Ruth Ware Remembers ‘Almost Dropping the Phone’ After Learning Reese Witherspoon ‘Loved’ Her Novel

Author Ruth Ware still remembers the moment she learned that Reese Witherspoon was a fan of her work.

On Oct. 29, the bestselling thriller writer answered questions submitted by members of the online literary community BookThreads, during an ‘Ask Me Anything’ on Threads. In response to a question about an opportunity that changed her life, Ware replied that it had to do with finding a fan in a famous book-lover.

“I guess for me the answer is — writing my books!” Ware wrote. “I never expected them to take off the way they did — and I can still remember ... my agent phoning and going ‘Sooo, Reese Witherspoon loves In a Dark Dark Wood’ and almost dropping the phone. The decision to write that book literally changed my life!”

In 2018, Deadline reported that Witherspoon and producer Bruna Papandrea were further developing a film adaptation of In a Dark Dark Wood, after bringing writer Arash Amel onto the project. Witherspoon also chose Ware's novel, The Lying Game, as a 2017 pick for her book club, Reese's Book Club.

Ware's latest novel, One Perfect Couple, was published in May through Gallery/Scout Press. The novel follows five couples competing against one another on the fictional reality show by the same name. As the show progresses, things take a turn for the contestants, once they realize that the game may have something sinister at stake.

Ware also shared during the AMA that the book, which was Threads’ October book club pick, was partly inspired by a conversation she had with author Gillian McAllister.

“We were talking about The Traitors TV show and reality TV in general, and I said it was a miracle that more of those shows don't end up in murder,” Ware wrote. “[McAllister] said ‘Sounds like a Ruth Ware novel’ and the idea for OPC was born.”

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The fictional TV series in the novel also shares some similarities with beloved real-life reality shows, the author added.

“But the show in my book ended up closer to Survivor or Love Island than The Traitors,” Ware wrote. “I'm fascinated by truth and reality and the facade that we all try to present to the world.”

Ware is also the bestselling author of thriller novels like One By One and The Woman in Cabin 10. In May, Netflix announced that Keira Knightly will star in an upcoming film adaptation of the latter novel, directed by Simon Stone. Another film version of The Woman in Cabin 10 was previously announced in 2017.

In the Threads AMA, Ware also shared that she often pulls her book ideas from places like podcasts and newspaper articles.

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“Often, I will get anxious about something I'm seeing crop up in the press, and decide to explore that anxiety in a book,” Ware wrote. “Anything that makes you uncomfortable makes for a good plot, I think.”