Host Edith welcomes returning guest Sheila Bugler to discuss her psychological thriller The Stepmother, released in September 2026. Bugler outlines the premise: Sarah arrives to pick up her nine-year-old twin stepchildren on the last day of term, discovers Mike has taken them without warning, can’t reach him, and receives a text saying, “Don’t go home. It’s not safe.” With no legal parental rights, Sarah must search alone while facing suspicion from others, including the police and the school headmistress. Bugler explains her “pantser” process, heavy rewriting (about 12 drafts), using a loose four-act structure, 20-minute writing sprints, and first-person present tense for immediacy and uncertainty. They discuss secrets, family dysfunction, charm and sociopathy, money and power themes, and Bugler previews her next novel The Wife (March 2027) and future books, plus attending the Harrogate crime festival.
Find out more about Sheila:
⏰ Timestamp
00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro
00:40 Meet The Stepmother
01:28 Premise and Stakes
03:26 Legal Rights and School
04:48 Twists and Writing Style
06:04 Plotter vs Pantser
09:10 Sprints and Rewriting
10:53 Creating Side Characters
14:04 Past Chapters and Structure
15:37 First Person and Tense
17:28 Unreliable Narrators and Secrets
20:30 Roles Identity and Motherhood
23:16 Trust Past and Reinvention
25:58 Money Power and Influence
30:18 Power Gets You Off
31:29 Charm of Psychopaths
34:12 Book Recommendation
34:39 Rewriting the Thriller
37:20 Marketing and Cover Copy
39:19 Reviews and Stepmoms
41:07 Police and Legal Rights
46:07 Family Secrets and Safety
48:26 Teaching and Creativity
53:48 Future Books and Festivals
56:50 Final Thanks and Outro
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Music: English Country Garden by Aaron Kenny
Video Link: https://youtu.be/mDcADD4oS5E