Interview: Jenny Williams talks about House of Liars

Jenny Williams’ debut novel, The Atlas of Forgotten Places, was published in the United States by St. Martin’s Press and praised by Ghanaian author Kwei Quartey as ‘Nothing short of astonishing’.  Her novella, A Short Future History of Whales , was produced by Spotify Audiobook Selects. Her writing has appeared or is forthcoming in MIT Technology Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, The Sun Magazine, and Analog Science Fiction and Fact. Jenny has received awards from Teachers & Writers Collaborative, the Elizabeth George Foundation, and Brooklyn College, where she completed an MFA in fiction. Jenny has spent 8+ years working at Google and Microsoft, and talks to NZ Booklovers about her new novel.

Tell us a little about House of Liars.

In House of Liars, five writers are brought to a remote island to compete against each other--and an AI--for a million-dollar publishing contract. The main character, Anna, brings a complicated set of longings to the island as well as previous entanglements with AI, and the other island residents have secrets of their own. There’s a twisty psychological thriller aspect to the story, but it’s deeply about motherhood and creativity and the seductive pull of AI that promises to help us be our “best” selves.

What inspired you to write this book?

I’d been grappling with questions around AI for several years while working on an AI ethics team. Then, after ChatGPT was released and AI suddenly swept into the public consciousness, I watched the hype and storytelling spiral out of control, while a lot of the nuance was getting lost. A novel presents a great canvas for troubling the dominant narratives and exploring the complexities of the human side of technology.

What research was involved?

I’m a mother, a novelist, and a UX writer--three aspects of Anna’s identity that are core to the novel--so while the characters and story are fiction, a lot of fact-based details are grounded in real life. I did invent an island in the Salish Sea as the site of the contest, which involved looking at a bunch of maps, reading about the native ecology and the history of human settlement in the San Juan Islands.

What was your routine or process when writing this book?

My son was quite young and I was working full-time while working on the novel, so I wrote whenever I could snatch more than half an hour at a time--between meetings, between nursings, on weekends when my parents could babysit. I learned quickly not to be precious about when or where I wrote, because if I waited for the perfect environment, I’d probably still be on chapter one.

If a soundtrack were made to accompany this book, name a song or two you would include.

“Fuel to Fire” by Agnes Obel for some of the island weirdness. Emily Scott Robinson’s “Hymn for the Unholy” for moments of emotional clarity and release.

If your book were made into a movie, who would you like to see playing the lead characters?

This is where I reveal my embarrassing ignorance of pop culture… Can I use the cast of Bluey? Actually, I could see Vanessa Kirby playing a fantastic Anna--I found her portrayal of Princess Margaret in The Crown captivating. Liam Hemsworth would make a very charming Damian. As for Lee: Ronny Chieng, hands down.

What did you enjoy the most about writing House of Liars?

I loved the moments when the characters surprised me--when I’d start writing a scene a certain way, and one of the characters would look me straight and the eye and say, “Nope.” Anna herself was always shapeshifting, keeping me on my toes.

What did you do to celebrate finishing this book?

I honestly can’t remember! My son was about two and a half when I finished the final draft. I probably felt a quiet moment satisfaction, then went back to cleaning up smushed bananas and emptying the diaper bin.

What is the favourite book you have read so far this year and why?

I read V. V. Ganeshananthan’s Brotherless Night with my book club here a few months ago--absolutely breathtaking. I didn’t know very much about the Sri Lankan civil war before reading it, and I love novels that teach me something about the world. It painted an incredibly vivid picture of the moral confusion and human costs of political violence, without glamorizing different kinds of sacrifice.

What’s next on the agenda for you?

I’m currently working on a novel set in near-future Aotearoa (and on the Moon). It’s very different from House of Liars--it’s a love story that takes place over seventy-five years, told from multiple points of view. The publishing industry doesn’t necessarily reward authors who experiment across genres, but I can’t help it: story ideas arrive at my doorstep and demand to be written. I’ve learned to stop questioning why, and instead try to open myself as widely as possible to wherever inspiration wants to take me next.

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