Mara Williams

Welcome, friend! Today I am chatting with author, Mara Williams, about her book, The Truth is in the Detours, that released this month. Enjoy the interview and let me know in the comments if you will be reading the book! I enjoyed it and you can find my review in the last post.

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Get to know the author: Mara Williams

Hi Mara! It’s a pleasure to have you on Armed with A Book. To start us off, can you tell my readers a little about yourself?

Hi! Thanks for the opportunity to share more about my debut. I write about strong, messy women finding their way in the world—books packed with family drama, romance, and self-discovery. My debut, The Truth Is in the Detours, came out on August 12, 2025, and The Epicenter of Forever will launch on February 10, 2026. When not writing or reading, I’m enjoying California’s beaches, redwoods, and trails with my husband, kids, and disobedient dog.

The Truth is in the Detours is a road trip story full of personal revelations and second chances. What sparked the idea for this book?

When my husband and I were newlyweds, we bought his childhood home and launched a DIY renovation to make it our own. The catch was that we had to clean out a lifetime’s worth of memories. I found my late mother-in-law’s wedding gown in a sideboard in my dining room. Later, I found my husband’s original birth certificate in between the pages of the Pennysaver in a dresser drawer. There’s much to learn about the things people choose to keep—either by choice or avoidance—and each artifact has a story to tell. I began to wonder about the fictional possibilities. What if we found a secret inside a hand-carved Chinese antique chest—instead of fifteen years of youth soccer photos? What if we uncovered evidence that a missing loved one was still alive—instead of cherished mementos saved after their passing? So, an idea was born.

Ophelia has just lost her father when everything starts. How did you balance humor and emotional weight in the narrative?

I find that grief and humor are often intertwined. At the worst points in our lives, my family has always found a way to laugh, whether in a hospital waiting room, funeral, or while waiting for difficult news. You can call it gallows humor or a trauma response, but it’s true that laughter and tears are often neighbors. I wanted to tackle grief in this way. In order to create a book that begins in grief but is threaded with banter and wit, I developed a character who is more comfortable joking than mourning, who is eager to deflect and detract from her big feelings. Ophelia, a character who uses humor as a crutch, made it natural to balance the two.

Beau and Ophelia’s shared history is such a fun mix of affection and tension. How did you land on “former childhood besties turned teenage nemeses” as the dynamic?

In writing a book steeped in family secrets, I knew I needed a pairing with a complicated history themselves. I find something so special about the friends who share your earliest memories, who recall your inside jokes, who knew you as you were becoming you. Since Ophelia doubted all of her memories, I wanted to give her someone who could corroborate them, someone who would care about her deepest truths as well. However, I knew their dynamic couldn’t be simple or easy, which would create too shallow a narrative. Thematically, I wanted their relationship to mirror the quest for truth within the plot. There’s a line near the end where Ophelia realizes, “There is no such thing as the whole truth, only shards that catch the light at different angles and tell assorted stories.” What’s true of her family history is also true of her history with Beau because long, meaningful relationships are built upon imperfect memory and misunderstandings. Their dynamic—affectionate, resentful, tender, and prickly—is similar to family bonds. Just like family, they love each other to their bones, but have a hard time being vulnerable with each other because they know each other’s weaknesses too well. In resolving their long-held tension, Ophelia is able to come to terms with her whole past.

The book covers themes of friendship, forgiveness, and family secrets. Which of these felt most central to you while drafting?

This is such a good question. It’s hard to disaggregate any of these from the other. But I think friendship was most present for me while drafting. Secrets drive the plot, but friendship drives the emotionality. Building Beau and Ophelia’s dynamic and history took more careful crafting, so it was top of mind. 

Why is Beau stepping out of his research area (history) and writing a book about secrets?

I don’t want to give too much away, but Beau’s professed reason is that history is only the stories we tell ourselves—and include so many untruths and omissions that half of what we think we understand is incorrect. Studying how oral histories are misconstrued will present an alternate understanding of the histories we learn. The full reason Beau took on this project is more complicated, but readers will have to read to find out more.

Parenthood often changes a writer’s schedule, focus, and priorities. How has being a parent shaped your writing life?

I resumed writing when my kids were fairly young, so my writing life has always been built around motherhood. I also have a full-time day job, so my writing routine is nimble rather than structured. I write in the car while waiting to pick up my kids from activities. I pound out words while writing from the passenger seat on long road trips. I write after bed, before the kids wake up, and while waiting for dinner to finish. I don’t know what it means to write without juggling multiple priorities or drowning out background noise. My kids have also had a hand in shaping my books. My oldest reads every draft—and she does not hold back. If you want an honest opinion, ask a teenage girl. But it also means I know I’ve nailed it when she laughs out loud or wipes away tears while reading. She’s my best litmus test, and my books are better because of her candor. All my kids will help me tangle out plot ideas or offer character names. “Give me a name of a sixty-year-old guy with an inflated ego,” I’ll shout across the house. And they respond instantly with ideas, without demanding any context. My kids share me with fictional characters, but I’ve also been able to show them an example of someone pursuing her dreams. At my launch party, my kids sat in the front row with enormous smiles. Their pride in me—and their awareness that they contributed to this family dream—was one of the best moments of my life.

Which scene was the most fun to write?

I find the end the most satisfying. By the time I’ve drafted 70% of a novel, I can write the last 30% in almost one sitting. It feels like racing down a hill. By that point, I know the characters, can sense what they’d say and how they’d respond, so it’s almost as if I’m in the passenger seat, and the characters have taken the wheel. I don’t want to give too much away, but the scene that was easiest to write was the last chapter before the epilogue. Beau’s truths were so fun to transcribe on the page.

What’s one place on the West Coast you’ve always wanted to road-trip to but haven’t yet?

I’ve taken so many West Coast road trips, from San Diego up to Oregon and back. While I’ve been to several places in Washington, I haven’t taken a road trip along the coast and would love to take in some of the small towns up there.

If Beau and Ophelia had a playlist for their trip, what three songs would definitely be on it?

Music is not an area they have much of a common ground, but they do have a compromise playlist of singer-songwriters. The three must-haves on their playlist would be Mess by Noah Kahan, Starting Over by Chris Stapleton, and Anybody Else by JP Saxe.

If you could spend a day with one of your characters in real life, where would you go and what would you do?

I think I’d have to hop in the car and see where the road took us. I’d make sure Beau held onto the keys, and Ophelia took control of the radio, and I’d enjoy the ride. Or maybe I’d take notes.

And finally: Detours can sometimes be the best part of a journey. What’s the most memorable “detour” you’ve taken in your own life?

After college, I was lucky enough to take a trip to Europe with my childhood best friend (who luckily never turned into a nemesis). We booked a flight and mapped out a rough itinerary. But along the way, we would change plans when we found a better option. That trip was one long detour. But there is one particular day I remember in Rome when we decided to go a gallery off the beaten path and couldn’t find a Taxi to bring us home, so we meandered through the city, walking until we needed a break. We picked up gelato, stumbled across the Trevi Fountain, and saw more landmarks than if we had planned it. Our feet were sore, but our hearts were full. 

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I hope you all enjoy The Truth Is in the Detours.

Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me and share with my readers.

Thank you! These were fun questions.

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Thanks for joining us! Add this book on Goodreads. It is available wherever books are sold! You can find my review here.

Connect with Mara on Instagram or check out her website.

Many thanks to Over The River PR for coordinating this interview. Head to their blog to find out who else has joined the tour.