffee, to go and read, to get your prescription, so just even wearing simple basics makes me feel more put together.
Every morning, I use eyebrow gel, a little concealer on my red spots and acne scars, and that’s it. That’s all I need to feel put together and ready to face the day.”
