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On The Table Read, “the best book magazine in the UK“, author VB Furlong talks about her writing career, and the release of her new mystery fiction book, What Happened To Coco.
Written by JJ Barnes
I interviewed author VB Furlong about her life and career, the inspiration behind her new mystery fiction novel, What Happened To Coco, and her creative writing process.
I am a Trainee Solicitor currently living in Berkshire with my partner and our dog, Holly. I grew up in the Welsh Valleys obsessed with books, especially anything written by Jacqueline Wilson. I’m still an avid reader, my favourite author being Cecelia Ahern, who actually read and reviewed my book!
I’ve struggled with health concerns since my teenage years, and just over a year ago had open-heart surgery. It was this knowledge that really made me take writing seriously, and it made me realise that it’s what I’m meant to do!
I started writing at age ten, for my own entertainment, I suppose. I always joke that my first book was ripped off by Nickelodeon for their show Victorious – it’s even my name! My book, like the show, was about a girl navigating life at a performing arts boarding school. I loved writing it and that’s when I first got the writing bug!
My first serious step into writing was with my current debut novel, What Happened to Coco. It was the first idea I had that progressed into a fully-fledged manuscript. The confidence to actually send it out into the world came from my favourite author, Cecelia Ahern, who I met at one of her events and spoke with about writing and the industry. She told me to go for it (she was quite insistent, too!) “Just do it!” she said, and I did! I joined the writing community on Twitter, and eventually found my publisher, Darkstroke Books, who saw potential in What Happened to Coco, and it was released on 4th December 2021.
I had the first idea at home. I had been reading a lot of Sherlock Holmes at the time, and I had visions of a girl going missing, the “it” girl at her school, the girl who seems to have everything. That afternoon, I knew her. I named her Coco, and I established the dynamics of her friendship group.
The characters were very vivid to me from the off, and I would have these flashes of inspiration, of the ways in which I imagined these characters interacting, so the writing of certain scenes was sporadic and woven together to make a novel. It’s very different to the way I write now, and it took far longer than writing takes me these days. I started writing What Happened to Coco in the Summer of 2017. I had a completed draft toward the end of 2019, and I edited and queried until my publisher became involved in July 2021.
What Happened to Coco is a mystery at its bare bones, and I wanted a mystery for once to focus on the victim, I wanted to give a real feel for the person missing, and not, as is common in mystery novels, the sleuth finding the clues. However, it is really a story about friendship, and the strength of the bonds made in times of adversity.
Each of the main characters have their own section throughout the book which focuses on their own struggles, and how Coco either helped to overcome them or exacerbated things (she’s complicated like that!). Some of these issues, which include grief, infertility and identifying with one’s gender, academic burnout, and coming out as a LGBTQ+ teen, are very close to my heart and experienced by myself or loved ones, and I was determined to raise awareness, and do them justice.
I was a very novice writer! I needed to read lots and lots and get by, and hold a lot of faith in my writing, with no industry contacts, which was not easy. The imposter syndrome was strong, and it took a lot of self will to pursue the project to the end, and have faith in myself that I could write a novel. The story is very personal, which was a challenge in itself to write, but this made it all the more fluid and authentic, so this is what made me carry on and finish the story, and of course I’m so glad I did!
There are four protagonists, five if we count the missing Coco.
Ella, Coco’s best friend, is academic and quick-witted but struggling with her self-confidence after a diagnosis of infertility.
Bea, Coco’s other close friend, is finding herself pining after her toxic ex after all this time, and is finding her current long distance relationship difficult.
Harrison, Coco’s boyfriend, is perhaps the golden child of their elite boarding school. Smart and sporty, it seems he can do no wrong, and the pressure of this is starting to show some cracks on the surface.
Conrad, Harrison’s best friend, is still trying to feel normal after the death of his mother a few years before, and whilst he may be handsome, and knows it, he still seems to be unable to get himself a girlfriend.
Each of them is flawed, and very much an emotional eighteen year old. They are based on my own friendships and dynamics from when I was this age, only I wish I was part of such a cool group back then!
Ah, well, the true antagonist is revealed late in the book, but in a way, the self-destructive nature of the protagonists makes themselves their own antagonists, the gang are always getting themselves in trouble, and when Coco’s secrets come pouring out, their dynamic will never be the same.
Being a teenager is so dramatic, there’s always so much going on, and emotions run high. The group have been friends for so long, but in recent years seem to be making bad decision after bad decision. I was a nightmare as a teenager and faced enough angst for five people on my own, so the self-destructive tendencies are based on myself, and my friends, and things that we helped each other work through.
Ella knocks on Coco’s dormitory door to go to breakfast, and she doesn’t answer. Her door is unlocked, so Ella peeks inside and realises that Coco’s bed is unmade. When she and Bea meet the boys at breakfast, they establish that no one has heard from Coco since around 11pm the night before. The teachers begin to worry, and when one of them produces Coco’s phone which she has left behind, the group are convinced that something sinister is afoot.
I wrote What Happened to Coco completely freely, guided by the characters who seemed to demand to be written. Now, I am for more organised, and plot in advance. I also write by hand first, which I find so much faster than typing and because I am not worrying about typos and just struggling, I feel my writing is all the better for it.
My publishers supported me with this. We spend a couple of months editing, passing the manuscript back and forth. I believe we began in August or early September, and finished in November, ahead of the December release.
Do it! Stick with it! I think any story can become great if given enough time and effort and love.
I may currently be in talks about a What Happened to Coco-related project. It’s top secret, though, even the title gives a lot away!
Ab-so-lutely. I love these characters so much and reading reviews of people who also love them is too exciting for words. Talking to people about a world I created is so incredible and I wish I could bottle the feeling. Instead, my only option is to write some more!
Book link:
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Facebook: VB Furlong
Instagram: @vbfurlong
Twitter: @vbfurlong
Tiktok: @vbfurlong
Website: vbfurlongauthor.com
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