Olivia Gavoyannis: 'There is no right or wrong way to approach writing a book'
BY Maya Fernandes
26th Jun 2025
Olivia Gavoyannis was a student on our Writing Crime & Thrillers – Advanced course in 2023. We caught up to discuss her debut novel, Lie to Me – out now from Embla (Bonnier Books).
Read on to discover the inspiration behind her sun-soaked psychological suspense debut, Olivia's approach to crafting complex relationships and her thriller recommendations.
Olivia, you studied on our Writing Crime & Thrillers – Advanced course in 2023. How did your time with us shape your approach to writing?
The course totally changed how I thought about writing, and Sarah Hilary was the most fantastic tutor. One of the most encouraging things I took away from the course was that there is no right or wrong way to approach writing a book, and the knowledge of that freed me up to focus on the small details that really make an idea sing – e.g. crafting convincing characters with motivations and flaws – and just finish the book!
Many of our students find lifelong writing friends on our courses. Are you still in touch with anyone you met on the course?
Yes! We have a WhatsApp group where we share everything from small wins to weekly word count goals. It’s great to have a group of other thriller writers to chat with, and I’m so grateful for the early feedback and encouragement I received from everyone.
Lie to Me follows Jean, a naïve teenager from the English countryside who becomes entangled with the enigmatic and morally ambiguous Robert and Vivienne Fenwick. How did you approach crafting the complex relationships between these characters?
I had a really clear idea of who each of the characters was before I started writing, as well as the broader plot points, but when it came to the nuances of the relationships, I let those happen as I was drafting. At every turn I was thinking about what was at stake for my characters and how their unspoken desires would drive them, and the spontaneity of this was one of the things I enjoyed most about writing the book.
The novel is set on a sun-soaked Greek island in the 1960s. What inspired you to choose this era and setting for such a psychologically intense story?
In terms of the era, I’m a huge fan of The Talented Mr Ripley and the more modern historical thrillers Tangerine and Little Deaths, so in the back of my head I knew I’d like to sit down and really let myself get lost in a glamorous, intoxicating historical setting.
I’m also half-Greek, and during family visits as a child I fell in love with the country’s rich mythology, stunning scenery and of course the food. Returning to Corfu as an adult, I was struck by the dramatic – and often perilous – landscape and knew the island was the perfect starting point for a stifling psychological thriller.
As a journalist and regular contributor to national newspapers, you must be very used to writing to deadlines. Do you impose similar deadlines to keep yourself on track when writing your novels?
My work is very deadline-driven and I’ve definitely carried that over to my creative writing. I give myself a deadline for a first draft, so I don’t have too much time to let the doubts sink in when I get to the tricky mid-part, and then once I’ve let it sit for a bit I’ll go back to my manuscript with a critical eye and rework it. I find it incredibly reassuring to have something down before I start fiddling with the details.
What novel do you most frequently find yourself recommending to others?
This is a very tough one, but I think in terms of the perfect creeping thriller I became obsessed with Celia Fremlin when Faber & Faber republished her novels with a set of fabulous new covers. Uncle Paul, in which a family's skeletons emerge on a 1950s seaside summer holiday, is pitch-perfect with a genius twist at the end!
What advice would you give to aspiring writers, especially those tackling their first psychological thriller?
It’s a bit of a cliché, but write the book you want to read. I wrote another thriller before Lie To Me that received some encouraging rejections (including from my now agent), but when I sat down to start planning a new idea, I really drilled down to think about the kind of books I loved. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to get interest for a psychological thriller inspired by a group of daredevil female racing drivers in the 1960s, but because I was so set on the idea and had a vision for it, I managed to get it over the line!
And finally, what’s next for your writing journey?
I was very lucky to sign with Embla/Bonnier Books on a two-book deal, and I’m just about to start edits on the second book. It’s also a psychological thriller set in the 1960s – but this time at a glamorous Swiss ski resort – so I’m excited to be able to share more about that soon!
Get your hands on a copy of Lie to Me.
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