After all, she said, “I only have one brain. Sometimes I bleed a little bit.”
That said, beyond thrills, her novels tend to run the gamut in terms of plot. Whether it’s ex-con Millie’s adventures into her Winchester home in The Housemaid or nurse Brooke’s encounter with an ex-con in the maximum security prison where she works in The Inmate. That’s by specification.
“I want to continue to enjoy it for myself,” she said of her transition from doctor to writer. “I quit my job to do this, and I don’t want it to be a chore. I always want it to be fun. So I always try to do something a little different and get out of my comfort zone and write something that requires a little more research. I’m just trying to stretch myself a little bit more each time.”
Fortunately, her mother and husband, who are often readers of McFadden’s first drafts, are always available to help her reflect on ideas.
“I often throw things off with my husband,” she told E! “He’s my secret weapon. If I have the seed of an idea and I’m struggling with it, I tell him about it. And he kind of spits out a ball. Usually he makes fun of me because he can’t help himself. But I think just the act of telling someone about it helps a lot.”
