Alyson Noël dives into the deliciously dark development of her new novel, Unrivaled, and shares an exclusive graphic from this YA thriller.

Unrivaled by Alyson Noël takes readers into the luxe world of Los Angeles nightlife through the eyes of three hungry outsiders. Glitzy, daring, and decadent, the first book in Noël’s Beautiful Idols trilogy sets a stage of It Girls and illicit intentions, dark desires and danger that will leave readers lusting for more.

Interview with Alyson Noël

What was your initial inspiration for Unrivaled?

After writing 14 paranormal/fantasy books in a row, I was ready for a change and decided to return to the sort of contemporary stories I wrote at the start of my career. As a teen, I devoured books by Judith Krantz, Jackie Collins, and Sydney Sheldon. I was drawn to the big, juicy, glamorous worlds and the strong female characters who weren’t afraid to do what it took to succeed — all while wearing fabulous shoes, of course!

But I also love mysteries, and as a Southern California native, I thought it would be fun to sort of combine the two by dropping three ambitious teens into LA’s star-studded landscape and seeing what happens when the choices they make in pursuit of their dreams make them all suspects in a mysterious crime.

How did you select and develop Layla, Aster, and Tommy, your protagonists?

I wanted to create three very different characters, from three very different socio-economic backgrounds, and sort of pit them all against each other as they pursue the same goal. In the world of Unrivaled, that means winning a high-stakes contest that could instantly change the winner’s life. They each need the win for various reasons — Layla needs it to finance her dream of moving to New York and pursuing a journalism degree; Tommy wants to impress his famous father who doesn’t even know he exists; and Aster wants to live life the life of her dreams, as opposed to the life her parents have dreamed for her.

They’re all 18, fresh out of high school, and looking to define themselves and their place in the world. How they respond to the trouble they find themselves in will test everything they once believed about themselves.

How do you approach villains or antagonists?

The villains are always the most fun to write, mainly because they tend to be larger than life, utterly single-minded, and often get all the best lines. While they appear to operate outside the usual moral code, in their minds their behavior is justified. There are a lot of shape-shifters in Unrivaled, so at any given moment, you can’t really be sure who’s bad and who’s good — who can be trusted and who can’t.

Did you do any work or research to get yourself in the “thriller” mode?

I binge watch a lot of crime shows, stuff like Happy Valley, Broadchurch, The Bletchley Circle, The Killing, The Fall, and Luther. I also love Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. Those shows delve so deeply into the characters’ psychological makeup that I find myself thinking about them long after they’re over. Oh, and Dateline — I cannot look away when that’s on TV.

And of course I read a lot of mysteries and thrillers as well. Some recent faves are: The Widow, Gone Girl, Girl on the Train, Luckiest Girl Alive, The Fever, Dare Me, The End of Everything, Before I Go To Sleep, Second Life, Big Little Lies, The Husband’s Secret, Reconstructing Amelia, Where They Found Her, and A Good Killing. I also reread Helter Skelter and The Stranger Beside Me — both of which I read many years ago.


Which was easier to write, the first line or the last line?

Unrivaled is my 22nd novel, and I can honestly say that absolutely nothing about writing is easy. However, for the sake of answering the question, I’ll go with the last line. By the time I get there I’ve been thinking about it for so long I’m usually ready for it.

Would you rather be a book or a computer?

While I love my Mac desktop — it’s lovely and sleek and knows all the things — I’m going to go with a book because books never crash.

For more information…

Learn more about Alyson and her books, both past and present, at alysonnoel.com. Find her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter for all the latest literary and life-related updates!

Unrivaled by Alyson Noël will be available on May 10 from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and your local independent bookstore.