Lindsay Cameron: On the Anonymity of the Internet
Author Lindsay Cameron discusses how online neighborhood forums inspired her new suspense novel, No One Needs to Know.
Lindsay Cameron worked as a corporate lawyer for many years in Vancouver and New York City before leaving the law behind to write books. Her debut, Biglaw, was named a best book of the year by Good Housekeeping, Redbook, and Harper’s Bazaar, among others.
Her suspense debut, Just One Look, was published in 2021 and the New York Times called it “delicious and marvelously controlled…a wild ride of a novel” and “one of the most viscerally accurate renderings of corporate law in recent fiction.” Lindsay lives in New York City where she is currently at work on her next book. Find her on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
In this post, Lindsay discusses how online neighborhood forums inspired her new suspense novel, No One Needs to Know, her advice for other writers, and more!
Name: Lindsay Cameron
Literary agent: Alexis Stark, Writers House
Book title: No One Needs to Know
Publisher: Penguin Random House (Bantam)
Release date: May 9, 2023
Genre/category: Suspense/Thriller
Previous titles: Just One Look, Biglaw
Elevator pitch for the book: When an anonymous neighborhood forum is hacked threatening to expose the darkest secrets of New York’s wealthiest residents, three women—each with something to hide—will do anything to keep their secrets hidden, even if they have to kill to protect their own.
What prompted you to write this book?
The initial spark for this story was ignited when I was scrolling through an anonymous neighborhood forum. I was fascinated by how the forum had turned into something resembling a confessional and surprised by the secrets people willingly disclosed: infidelity, white-collar crime, private family issues—nothing was off limits. The veil of anonymity was like truth serum, and I found myself wondering about the identities of the people behind the posts.
Years later, the infamous hack of the extramarital affair website Ashley Madison exposed its user records and hit the news, shattering the illusion of online anonymity. It also fanned the spark of the story idea in my mind.
I thought back to all of the sordid secrets people divulged on that seemingly anonymous neighborhood forum. The identities of the users behind those posts were only one data breach away from being revealed. And because I love a good thriller, I began to imagine what would happen if some of those secrets were worth killing for.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
From idea to publication was probably about seven years, but I wrote and published my suspense debut, Just One Look, during that time. I usually have a few book ideas bouncing around in the back of my head for several years before I decide to run with one of them.
Most of the book ideas don’t advance beyond a simple premise, but with the idea that became No One Needs to Know I started to imagine the characters, the setting, and the voice of the narrators. Once I was mentally drafting the beginning of a chapter, I knew that it had to be my next book. The initial idea of an anonymous forum being hacked didn’t change, but the secrets revealed and the repercussions for the characters evolved over several drafts.
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
I think I’m always learning new things about the publishing process and am still surprised by how many moving parts are involved. Most of it is out of the author’s control, so I try to focus on the things that I can control, like the writing and the cover art.
The process of picking a cover for my previous novel was seamless with everyone in agreement fairly quickly, but with No One Needs to Know it was more of a collaborative process with the initial design being scrapped and reimagined, so the designers had their work cut out for them this time around. We ended up with a cover that was better than I could’ve hoped, despite the extra steps. I’m continually amazed by the various creative talents that are required to produce the books we see on the shelves!
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
The biggest surprise for me was that even though this is my third book, writing a novel does not get any easier. I initially thought I might be able to employ tricks I’d learned while writing Just One Look, but I quickly realized those tricks didn’t apply and I had to develop new tricks.
This was the first novel I’d written with multiple points of view, so it was important to ensure each one was given equal weight and a unique voice which was a challenge I hadn’t encountered before. I now know that every new book I write is its own beast with its own unique set of challenges. But that’s probably the beauty of it.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
I hope readers will enjoy a juicy, fast-paced suspense novel that keeps them guessing, and I hope they’ll think twice before trusting that their digital footprint will remain strictly confidential!
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
Read widely outside of your preferred genre. Seeing how an author from a different genre weaves character, conflict, setting, theme, and plot can help you to reevaluate your methods, bring something fresh, and elevate your writing. As writers, we tend to stay in our own lane, but stepping outside of the familiar can stoke the flame of inspiration.
Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Editor of Writer's Digest, which includes managing the content on WritersDigest.com and programming virtual conferences. He's the author of 40 Plot Twist Prompts for Writers: Writing Ideas for Bending Stories in New Directions, The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms: 100+ Poetic Form Definitions and Examples for Poets, Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming, and more. Also, he's the editor of Writer's Market, Poet's Market, and Guide to Literary Agents. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.
