Girl on the Train author Paula Hawkins talks success, suspense and the future

You may not know what author Paula Hawkins looks like, but you've probably heard about or read her mystery thrillerTheGirl on the Train.

The buzzed-about novelfollowsthe life of a heartbroken woman who lives vicariously through a couple she passes every morning duringher train commute into London.

Since its release in January, The Girl on the Train has broken sales records in the U.K. and the U.S., where it has sold more than three million copies as of August.Now, the book ison itsway to selling half a million copies in Canada bythe end of 2015.

Her protagonist Rachel, whois a voyeur,resonates with many people, she told CBC'sDeanaSumanac-Johnson Tuesday morning atUnion Station, Toronto'shistoric train station.

"I just think it's a natural human instinct that voyeuristic impulse, to try and put yourself in somebody else's shoes,or imagine what you would be like if you lived in that house or if you were in that precise situation," she said.

"There'sa sense of wanting to make a connection, even if it's not really a connection. It's a very natural instinct."

The Girl on the Train is one of several recent suspense novels featuring complex female protagonists andare written by female authors. Many have compared it to GillianFlynn's novel Gone Girl.Hawkins herself is a fan of Flynn's book.

"It was a great book, so the comparison is flattering in thatsense. I can see why comparisons have been drawn. It's largely to due to this unreliable, problematic female protagonist. Howeverthey're very different books. The protagonists themselvesare very different," she noted.

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Still, like Gone Girl, a film adaptationof TheGirloin the Train is in the works withEmily Blunt cast as Rachel. Hawkins, however,is not involved in the project.

"I've never written for film, I don'tknow anything about writing for film and I think it's very difficult to adapt your own work, in any case. So I gave it to Dreamworks, who've got a director and they've written it. I think they're going to do a great job. And I'll bevery excited to see it next year."

Fans of TheGirl on the Train can rest assured that Hawkins is already working on another psychological thriller: this onecentredon twosisters and their relationship.

"I think it's going to be quite dark, quite gothic. I'm still, as I say, kind of in the middle, so that's about as muchI can say for the moment."

Paula Hawkins will be appearing at the VancouverWriter's Fest onSaturday.