UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — As a teaching professor in the College of the Liberal Arts' Department of Psychology, Sarah Kollat is focused on helping students understand the many beneficial aspects of developmental psychology, such as creating healthy family systems. 

But in her other career as a novelist specializing in psychological thrillers, she delights in exploring the darker side of family dynamics and the human condition.

"As a developmental psychologist who writes dark thrillers on the side, I find the intersection of psychology and fear intriguing," Kollat wrote in a recent article for The Conversation examining the psychology behind why people like to be scared. "To explain what drives this fascination with fear, I point to the theory that emotions evolved as a universal experience in humans because they help us survive. Creating fear in otherwise safe lives can be enjoyable – and is a way for people to practice and prepare for real-life dangers."

That dynamic is readily apparent in Kollat's recently published seventh novel, “The Girl in the Fire,” written under her pen name, Sarah K. Stephens, a nod to her late father's first name.

The novel centers on the disappearance of a young woman named Grace Dupree on the eve of her wedding. Her fiancé, Damien, sets off to find her, aided only by an old newspaper article about a Youngstown, Ohio, house fire that killed a 17-year-old girl named Leanne Crosby, who he’s convinced is Grace.

The narrative is told from the alternating viewpoints of Damien and Leanne, with readers getting to experience Damien’s struggles to uncover Grace’s dark past, as well as the events and hints of family abuse that led to Leanne’s disappearance.

“Things spiral from there and there’s a lot of dysfunction. Everything ties up with a satisfying ending — you want to make sure all these twists and turns are exciting, but that you stick the landing,” said Kollat, who was also featured in a recent Penn State video short on the psychology of enjoying fear.

Reading and writing was a huge part of Kollat’s development while growing up in Ohio. She devoured the novels of Michael Crichton and Robin Cook, and she minored in English while an undergraduate at Youngstown State University.

Writing eventually took a backseat to motherhood and Kollat’s academic career, but once her children got a little older and she found herself with larger gaps of free time, it seemed like the right time to pick it up again. She was particularly inspired by the work of the popular British mystery novelist P.D. James.

She started with short stories before finding the courage to tackle her first novel, “A Flash of Red,” which was published in 2016 by Pandamoon Publishing. Seven books in, she’s developed an efficient regimen that allows her to churn out roughly a novel a year.

Kollat does a lot of her writing throughout the summer months and during free moments while on her shifts as a volunteer firefighter for State College’s Alpha Fire Company. She has a United Kingdom-based editor, plus several friends who happily read her manuscripts.

“I try to outline my books, but eventually everything starts to go off the rails and it’s just wild and fun. That’s how I know I’m hitting my stride,” Kollat said. “As you’re writing, you’re in the thick of it and there’s a lot you have to consider, from the narrative structure to the character development. What I find helps me most is that I try not to get too much in my head. I just have to get a word count every day — somewhere between 1,000 and 1,500 words. And I always say to myself, ‘You can fix it in edits, Sarah. Don’t be so self-critical.’”

Kollat comes up with many of her plotlines while walking around campus. And she’s constantly scribbling in a notebook that contains “all of my most twisted ideas,” she said with a laugh.

Inevitably, Kollat’s psychology background creeps into all of her novels, from the themes of emotional and physical abuse to several of her characters being psych professors.

“In my field, we focus on healthy adjustment and prevention. And then I go to write and I let loose a bit and focus on the dark side of humanity — and it’s fun to explore that,” she said. “With my novels, the crazier the better. It’s like a sense of catharsis where you’re writing about things that maybe you’re frightened of, things that trouble you. You’re able to get it out in your stories. A lot of my books have issues related to motherhood and fear of mothering. And I know that comes directly from my own experiences as a mom. Am I doing a good job? What if I fail? All these internal conflicts that I’m grateful to work out in my writing.”

Kollat spent 18 years as a human development and family studies (HDFS) faculty member in the College of Health and Human Development before being hired by the Department of Psychology this summer. This semester, she’s teaching the courses "PSYCH 476: Child Psychopathology" and "PSYCH 412: Adolescent Development."

“I had such a wonderful time in HDFS, but I was looking for a shift, and I had heard great things about psychology,” Kollat said. “So much of who I am as a developmental scientist and psychologist focuses on the idea that ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.’ If we can help create healthy family systems, we can have huge impacts in the individual, family, community and societal level. I really believe in early prevention and intervention.”

In her novels, though, mayhem prevails. Right now, Kollat is putting the finishing touches on her next one, “I’ll Smile More When You’re Dead,” which she described as “a feminist thriller.”

Meanwhile, she continues to work hard at marketing herself and building her readership, whether developing friendships with other crime fiction and thriller authors to cultivating relationships with social media book influencers.

“A big part of the job of being a novelist now is just trying to get your work into the hands of readers who are going to enjoy it,” Kollat said. “What I’m able to offer as a writer is the ability to understand the complexity of trauma, and the complexity of what leads human beings to do harmful things to each other. I think my characters have a level of dimension to them, where they’re not necessarily only good or only bad. Everybody is complex, and everybody has within themselves the capacity to do great, wonderful things for each other, but also to do quite harmful things to each other. I like having characters that have that mixture.”