Q&A with Eliza Jane Brazier, Author of If I Disappear

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Eliza Jane Brazier is the author of If I Disappear, which is available now.

Eliza Jane Brazier is an author, screenwriter and journalist. This is her adult debut. She currently lives in Los Angeles where she is developing If I Disappear for television. BTW, I also selected If I Disappear as a January 2021 book club pick.

Here’s the synopsis:

Sera loves true crime podcasts. They give her a sense of control in a world where women just like her disappear daily. She’s sure they are preparing her for something. So when Rachel, her favorite podcast host, goes missing, Sera knows it’s time to act. Rachel has always taught her to trust her instincts.

Sera follows the clues hidden in the episodes to an isolated ranch outside Rachel’s small hometown to begin her search. She’s convinced her investigation will make Rachel so proud. But the more Sera digs into this unfamiliar world, the more offthings start to feel. Because Rachel is not the first woman to vanish from the ranch, and she won’t be the last… 

Rachel did try to warn her.

Let’s get to know Eliza as she talks favorite novels, writing inspiration, true crime podcasts and much more!

What are some of your favorite novels?

Only Ever Yours by Louise O’Neill. It’s about women who are raised for the pleasure of men and it’s set in an alternate universe. Allegedly.

When did you know you wanted to become an author?

As a kid, I definitely wanted to be an author and screenwriter but I lost a ton of confidence in my teen years and basically didn’t believe any good thing was possible for, like, twenty years? But I watched my SIL, Kiersten White, find so much success through persistence and intelligence (and a lot of talent too) and I thought, you know what? I can do this. So, I started learning.

What inspired you to write If I Disappear?

The setting came from a job I took in Northern California that got weird. The emotion came from becoming a single woman again after my husband died. And the hook came from my love of true crime.

Why do you think true crime podcasts are so popular now? 

It’s about so much more than the crimes. It’s about facing your fears, making order out of chaos and also about control. In True Crime, you know the bad thing is coming. It can be a way to address trauma and feel less alone in it. And the community that has sprung up around it is so supportive. There is a strong element of mental health awareness in, for example, My Favorite Murder.

Did you listen to various true crime stories as you worked on the novel? 

Yes, and I still listen to them. Podcasts seriously make me feel less alone, which is very important right now.

What are you working on next?

My next book is a thriller and it’s kind of Parasite meets Ready or Not with a very wicked sense of humor. It basically takes the piss out of rich people.

What are you currently reading and what’s on your TBR (to be read) list? 

I just finished another true crime podcast-based book, Girl, 11 by Amy Suiter-Clarke, which was so well done. Nekesa Afia’s Dead Dead Girlsand Denny S. Bryce’s Wild Women and the Blues are two books about black women in the Jazz age that I needed yesterday.

Click here to order If I Disappear on Amazon.