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Off The Shelf with Morgann Book

#35: E. Lockhart Reveals How She Crafted the Twist in We Were Liars

2/19/202628 min

This week on Off The Shelf, Morgann sits down with E. Lockhart to talk all things We Were Liars and the evolution of the Liars universe. She shares how the book found a whole new life on BookTok, what it was like expanding the story into Family of Liars and We Fell Apart, and how she crafted THE shocking twist. We also dive into writing bold characters, trusting your creative instincts, and what she’s working on next.

CHAPTERS: 

0:00 - Introduction

0:55 - Plot Twists that E. Lockhart loves

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Clips

Season Two Tease And Answers
Minute 55 Epiphany
Art Over Being Liked
Why We Needed To Cry
Not An Unreliable Narrator
Fan-Favorite Character Returns
Two Lunches, Two Rejections
New Book Announcement: The Pools

Transcript preview

First 90 seconds

  1. Speaker 10:00

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  2. Morgann Book· Host0:29

    [gentle music] At the end of We Were Liars, in an author note, you state, "I would rather anger a reader than bore her." Why is that?

  3. E. Lockhart· Guest0:39

    I mean, honestly, if everybody likes you, you're a liar. [laughs] Right? Like, we're, we're not on this planet making art to be liked. It's nice when people like you, but you have to be authentic if you're making art.

  4. Morgann Book· Host0:52

    [upbeat music] Hi, everybody. Welcome back to Off the Shelf. Today, I'm sitting down with the author who wrote one of the best plot twists I have ever read. She's the author of We Were Liars, Family of Liars, and We Fell Apart. E. Lockhart, welcome to Off the Shelf.

  5. E. Lockhart· Guest1:12

    Thanks for having me.

  6. Morgann Book· Host1:13

    Of course. Happy to have you here. Now, I watched an interview of you about 11 years ago- [laughs] ... and you [laughs] you were talking about how much you loved the plot twist in Gone Girl. Now, since then, have you read any other plot twists that, like, had you shocked? Like, what are some

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