(typewriter dings) - Hi, I'm Rea Frey and this is "The Other Year."

(somber music) The other year is about single mother Kate Baker who takes her nine year old daughter Olivia on a beach vacation and her daughter vanishes beneath the waves on the very first day they're there.

The book splits into two parallel journeys, one in which Olivia pops back to the surface, everything's great, and the other in which she doesn't.

(somber music) - As a mother of a girl of that same age, how tough was this to write?

- This was so tough.

So this was one of those books that came to me in a single moment.

I was standing on the beach, my daughter was nine at the time, and it was the first day of vacation.

There was a red flag rippling in the wind.

We had just gotten there.

She was so eager, she just darted into the water and I was standing on the shore and I, you know, just said, "Hey, there's a red flag, be careful."

And she like popped under a wave and I just thought, "What would I do if she didn't pop back up again?

And how would that change my life completely?"

So I was bawling.

I'm not someone who cries easily.

I was just bawling while I wrote this book and my daughter, I would talk to her about this and she was like, "Well, this is gonna be one of those books I can't ever read because it makes me so sad."

- But she'll also see how much her mother loves her, too.

- Yes, yes.

It's like a love letter to her.

(somber music) - What would you say is an essential ingredient for a Rea Frey novel?

- Things that scare parents to death.

- Yes.

Yes, thanks so much for that.

- You're welcome.

Emotional, I think just having that emotional piece and that question.

I always like the question, the what if question.

"What would I do if I was in this situation?"

Or "What if this happened?"

As a reader, I want them to really think beyond just like a really juicy plot and figure out what they might actually do if they were in that situation.

(somber music) - Rea, thank you.

- Thank you so much.

- It was such a pleasure you being here.

- Loved it.

- And thank you for watching "A Word on Words."

I'm Jeremy Finley.

Remember, keep reading.

(typewriter dings) - [Rea] Parenthood has just been the biggest journey I've ever taken.

So I think exploring some of my worst fears on the page is just a way to work through that.