Released on July 1st, Den of Liars, by the award-winning author Jessica S. Olson, is already captivating audiences by combining fantasy and intrigue in a dazzling setting. Set in a world where magic is born from lies, the book blends the glamour of casinos with the danger of a tournament where players bet their deepest secrets. The story follows Lola St. James, a determined young woman fighting to survive amidst betrayals, illusions, and a thrilling love triangle, as she struggles to uncover the truth behind the past and the siblings who run the game. Praised by authors such as Rebecca Ross and Allison Saft, the work also stands out for its representation of people with visual impairments, inspired by the author’s own experience.
In Den of Liars, you take us into a world where magic is woven from lies. Could you share how the inspiration to create this unique atmosphere of deception and dangerous bets came about?
The spark that bore the idea first came when I thought about the game Liar’s Dice—you know, the old pirate dice game they play in Pirates of the Caribbean. I thought to myself, “What if there was a book called ‘Liar’s Dice’? What would that book be about? Who is the Liar? What is so special about his dice?” I eventually did change the title of the book to Den of Liars once I was a few drafts in, but those dice were the original seed for the whole plot.
For me, the story, while fantastical, explores the many faces of duplicity that we all experience in real life. Little white lies that spin out of control, pretending to be something we’re not in order to be treated in a certain way, finding out that something you believed wholeheartedly wasn’t true. Especially in our current world, where the people in power often get to determine the version of “truth” we learn, I think it’s more imperative than ever to be critical thinkers about every bit of information we take in, and I hope this book challenges people to scrutinize the things they take as facts with a more nuanced eye.
Lola St. James carries deep secrets that make her both vulnerable and powerful. As an author, how do you balance the fragility and strength of this protagonist as she faces such complex challenges?
Lola was an incredibly fun character to write because through her I was able to explore the dichotomy of the fact that sometimes the things that have made us the strongest also have the power to be our undoing. Writing Lola gave me the opportunity to delve into the complexity of trauma and how, despite the ways it can force us to be strong in the face of adversity, it can wreak unseen havoc to our psyches beneath the surface.
The relationship between Lola, the Thief, and the Liar creates a love triangle full of tension and desire. What motivated you to explore this type of romantic dynamic, and how do you connect it to Lola’s journey of self-discovery?
When I initially set out to write the dynamic between Lola, the Thief, and the Liar, I fully envisioned it being the stereotypical YA love triangle where one girl is caught in romantic entanglements with two guys. However, as the story developed and the characters took shape, it became clear that what was best for this story was actually something I hadn’t seen done before: a love triangle where the girl is caught between platonic love and romantic love. I felt that this was the perfect place to explore the similarities and differences in those types of love, and also to discuss the ways in which platonic love can be just as life-altering as romantic love.
I also loved how I could explore these two types of love alongside Lola’s journey of self-discovery because none of us grows up in a vacuum. Much of who I am today is because of the relationships I’ve shared with friends and family and lovers over the years, and I found it incredibly important to portray how Lola’s relationships with both the Thief and the Liar push her to grow in some ways and hold her back from self-actualization in others—much in the way that our relationships do for all of us in real life.
You describe the Liar’s Dice Tournament as a competition where players gamble with their deepest secrets. Have you ever thought about what personal secret you would bet if you were to compete?
I think I became an author because I loved the idea of writing stories and characters far more compelling and exciting than I am. Unfortunately, I doubt the Liar would even let me enter the Liar’s Dice Tournament because I don’t have any exciting secrets. Perhaps this was why developing characters with such juicy ones was so much fun for me!
Setting part of the story in a glitzy casino filled with dazzling gowns adds a special charm to the book. What kind of research or visual inspiration did you use to build such a fascinating setting?
I’ve long been a fan of films like Casino Royale, 21, and Ocean’s Eleven. Casinos are such fun, glittery, over-the-top settings, so when I got the idea to set a fantasy book in one, I knew I’d struck gold. For research, I re-watched a lot of my favorite casino films with an eye toward how to up the ante with magic. I also did a lot of research into how casinos are designed specifically to keep people engaged and coming back for more. I learned to play poker, and spent many evenings flipping cards with my husband for practice, and then studied game design as I developed my own game in Den of Liars. All in all, it was such a fun concept to write about, and the research stage of the process was truly a delight!
In the book, you also address issues of visual impairment like strabismus and amblyopia. What led you to bring this representation into the story, and what personal importance does this aspect hold for you?
I was born with strabismic amblyopia, and as I’ve written my books over the years, I’ve played around with the idea of having one of my characters live with the same disability, but it wasn’t until I started developing Lola that I felt like I finally hit the right character to explore that with.
From the beginning of my career, I’ve been quite passionate about the idea of having a character with a lazy eye because all my life I’ve only ever seen characters with lazy eyes portrayed as deranged villains or creepy stalker-types or comic relief. I wanted to show that people with lazy eyes are just as capable of casting magic as any abled character, and I also felt passionate about having a young woman be a compelling romantic interest to someone as cunning and handsome as the Liar—not in spite of her lazy eye, but with that as part of the whole package. If I had been able to read about a girl with a lazy eye like Lola in any of the books I read as a teen, it would have made such a difference in how I perceived myself, my abilities, and my place in the world, and I hope that including Lola’s visual impairment in Den of Liars will help teens today and in the future with similar disabilities think of themselves as the heroes of their own stories.
We know that you drew on your own experience to bring Lola and her world to life. What was the most challenging (or exciting) moment in translating that personal experience into fiction?
I think for me the most heart-wrenching part of the story was when Lola realizes that a person she loved and trusted with her life had been deceiving her because it drew on an experience I went through in my own personal life. Betrayal like that is incredibly painful, and writing it through Lola’s lens brought up all those feelings all over again. But I think perhaps the most powerful part of Lola’s journey is when she finally learns to trust herself—something I think we all have to learn the hard way.
With so much mystery, betrayal, and twists, Den of Liars is described as a mix of Caraval and The Inheritance Games. How do you see the relationship between your book and these other stories that also play with secrets and dangerous games?
I love books with dangerous, high-stakes games like Caraval and The Inheritance Games! I definitely tip my hat to Garber and Barnes for paving the way in the industry for this type of story. Caraval introduced us to the concept of a magical game, and The Inheritance Games developed messy, complicated dynamics between players. I like to think of Den of Liars as a bridge between those two, where the goal of each round of the magical game is to construct the webs of deception that develop those complicated, messy dynamics. I thought that using the concept of a game like this would be the perfect stage to explore the secrets that each of the three main characters are holding from each other, and as the stakes get higher, their deceptions grow deeper. It all felt like the perfect way to build toward the big reveals at the end where all the secrets come out and their rivalries come to a head!
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