In our new series, Debut Discussions, we're asking debut authors to tell us their story -- not only the story in the novel they wrote -- but the journey they took to hold that book in their hands. On today's episode we welcome Tracy Sierra to discuss her debut novel, Nightwatching, a terrifying and gripping story about a mother forced to the breaking point when her life and the lives of her children are threatened by a home intruder.

Tracy has been telling scary stories since childhood! She shares her journey from there to Biglaw transactional lawyer to thriller writer and how becoming a mother played a role; how her novel strikes the nerves of our most primal fears around home invasion and evil in the world; the reason no characters have names in her novel (and why it works so well); and her path to publication, from rejections to the disorienting joy of finding a dream agent and publishers.

Nightwatching is out now -- buy it, read it, and share it (in other words, make a debut author’s dreams come true!)