Sandra Chwialkowska

Sandra Chwialkowska is a television writer and producer who splits her time between Los Angeles and Toronto. Most recently, she served as writer and co–executive producer on the Golden Globe–nominated ABC series Alaska Daily, created by Oscar-winning writer Tom McCarthy and starring two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank. Chwialkowska holds a BA in literature from Yale.

The Ends of Things is her first novel.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

The working title for my novel was Eleuthera, which is the name of the Bahamian island where my book is set. I liked how eleutheria is also the Greek word for freedom, which is a motif in the book, as well as the epithet of the Greek goddess Artemis (Diana) who is referenced in the novel. My heroine, Laura, yearns to have the confidence and freedom embodied by Diana, the solo female traveler she encounters at the beach resort, who later goes missing. My acquisitions editor encouraged me to find an alternative title, one that was a bit easier to pronounce (haha), had an internal tension, and also suggested the genre of the book, which is psychological suspense. My beta reader pulled a phrase from my book—the ends of things—and it instantly clicked with me because it encapsulates what the book is about: my heroine, Laura, always imagines the worst-case scenario, or “the ends of things,” which causes her life to unravel when Diana disappears.

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your novel?

My teenage reader self would be surprised that I actually finished writing a novel and managed to get it published. It was a childhood dream of mine to be a published author, and I wrote several unfinished manuscripts in high school. My teenage self would also be surprised that my novel includes a flashback story about a close female friendship that started in girlhood and ended badly.

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

I find endings more challenging, especially in a mystery story because I’m the type of reader who always tries to guess the twist. The ending in my novel is very unconventional, so I think it will surprise many readers, but I think it’s satisfying and delivers on the themes that are developed throughout the book.

Do you see much of yourself in your characters? Do they have any connection to your personality, or are they a world apart?

A few years ago, I vacationed with my boyfriend at a couples beach resort in the Bahamas, where I observed a woman vacationing alone. I was intrigued to know why she came to a romantic resort by herself, and this mystery gave me the idea for the premise of my novel.

In writing the novel, I discovered that I, like my heroine Laura, am a catastrophizer, in that I often imagine the worst-case scenario. Laura is deeply flawed, but I hope, deeply relatable in all her insecurities and penchant for self-doubt.

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

I love the TV show The White Lotus because while it’s technically a mystery, it’s really a meditation on character and social dynamics. I also love that it’s set at a resort in a beautiful locale. I find resort vacations to be fascinating pressure cookers because they unfold during a compressed time period and they’re full of forced togetherness in an unfamiliar setting. What could go wrong?

Visit Sandra Chwialkowska's website.

--Marshal Zeringue