# Freida McFadden Pen name of **Sara Cohen** (b. May 1, 1980, New York City). American physician specializing in brain injury, practicing part-time near Boston while writing psychological thrillers. Harvard mathematics undergrad, Stony Brook medical school. #1 New York Times, USA Today, WSJ, and Amazon bestselling author. Named to TIME 100 Most Influential People (2026). ## Known For - *The Housemaid* (2022) and its sequels — international bestselling psychological thriller series featuring Millie Calloway - 2025 feature film adaptation of *The Housemaid* (dir. Paul Feig, starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried; grossed ~$401M); sequel based on *The Housemaid's Secret* greenlit January 2026 - 30+ novels published since 2013, spanning psychological thrillers and medical humor (e.g. *The Devil Wears Scrubs*) - Winner: International Thriller Writers Award (Best Paperback Original), Goodreads Choice Award (Best Thriller) ## Recent Activity ### 2026 - **The Divorce** released May 26, 2026 (standalone thriller) - **The Witch** scheduled for October 6, 2026 - *Want to Know a Secret?* re-release earlier in 2026 - Re-signed with Sourcebooks (per Publishers Weekly) - *The Housemaid 2* (adaptation of *The Housemaid's Secret*) in production with Paul Feig, Sweeney, and Morrone returning - Named to TIME 100 Most Influential People list ## The Housemaid Series 1. *The Housemaid* (2022) 2. *The Housemaid's Secret* (2023) 3. *The Housemaid's Wedding* (2024, short story interlude) 4. *The Housemaid Is Watching* (2024) — stated final book in the series ## Insights ### Writing Process - **Immersion drafting**: Plans the story in her head for a couple of months, then bangs out a first draft in a couple of weeks without stopping — even when it feels bad or she's stuck. Doesn't believe in "a few hours a day" — total immersion or nothing. Source: [Writer's Digest](https://www.writersdigest.com/be-inspired/freida-mcfadden-on-writing-a-long-first-draft) - **Fast draft, slow edit**: Long, meticulous editing phase stretching months balances the speed-drafted first pass. Source: [Geo.tv interview](https://www.geo.tv/latest/651170-the-housemaid-author-freida-mcfadden-gives-rare-insight-into-writing-process) - **Trusted first readers**: Husband ("secret weapon") and mother read first drafts. Source: [RD.com 2026 interview](https://www.rd.com/article/freida-mcfadden-interview-2026/) ### Advice - **Ship the book**: "If you want to write that book, just do it and put it out there. Stop procrastinating, stop worrying if it's perfect. Even when I write something and feel like it's not very good, I'll just keep writing and work it out later." Source: [MTTA 193 interview](https://get.thrillingreads.com/freida-mcfadden-interview/) - **Recommended craft book**: *Save the Cat Writes a Novel* for plotting structure. ### Principles - **Stay playful, stretch further**: "I want it to always be fun. Each time, I try to stretch a little further." Deliberately varies plots to keep her process fresh. Source: [E! Online interview](https://www.eonline.com/news/1428517/the-housemaid-author-freida-mcfadden-interview) ## Quotes <!-- QueryToSerialize: LIST FROM #type/quote AND [[Freida McFadden]] WHERE public_note = true SORT file.name ASC --> ## Books <!-- QueryToSerialize: LIST FROM #type/book AND [[Freida McFadden]] WHERE public_note = true SORT file.name ASC --> <!-- SerializedQuery: LIST FROM #type/book AND [[Freida McFadden]] WHERE public_note = true SORT file.name ASC --> - [[Never Lie (book)]] <!-- SerializedQuery END --> ## Related - ## References - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freida_McFadden - https://www.freidamcfadden.com/ - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Housemaid_(2025_film) - https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/book-deals/article/99413-freida-mcfadden-re-ups-with-sourcebooks.html - https://newbooksalert.com/author-releases/freida-mcfadden/