Q&A: Kate Francis, Author of ‘Circle of Liars’

We’re joined by the fantastic Kate Francis to discuss her pulse-pounding YA thriller debut Circle of Liars. Think Saw meets Five Survive in this twisted nightmare brought to life for seven teenagers as they must face the consequences of the tragic fire at their school a year ago.

Hi Kate, thank you for joining us today! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and your book Circle of Liars?

Thanks for having me! My name’s Kate Francis, and I’m an English-American architect and author of the new YA thriller – Circle of Liars. This is my debut book about a group of teenagers trapped in a remote, desert motel where they are forced to play a deadly game. Every hour, one of them must leave the motel, where they will be killed. If no one leaves, they will all die. Only one can survive.

This has such a fantastic and hooky premise – I’d love to know what sparked the idea?

I got the idea from a debate game called “The Balloon Game”. In the game, the players imagine they are on a hot air balloon that has a leak and is sinking fast. You have to throw someone overboard to stop the balloon from crashing, killing everyone. In each round of the game, another person has to be sacrificed to save the rest, and it goes on until there is one winner. It’s such a fun game; you have to argue who deserves to live, and who should die. I thought it would be really terrifying if the stakes were real… Just imagine – how could you possibly make a decision like that? How could you live with yourself if you survived? What if you loved someone else on board? There’s just so much to explore here.

It is so pacy and compelling with that ticking clock and the very real consequences of their actions. What is the plotting process like for you?

I love plotting and totally nerding-out! I spend months going over and over the outline – testing theories, adding red herrings and twists. It’s achingly fun and oddly rigorous, like solving a massive jigsaw puzzle, piece by piece. There’s such a sense of satisfaction by the end, when (if you’ve got it right) everything finally wraps itself up into a perfect knot.

Another highlight of this book is the characterisation – you deftly make us care about or dislike these people in such a short space of time. What is the key to writing a great character for you?

I think it’s key to be sympathetic to your character’s motives and agenda. I don’t think anyone ever sees themselves as a villain. We all believe our own version of events and think that we’re doing the best we can – even Ellis. He’s just doing what he’s been taught to do all his life – winning. As a writer, I think that love and compassion for your characters is the easiest way to enter into their head and find their voice.

What surprised you while writing this book?

The heart of the story is about forgiveness: how can you truly live your life if you can’t forgive yourself or someone else for the past? While I was editing the book, I went through a divorce, and it made me really question my original ending. Can you forgive? Should you? How does that even work? But as I dug into the edits, I had an opportunity to process my own experiences, through my character’s journeys. It almost felt as if they were now writing my story, which was a surprising and beautiful moment as an author.

What songs would form the soundtrack to Circle of Liars for you?

I love this question! So many. I have a Motel Loba play list that I’ve been messing with over the last year. Some of the songs come and go, but these ones seem to stick around:

• “Greetings from California” by The Neighbourhood
• “Colors” by Black Pumas
• “Apocalypse” by Cigarettes After Sex
• “Something in the Orange” by Zach Bryan
• “Post Humorous” by Gus Dapperton

What books have you enjoyed so far this year and are there any that you can’t wait to get your hands on?

I’m currently reading Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins. I’m obsessed; I could happily spend all my time in Panem. I’ve also been digging into some great thrillers – And Then There  Were None by Agatha Christie, This Book Kills by Ravena Guron and Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. Coming next…I can’t wait to get my hands on The Woman in Suite 11, by Ruth Ware. I’ll read anything she writes, she is the queen of pacing, mystery and fun.

If possible, can you share a little about what you are currently working on or any upcoming projects you have?

I would love to talk about this! I have another dark, twisty YA thriller coming out in summer 2026, which I am so excited about. It’s in the same universe as Circle of Liars, but with completely new characters. I can’t reveal too much, but I will say it’s set in Utah and is inspired by some true stories – which makes it even scarier! I’m also working on the early draft of another YA thriller and my first adult thriller. It’s going to be a busy year!

Finally, if you could only use five words to describe Circle of Liars, what would they be?

That’s an easy one! I’ve often thought that the terrifying journey the characters go through as they face their deaths is eerily similar to the five stages of grief. So it would be: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. (Though maybe I should throw “sinister abandoned motel” in there somewhere…)

Will you be picking up Circle of Liars? Tell us in the comments below!