Lancaster graduate's novel sure to be real thriller

A new psychological thriller hitting the bookshelves has been penned by a Lancaster University graduate.
Zosia Wand.Zosia Wand.
Zosia Wand.

Zosia Wand, a creative writing MA graduate, has released her first novel ‘Trust Me’ which focuses on a young woman’s relationship with her teenage stepson.

When her stepson becomes sullen and withdrawn, Lizzie starts to suspect that something sinister is going on at school. But nobody believes her – and then suspicion falls on Lizzie herself.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The novel, set against a Cumbrian landscape, is said to appeal to fans of dark women’s fiction and the recent wave of GripLit, the psychological thriller genre.

“I’ve always been interested in what I call salvaged families, domestic arrangements that are born of difficult circumstances or unusual relationships,” said Zosia.

“I have a half-sister who was born when I was 16 and my stepfather was only eight years older than me.

“Such relationships are unique and often require a significant degree of trust. This inspired the book.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I write thrillers, but at the heart there is always a love story. Not classic romances, but love stories in a much broader sense, exploring the relationships that occur in contemporary, more complex families.”

Zosia, who hails from London and now lives in Ulverston, has had several plays broadcast on BBC Radio 4, including, ‘The Treehouse’, a thriller in five parts, broadcast in May 2014.

Her stage plays include, ‘Quicksand’, staged at The Dukes Theatre in Lancaster and the Theatre By The Lake in Keswick in 2011, ‘Pearl’, a monologue for Paines Plough Theatre Company in 2012 and ‘Blackout’ at the Dukes, Lancaster in 2013.

In 2014 she wrote the script for the Dukes’ Williamson Park production of ‘Hansel and Gretel and More Tales From The Forest.’

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Zosia studied part-time for her MA in Creative Writing at Lancaster University from 1997 through to 1999 - a key turning point in her life.

“There were so many bonuses I hadn’t considered when I applied for the course: new friendships, a writing support group (which continues to this day), fresh insights and the space and time to develop my ‘writing voice’.  

“The course was encouraging, challenging and responsive.

“It was a golden, creative time for me and I have done my best to recreate it through workshops and courses of my own since.”  

Trust Me is published by ‘Head of Zeus’ in e-book format available for download via, http://headofzeus.com/books/trust-me. Zosia is working on her second novel, ‘The Accusation’, published in 2018.