In Conversation with Terry Shepherd
In Conversation with Terry Shepherd, award-winning broadcaster and author of the Jessica Ramirez Thrillers. A deep dive into the people and support systems behind the stories we love.
In Conversation with Terry Shepherd
MJ Dyer - We Are Monsters
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In this episode of In Conversation, award-winning broadcaster Terry Shepherd sits down with UK-based author MJ Dyer to dive deep into her debut psychological thriller, We Are Monsters.
Set against the brooding, atmospheric backdrop of Bodmin Moor, the novel follows Elara, a young woman who has spent her life eclipsed by her identical twin half-sisters. When one of the twins is found dead under suspicious circumstances, Elara’s hunt for the truth spirals into a dark, dangerous descent into rivalry, identity, and the fragile line between victimhood and monstrosity.
What You'll Hear in This Episode:
- The Nightmare Behind the Book: How a severe brain inflammation illness, vivid hospital hallucinations, and a haunting old photograph inspired the eerie premise of the novel.
- The Allure of the Morally Gray: Why MJ Dyer loves writing "unlikable" characters and how Elara’s desperate desire to be noticed drives her ambiguous motivations.
- A Style Reborn: How recovering from a brain injury unexpectedly transformed MJ's writing style from plot-driven fantasy into poetic, lyrical, and deeply psychological prose.
- The Reality of the Publishing Business: MJ shares her transparent, twisty journey through the querying trenches, dealing with rejection, and how she ultimately landed her third literary agent.
- A Sneak Peek at What's Next: Inside the writing process of her second psychological thriller, Toxic Girls, arriving this November.
"I want readers to almost feel a bit disturbed, a bit haunted as they go through the story." — MJ Dyer
Connect with the Author:
- Website: mjdyerbooks.com
- Featured Books: We Are Monsters (Releasing July 7th) and Toxic Girls (Coming November).
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