Writing a book is challenging, and writing a fictional novel is even more difficult. However, authors do it, and some of them do it phenomenally. Karin Slaughter, the author of the book Pieces of Her, on which the Netflix series is based, is one of them.

The novel Pieces of Her just like series begins with a gripping scene in which a normal suburban mother eliminates an active shooter with the skills of a seasoned assassin. Much of the story is told through the eyes of her daughter, Andy, 31, as she embarks on a road journey to find out about her mother’s past. Karin Slaughter recently spoke with The Washington Post about her new Netflix film Pieces of Her.

Karin Slaughter’s involvement in the making of Pieces of Her

Slaughter said, “I was as involved as I wanted to be, because this is not my area of expertise, but I was delighted to learn some new things, because I’m just curious about everything.” The author was present on the set of the show, for one day. She noticed the crew using Matchbox cars on a table to show how the sequence will be. Unlike other people who use computers and cameras for the same. This piqued her interest.

How does the book differ from the show Pieces of Her

Although the series is based on Karin Slaughter’s book, it does not follow it exactly. Sometimes the book version and the show version differ because the way we consume the story differs. The spirit of the characters, as well as the emotional story between the mother and daughter, were maintained. That made the author happy. She made a remark about the ending that, “the big strands are tied up, but they left it at a place where I felt like, yeah, I’m just super-pleased. I love everything about it, actually.”

The author watched the show while running on the treadmill

Karin felt a responsibility to her readers who had read the book and didn’t want to let them down. She was worried for the readers who were going to watch it because she felt like a gatekeeper for these stories. She watched it on a treadmill since she loves running on one when she is worried. Karin said, “I’ve been so anxious about this, I’ve been on the treadmill for like two hours a day.”

How did the story come to her

She based her novel on a mother-daughter relationship on a personal experience she had with her elderly father. Her father began confiding in her about aspects of his life that she did not want to hear. Similarly, the show’s main character discovers that her mother had a different past that she was unaware of and that she was better off not knowing about. She said, “kind of weirdly the best thing that happens to her is she finds out that her mother was in a homicidal cult. Which I don’t recommend for all millennials. But, you know, it really helped Andy find her legs.”

Pieces of Her is an eight-part thriller series that delves into a woman’s dark past, which she sought to keep hidden from her daughter. Watch the show to see how the mother-daughter relationship turned out. Let us know what you thought in the comments.