Manifestation, Murder, and the Cults of the 1920s: Olesya Lyuzna's Liars in Paradise

In this episode, I talk with Olesya Lyuzna about the second book in her Ginny Dugan series Liars in Paradise. Listen to hear all about: The roots of modern self-help, manifestation, and MLM-style thinking stretch back to the 1920s. Olesya shares how historical figures like Napoleon Hill and the era's get-rich-quick culture inspired the novel's sinister organization, Echelon.  Sometimes throwing away an entire draft is the best writing decision. Olesya discusses scrapping a nearly finished manuscript, rebuilding the story from the ground up, and how the rewrite created a much stronger mystery centered on Jack being framed. Historical fiction can feel incredibly relevant because human behavior doesn't change. We discuss how periods of uncertainty—after war, during economic booms, or amid social upheaval—create fertile ground for cults, scams, conspiracy thinking, and charismatic leaders. Real places often make the best fictional settings. Olesya shares how a supposedly haunted Long Island mansion, Winfield Hall, became the inspiration for Echelon's headquarters, complete with strange history, ghost stories, and Gilded Age excess. Great mystery series let their characters carry emotional scars. Rather than resetting Ginny after each case, Olesya discusses intentionally letting previous losses and evolving relationships shape every investigation, making the series feel more emotionally authentic. All the Bookwild Links:Check Out the Bookwild SubstackSubscribe to Bookwild on YouTubeGet Bookwild MerchFollow @imbookwild on InstagramCheck Out Author Social Media Packages Follow Co-hosts On Instagram:Gare Billings @gareindeedreadsSteph Lauer @books.in.badgerlandHalley Sutton @halleysutton25Brian Watson @readingwithbrianMacKenzie Green @missusa2mbaErin Ashley @bellametaphor