Truth Be Told | Holly Furtick Book Club

In 2018, I have this great idea to start a book club, mostly because I love books. I particularly love audiobooks, and I love forcing them on other people and then talking about them. And so I started this book club and I just put it out there on Instagram and said, hey, read this book and then let's come together and chat about it. And I wanted to share those chats with you here on my YouTube channel. So I hope you enjoy this video. It's book club time. It is called Are youe Sleeping? It's by Kathleen Barber. Kathleen is going to be joining us and talking about the book tonight.

Yay.

I'm so excited.

I can't wait to meet her. Never met her before. So the book. This book is. Was so creative and so cool in the way that it's done. So it's a murder mystery, but it takes place all around a true crime podcast.

Anybody out there?

Love true crime podcasts? Again, like I said, I'm not a huge podcast fan because it stresses me out to figure out what I want to listen to because podcasts are shorter. But I have listened to one or two true crime podcasts. I don't listen to a lot of true crime podcasts. I listened to this one with my husband. Guys, I'm so sorry. I can't even remember the name of it. But I, um. They're a huge thing and people love them. And so I started listening to this audiobook and I actually thought, wait, is this. Is this a fiction book? Is this a nonfiction. Is this a. Was this actually a true crime podcast? And they're telling the story about it. And I literally. I was so. Because in the audiobook. But I would get so I was so into this whole idea of the podcast, and it was so believable, is what I'm trying to say, that I had to Google the book. Are you sleeping? And Google the podcast. And figure out, like, was this really.

A real murder or is this whole thing fiction?

The whole thing is fiction, but it's so believable. And so I thought it was really creative the way that Kathleen really integrated technology into and social media into the story. I just thought it was super creative. And the whole podcast thing. Anyway, so we have this girl, Josie, and we basically find out that she has completely left her former life and started over in New York City. And she has a boyfriend named Caleb, but she hasn't really told him much about her past. They traveled in Africa, they settled down in New York City, and she's like, restarted her entire life. And One day she's on the subway, and all of a sudden she starts hearing people talk about this podcast with the. With the reporter, and her name is Poppy Parnell. I can't remember the name of the podcast, and I didn't put it down in my notes. Let me know, guys. Tell me the name of the podcast. So Poppy Parnell is doing this podcast, and it kind of goes viral, and everybody's listening to this podcast, kind of like cereal and. And so she starts listening to it, and she realizes that the podcast, the true crime podcast, is sort of like they're. They're. They're researching or investigating. That was the word I was looking for. They're investigating, like, a cold case that. A murder that had happened 10 years ago. Reconsidered. Thank you, Ashley. So the podcast is called. Lots of people are telling me. Podcast is called. Thank you, those of you who like my glasses.

Warby Parker.

The podcast is called Reconsidered. I have had about 20 people tell me that. And with Poppy Parnell. And so anyway, the girl, Josie, she starts listening to this podcast, and she realizes that it is about her dad's murder, and somebody has already gone to prison for her dad's murder. And so then over the course of events, her mother passes away and she has to go home. Okay, correct me if I'm not getting this storyline right. I did read this book, like a year ago, and I still remember that much about it. I loved it. So anyway, she has to go home and she has to face her past, and she has to figure out what all is going on. And there are so many really cool themes throughout this book, and it's just super well done. So we find out. I'm just going to give you a run through of some of the main characters. We have Josie, who's obviously our main character. We have Caleb, who's her boyfriend. I wouldn't really call him a main character. Lainey is Josie's identical twin. And we meet her and we find out these two girls have been estranged, and we find out why. And also we find out that Lainey married her, Josie's high school sweetheart.

A little drama there.

Then you've got Aunt A, who raised Lainey and Josie, because after their father was killed, mom takes off. Ellen is Aunt A's daughter and the cousin. You've got the mom who left the girls and she joined a cult. And then you've got Warren, who was accused, the one accused of killing and convicted of killing her dad. And then Melanie is his mom. And then, of course, Poppy Parnell. How could I have forgotten her? She is the reporter. So this is our cast of characters. And are you guys ready to talk to Kathleen?

Hello.

Hi.

How are you?

Can you hear me? I'm good. How are you?

Good.

Thanks for chatting with us tonight.

Yeah, thank you for having me.

We're super excited. Everybody loved your book, and thank you. It's so amazing. So I'm going to jump right in. I've just got a couple of questions for you. So I read that you are a former lawyer.

So.

So what I think is really cool is so many people say, oh, I'm gonna write a book one day, but you actually did it.

So how did you do it?

How did you press through? How did you find this story within yourself? Were you working at the same time? Just, like, take us through a little bit of the journey of you putting this book together.

Yeah, sure. So I have always wanted to write. Just always. You know, I've been writing basically since I was able to. I. I'm totally gonna date myself here. But I used to drag this typewriter up under my bed, and I would sit there and I would write, like, babysitter's club fanfiction, basically. But then I kind of. I kind of moved on. I started writing my own things. And so I actually started writing stories about the characters about, like, Josie and her sister Lainey while I was in high school, so, like, in the mid-90s, like, a million years ago. So I've really always wanted to write. Been interested in their story for a long time. But like you said, I was an attorney, and I was working at a large law firm in New York where, you know, you just don't really have any spare time because you're right, you're working, like, all the time. Like, I ate all three of my meals at my desk. Like, I never saw my husband. It was, you know, not really a tenable situation. But I kept trying to write because it was, you know, it's kind of part of who I am. And so I always wanted to continue, but it was really hard. And so in. Gosh, how long ago now? About five years ago in, like, 2014, my. My husband and I both quit our jobs and just went and traveled for a while. And that was kind of a. It gave me kind of, like a hard reset, and I was able to kind of turn off my lawyer brain and plug back into my creative side. And. And that was when I finally sat down and got the book written.

Wow. So did you ever consider, like, getting a creative writing degree what made you become a lawyer instead of just going for writing the whole time?

Yeah, you know, my dad was a lawyer, so that was where that came from. And, you know, he always seemed like he really enjoyed his job. And, you know, you hear so many people tell you that majoring in creative writing just isn't like a practical vocation. And I'm originally from the Midwest. We're very practical people. And so I was like, well, you know, I had this idea I was going to become a lawyer and I was just going to write in my spare time and I was going to have it all. And it didn't quite work out that way, but I'm happy with the way it's turned out.

So that's really fascinating to me. And just the fact that you were able to really push through and actually get a book out there now, two books. And then the book is also going to be a TV show, which I'm super excited about.

I am, too.

That's a really big deal.

Yeah, it's really, really exciting. So the show comes out on Apple TV on December 6, and it stars Octavia Spencer and Aaron Paul and Lisa Kaplan.

Aaron Paul is on Breaking Bad.

Yes. Okay. Yeah, yeah. So Aaron Paul is playing Warren Cave, who is the man imprisoned for killing Josie's father at the start of the book. And, you know, I think he's gonna be perfect. I'm really, really, really excited. I am.

Wait, you just said that like you haven't seen it.

No, no, I haven't seen it. Yeah, I went out, let's see, about a year ago, I went out to LA and I was able to see them do a couple days worth of filming, but I have not actually seen it.

Yeah.

Did you get to have any input on the screenplay or any of that?

You know, I didn't and I didn't ask for it. You know, I kind of felt like writing novels was kind of my, like, forte. And I wanted to leave the turning it to screen to people who did that professionally. The woman that they hired as the writer and I guess the series creator is this woman named Nichelle Tramble.

Hello.

This is my daughter. This is Abby. Abby really wanted to meet you. She wanted to meet.

Hi.

Hi.

It's really nice to meet you. How are you?

Good, good. Okay. She's tell. Okay. So you were saying?

Yeah, so the. The writer that they've hired, Michelle Shamble Spallman, is. Is just fantastic. And so I read the. The pilot, although I haven't seen it, and it was really, really good. So I'M I'm really excited to see what they've done with it, so that's awesome.

And also really shocking to me that you haven't seen it, but I don't know anything about that world, so. Wow, that's so exciting. Well, I already have an Apple TV membership.

Excellent.

And I can't wait for the show to come out. So this leads me to my next question. So the show is titled Truth Be Told. Yes, the show is titled Truth Be Told.

Yeah.

And the book is titled Are you sleeping? Talk to me about. Did you have any input in changing the title or, like, tell me. Talk to me about the title. How do you feel new title? Because they, like, I have. I give me this other copy. I've actually got two copies.

Yeah.

The book with the different titles on it.

Yeah. Yep.

Why is it Truth Be Told? Because they changed the title and she's gonna talk.

Yeah. So, you know, when I found out that they were changing the. The title of the series to Truth Be Told, I was, of course, a little disappointed at first just because, you know, I really wanted the show to be tied to my book. You know, just out of kind of like a sense of like, well, this.

This is my thing.

And, you know, I. I want it to still sort of be my thing. But at the same time, I knew that they were. They were changing a lot about the show. So, like, the show is not just like the. The book from, like, start to finish. Like, I don't know if you've seen, like, Big Little Lies, but, like, the adaptation of that was. Was pretty faithful to the book. And then. And this is different, but then it kept going. That's right. Yeah. And this is different in the sense that, you know, when I told the story, I told it through the perspective of Josie, who is my protagonist. And for the television series, they've hired Octavia Spencer to play Poppy Parnell. And of course, Octavia Spencer is a star, so you make the show go around her. So the show is mainly going to be told from Poppy's perspective, so things are different. So it kind of made sense to me that they were changing the title because Are youe Sleeping? Mainly kind of applied to Josie and how the podcast was robbing her of her sleep and. And that. So it kind of made sense to me. And actually, I really like the title. I really like the title, Truth Be Told. But then my. My publisher said that they were here, here's my copy. Said that they were going to change. That they were going to change the title of the book. To go along with the show. So. So I feel good about it. I like the title after. After we sell out of these copies that have the. The old cover art on them, they're gonna release some that have Octavia Spencer on the front. Gotcha.

Which most avid readers do not like the, like, movie version.

Yeah, yeah, I know. I never do.

I don't either. I never buy. I never, ever buy a copy of the book that has the movie cover. I don't know. It feels like the same. Lots of people are agreeing with that. It's really funny. But okay, so also, the COVID changed because I read the. Abby squishing me out of my chair here. I did the yellow book. Did anybody read. Yes, because my friend sent me. Lots of people are saying they read the yellow book.

I have a big pile of them right here. Yeah.

So how did that come about? Is this cover for the TV show, even though it has the original title or.

No.

So some books change their covers from the hardcover to the paperback. Not all of them do, but some of them do. The way that it kind of came about was that it's kind of that, like, this cover, which is, like, the hardcover, the yellow cover. They kind of thought that it was. It was appealing to a different audience than the audience that buys paperback covers. So in. In general, the way that they tend to think about it is that people who are more interested in, like, literary fiction tend to buy hardbacks, and people who are more, like, involved in book clubs tend to buy paperbacks. And, I mean, those are, like, huge, like, gross generalizations, but that's just kind of like the way that they think. So they tried to make these covers that are going to appeal to, like, these different demographics. So.

So this one was the audiobook, so I know that that was the hard copy. Okay. My little picture was the yellow one. So, yeah, that makes total sense.

But as. I just. I loved this. This paperback cover. When they. When they sent that to me, I was like, I thought it was gorgeous. I wish that. That one all along. I really like that.

I don't know.

The yellow one is kind of creepy, though, so it makes it feel a little more. What do you mean? A little darker? I like them both. Okay, so different, like, perspective of the yellow one? No, it's the same exact book.

This is the yellow one. There's the yellow one.

So, okay. Did you know the ending of the book before you started writing it, or how did you come to the ending? Did you know who the killer was all along? I think is what I'm trying to ask you.

Yeah, I did. I knew pretty early on that that was how I wanted it to end. When I. When I first signed with my. My publisher, my editor asked me one of the first questions. She was. She was. She's like, I just like you to think about maybe that person wasn't the one that did it. And I was like, I'll think about it. And I did. I thought about it because I think my editor is brilliant. And so if she thought maybe it should be something else, I really wanted to at least give it a thought. But at the end of the day, I was like, no, this is the story as I know it, and it needs to go out that way.

That's amazing. Tell me about criticism.

How do you handle people's criticism?

I mean, like, these are your people. Like these. Yeah, there's so many people that when it's their first book that they. They talk about how, like, these were, like, these are, like, your friends. I mean, you started writing about these twins when you were in high school. So when people criticize or even say, like, maybe you should think about who the murderer is, and you're like, are you kidding me? I. I just, like, given birth to this book. I've labored over this story. I don't want to change any of it. How much did you change from your editor? Did you make any changes and just talk a little bit about that? Like, do you read comments? Do you read reviews of the book?

Yeah. So as far as, like, getting comments back from my agent and my editor, I'm pretty good about taking that kind of criticism. You know, I worked in a large law firm for a number of years, and I got a lot of the things that I had written shredded by the partners. So it kind of, like, helped me build up a little bit more of a. Of a thick skin. But my skin is not that thick, and so I do not ever read my Goodreads reviews.

Okay.

I even have a hard time reading if somebody, like, tags me in a review, and they're like, four stars for Are youe Sleeping? So I know it's gonna be, like, a good review. I still have a really hard time opening it and reading it.

So good or bad, you don't read it.

Yeah, yeah, I. I know. I know a lot of people do. And I know that a lot of authors think it's really important for their development. The way that I am wired, though, it just gets way too far in my head. And because I'm, like, constantly working on something else, then those comments from things that I have already finished kind of are still, like, bouncing around in my head, and I'm like, oh, you know, like, relitigating the things that I had done in previous books when they're over and done with, and I just need to focus on what's in front of me. So my husband will read my Goodreads reviews and he will read to me the ones that are really good and the ones that are really bad.

My husband and I like to do the same.

When people.

I mean, sometimes you have to laugh, sometimes you need to hear the good stuff, and sometimes people are ridiculous and it's actually kind of funny. But it is good to stay away.

From it for the most part.

Okay, so some quick, generic reading questions. Do you have a book? I went through your Instagram and you read primarily, like, thrillers. Psychological thrillers, murder mysteries, whatever. I'm guessing that's your favorite genre. Do you have a book? Like, what is your. What is your. Like, I wish I could read this book again for the first time book. I wish I could experience the ending and the aha and, like, the whole thing. Do you have a book that comes to mind?

Yeah, there are kind of a lot, actually, that I'm always like, oh, I wish I could read that one again. But in that genre. And, like, ones that I wish I could, like, go back and, like, see again from the beginning. I loved all the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda. And I don't know if you've read that one, but it's kind of, like, interesting in that it's told kind of, like, backwards in time, so you're kind of. Yeah, it's really cool. It kind of, like, keeps you, like, off kilter the whole time. And so when you get to the ending, you kind of want to go back to the beginning so that you can see the things that you missed along the way.

I actually don't read a ton of psychological thrillers.

Oh, yeah.

Because personally, and I'd love to know if some of you agree with this question. But personally, sometimes it can be disappointing. Like, I've given so much time and, like, sometimes I find it kind of lame when it turns out that the person was hallucinating the whole time or that, like, the person was drunk the whole time. Like, what's the book where the girl was drunk the whole. The whole story? The girl on.

The girl on the train? Yeah.

Like, I don't know.

That's not.

That's not interesting. It's disappointing to me. So I only like to read psychological thrillers that somebody says this is a good one. So. All right, so we got all the missing girls.

I haven't read that.

Do you have another one?

Is a good one here. Now I'm looking at my bookshelf because I read so much. Let's see what else? I mean, one of my favorite books that I always wish I could read again and again and experience anew and not for the surprise ending because it's not a thriller, but is Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld, which is kind of a, kind of like a coming of age story about a girl who's at boarding school. That's one of my like perennial favorites that I love. Always recommend everyone.

I haven't read that one. And I love coming of age stories.

Like I like coming of age stories.

I like character driven. I like historical fiction. So that's awesome. Do you have a favorite author?

Yeah, well, Curtis Sittenfelden, Meg and Miranda are two of my favorite authors. I will basically read anything that those women write as soon as they see they have a new book. I've, you know, pre ordered it.

Who else?

I really like Ruth Ware quite a bit. She's in my genre, but I like her stuff. Okay.

I love it. Okay, so I have one more. Let's see. Scariest book you ever read.

Ooh, I'm thinking of ending things by Ian Reed is, is really quite creepy. The House. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson though is, is really scary. Also my husband reads a lot of.

Stephen King and so like he's not as big of a fan of his paranormal stuff but his, you know, other like stories or whatever. But one of my friends that's watching tonight, she said that she was, she listened to the audiobook of Are you sleeping all day yesterday. Like she said it's a nine hour book and she listened to the whole thing in one day. And she said at 1:30 in the morning she lives by herself. But she said 1:30 in the morning. She was so creeped out. Oh no. And like every sound was just totally freaking her out because she just got like, you know, the guy comes into the house at night, like all this stuff and she's like, it wasn't even that scary. But it was 1:30 in the morning and all the sounds were bothering me. She's like, get up and put on worship music. And so I thought you'd like to hear that everybody in the, in the club. I don't know if you. I'm going to repost this on my, on my.

What's it called?

Igtv, but people, they really, really loved your book. Okay, thank you. It's been, like, sharing some really fun stuff, so I hope you can go through and read some.

Thank you. Yeah, absolutely.

Well, thank you so much for joining us. Yeah.

Thank you. Thank you so much for having me. It was really nice chatting with you. Oh, yeah.

Excited to be able to give that away.

So, yeah. Yeah. There it is with the new title. Brand new as of today.

I love it. Well, nice to meet you. Yeah.

Thank you. You, too.

Thank you.

Thank you, guys.

That was so much fun. Thanks again to Kathleen Barber for joining us. And have a great night.