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Interview: David Simms Interviews CJ Leede

 

CJ Leede is the author of Maeve Fly. 

Buy Maeve Fly: Bookshop.org

 

David: Maeve Fly is an amazingly cool novel. It seems to flirt with comparisons before veering off into its own happy world. It can’t be pigeon-holed, which is always a great thing to me. What was the inspiration for this debut? 

 

CJ: Oh man, thank you! Well, I was in a strange dark period in life, and I had just moved to LA and was regretting it, struggling with some grief and life things– you know, some time periods are just like that–and it was Covid, and it was pre-election, and everything just felt so ramped up and overwhelming. I didn’t really intend at first to do any of this, the initial idea was really just about Story of the Eye and whether a woman could retell it. What it would look like with a female protagonist. And then everything just spun out (very quickly!) from there. It’s kind of an annoying thing to say, but it was like a hatch in my skull opened, and it all just came to me suddenly. I just had to write it. 

 

David: A female killer–this can be done well, or botched completely. As a psychologist/psych instructor, I’m getting strong sociopath vs. psychopath vibes, but neither truly fit. Maeve handles her job well, but the rest? Are you a fan of studying killers, specifically women?

 

CJ: I love hearing you say this. I went through a phase of being obsessed with serial killers when I was younger (did we all?), but to be honest I have trouble sleeping at night sometimes as is, so it’s less my thing these days. But in terms of Maeve’s psychology, I do LOVE books on things like that. The Wisdom of Psychopaths, The Psychopath Test. I find it so fascinating that the same people who might hurt and destroy in the worst ways might also, with a different upbringing or set of circumstances, become our political leaders, surgeons, or corporation heads. If I had to categorize Maeve, I’d say she’s way more of a sociopath as well, but I’m happy to hear you (as the expert!) say she doesn’t totally fit either. While I love all that, I really wanted this book to be about something different, or for her not to be pigeonholed. I had a professor once talking about Joan of Arc and her visions, the fact that she might be diagnosed or categorized as a schizophrenic now. And then he said, but there’s really no difference. We use certain terms to categorize, but either way, she was seeing and speaking with angels and demons. They can both be true. In terms of Maeve, she is who she is. But her loyalty (her own brand of it) is definitely the guiding light.

 

David: I absolutely love the setting (at least for Maeve’s job). What a juxtaposition of character angles, or is it? What prompted you to place her in the happiest place… in Los Angeles?

 

CJ: I’m so glad! I visited the *theme park in Anaheim* one time before writing this book, and it all really just stuck with me. I’ve always liked it, maybe never loved, but never disliked either. But spending time really looking at it and learning about it was so fun. I’m now a big fan! 

 

David: Speaking of L.A., you nailed both the mystique and gritty feel of the city well. What brought you there from New York? What’s the allure, both personally and in writing?

 

CJ: I came here primarily for what was outside the city. I’m a nature girl, and the scale is so much bigger out here. The forests, deserts, mountains, cities, cliffs, and ocean. It’s just all so sprawling and massive and calls to a very strong part of me. But just like the Park, in the process of writing this book, I fell so deeply in love with this city too. It’s so imperfect, so polarizing, and I really love that about it. There’s a lot not to love, but I think that’s a lot of the charm. Also, name a city that does themed bars as well as LA! 

 

David: Other than the titular character, who else stands out as someone you might want to hang with in the novel? 

 

CJ: I mean, maybe the younger cop. We love to see a Halloween lover! And of course, Lester the Cat. 

 

David: Back to basics – how did your writing evolve? Short stories? Disturbing comics? Traumatizing elementary school teachers with twisted doodles?

 

CJ: In my last semester of undergrad I took a creative writing course and realized I loved it. I thought I was going down a different path, but the writing took hold, and I couldn’t let it go. I applied to grad school a few times and then finally got in, and that was where I learned that my writing was really all horror. And it’s all just gone from there! Maeve is the third book I’ve written, and we’ll see if the other two ever see the light of day! 

 

David: What authors lit your creative fire? Which ones currently stoke it?

 

CJ: Ahh so many! Scott Hawkins, Stephen King, Joe Hill, Jean Auel, Anne Rice, Margaret Atwood, Joe Haldeman, Robert Heinlein, Stephen Graham Jones, Grady Hendrix, Nabokov, Emily Bronte, Thomas Harris, Sayaka Murata, Italo Calvino, John Scalzi, Neil Gaiman, Virginia Woolf, Bret Easton Ellis, the list goes on! 

 

David: Favorite novel and why?

 

CJ: OMG I have to pick ONE?! I really can’t! But I do read Library at Mount Char again and again. And also so many others by a lot of the writers I listed above. 

 

David: Are you new to the writing conference scene? If so, are you stoked for Stokercon? It’s a tradition for new authors to buy interviewers/reviewers a drink, by the way. Either that or a book – we’re not picky!

 

CJ: Brand new! Very stoked. Noted on the drink, you’re on! 

 

David: I’ve read you have two more novels set to roll in the future. Is there anything you can tell us about either one?

 

CJ: The second book is unrelated to Maeve but deals with a lot of the same themes in a VERY different setting. Then I am working on two books simultaneously, and I suppose the *powers that be* will decide which of them will come out after that. I’m very, very excited for all of them though. 

 

David: A degree in mythology and middle ages? What’s the chance either will figure into a future novel? Mythology is such a great launching point for characters, creatures, and the heroine’s journey.

 

CJ: Big chance! Outside of Maeve’s world, I’m very interested in writing things leaning more supernatural, historical, scifi, and fantasy within the horror genre. And probably with romance in there most of the time, because why not?! 

 

David: When you’re not gallivanting across the country with the fur plus one family, what are your other passions/hobbies?

 

CJ: I love running and hiking, oddity hunting, reading and learning about anything I can. We do the senior/special rescue dog thing, and occasionally foster as well. I love going to hear live music, and when I can pry myself away from social media (her grasp is strong!), I love flipping back and forth between different languages on duolingo in free moments, just to kind of keep my brain sharp– or try to! But mostly, I’m an outdoor girl, and I like being really physically active. It’s how I do all my best thinking! And I’ve dabbled in MtG too. I always love it but need to get a lot better to play for real!

 

David: Finally, as a writer, I’m asked constantly for advice. As a debut author, what nuggets of dark wisdom would you feed to aspiring writers?

 

CJ: Just write your shit. Don’t worry about the market or what will sell or won’t sell or what will upset your family or your partner or that one person who said that one thing ten years ago that you still think about. Writing and creative expression are the safest spaces that exist. You can decide later if you want to share it or send it out into the world, and most likely the more authentic your work, the more the world will love it anyway! 

 

David: Thanks for answering these! Monster Librarian and our readers thank you plenty!

Wishing you a great year of success with Maeve Fly !

 

Book List: Haunted Hotels

It’s summertime, which means vacations, and unless you’re staying with relatives or camping, you’ll probably stay in a hotel at some point. You might want to take care, though, because hotels are not always the safest or most relaxing places to stay; Lizzie Borden’s former house is now a bed-and-breakfast, and a boutique hotel, The Blackburn Inn, now stands where DeJarnette Sanitarium, the setting for David Simms’ Fear the Reaper, used to be. Below you’ll find a list of titles that take place in haunted hotels.

 

cover for The Sun Down Motel

 The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James  ( Bookshop.orgAmazon.com )

The Sun Down Motel alternates between two points of view. Viv, in 1982, is a runaway headed to New York to become an actress who ends up unexpectedly left in the town of Fell, New York. With almost no money and nowhere to go, Viv takes a job as the night clerk at a seedy hotel on the highway, The Sun Down Motel, that she quickly discovers is haunted. Carly is taking a break from college to cope with her grief over her mother’s death and explore the mystery of her aunt Vivian’s disappearance, at age 20, thirty-five years earlier, in Fell. Following in Viv’s footsteps, Carly visits her apartment and befriends the current resident, Heather, who invites her to become her roommate. The two of them then visit the Sun Down Motel, where Carly takes the same night shift job Viv had.  Carly learns from Heather that Viv was not the only girl at the center of a mystery during the time she was in Fell; several girls and women of varying ages were murdered in the time just before Viv arrived in town. With hauntings, psychological disturbances, and a serial killer on the loose, the Sun Down Motel is a dangerous place to stay.

 

 

cover of The Shining

The Shining by Stephen King  ( Bookshop.orgAmazon.com )

I probably don’t have to go into detail about the horrifying events at the Overlook Hotel, which is based on a real hotel, The Stanley Hotel. Jack Torrance is hired to be the off-season caretaker at the isolated Overlook Hotel, where he will live in with his wife, Wendy, and his son Danny, who has psychic abilities, referred to as the Shining. As the hotel gets more and more cut off, Jack’s behavior becomes more and more erratic as the hotel reveals its secrets.

 

cover of The Silent Land

 The Silent Land by Graham Joyce  ( Bookshop.orgAmazon.com )

A couple on vacation at a ski resort surrounded by deep snow,  dig themselves out of a flash avalanche and discover they are completely alone and cut off from civilization. More than the characters, the atmosphere of complete isolation is what creates the suspense and creepiness of this book. I’ll be honest, I don’t remember a lot about the characters, but the world Joyce creates is one I haven’t forgotten.

 

cover of Ghost Stories of an Antiquary

Ghost Stories of an Antiquary by M.R. James  ( Bookshop.orgAmazon.com )

This collection contains two short stories that involve haunted hotels, “Number 13” and “Oh, Whistle and I’ll Come To You My Lad”. The second one has been adapted for radio and television. “Oh, Whistle and I’ll Come To You My Lad” is the story of a college professor who takes a room at a hotel for a golfing holiday, and while walking along the beach discovers a bronze whistle in the midst of a ruin. That night, when he blows on the whistle, he has a disturbing vision, and possibly supernatural events start to occur.

 

cover for Jacaranda

Jacaranda (The Clockwork Century #6) by Cherie Priest  ( Bookshop.orgAmazon.com )

The Jacaranda Hotel, on the island of Galveston, in southeast Texas, has seen two dozen deaths since it opened a year ago. A local nun, a disgraced priest, and a Texas Ranger, along with a handful of guests and hotel employees, are trapped at the hotel during a hurricane, with a hostile supernatural force inhabiting the building.  Gothic, creepy, and violent, Jacaranda is a gripping ghost story. When I read it, I didn’t realize it was part of a series, or part of a steampunk universe, and you really don’t have to have read any of the other books to visit this haunted hotel.

 

cover for All the Lovely Bad Ones

 

All The Lovely Bad Ones by Mary Downing Hahn  ( Bookshop.orgAmazon.com )

Maybe you’re looking for a book you can share with your kids? You can’t go wrong with Mary Downing Hahn.  Travis and Corey are visiting their grandmother for the summer. She runs a small Vermont inn that has a reputation for being haunted. The boys decide to pull some pranks to fool the guests into thinking there are ghosts in the inn, only to awaken actual ghosts. Travis and Corey must discover the story behind the hauntings in order to put the spirits to rest.

 

Musings: Fear the Reaper by David Simms


Fear the Reaper by David Simms

Macabre Ink, 2018

ISBN-13: 978-1948929790

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

Fear the Reaper was released in June, and it is frighteningly timely. I read it just after finishing coursework in special education, which included the effects of eugenics on public education, and right at the time that the family separation of immigrants seeking asylum started to receive intense media attention. I have heard many people say “this isn’t the American way”.  This is a historical novel grounded solidly in fact, and it hits home that this isn’t the first time the American way has included dehumanizing and forcibly separating “inferior” or “weak” populations.

It’s 1933, and psychologist Sam Taylor, designer of a test that can separate the “feebleminded” from the general population, has been hired to evaluate patients at a sanitarium in rural Virginia that has a solid commitment to practicing eugenics. Eugenics is a philosophy that grew from the conviction that only healthy, able, intelligent, heterosexual, attractive white people should be allowed to contribute to human genetic evolution. Many people not fitting that description, including homosexuals, foreigners, the disabled, mentally ill, and cognitively impaired, and African-Americans, were sterilized(or worse) so they wouldn’t be able to pass on their genes.

The superintendent of the sanitarium, Joseph Dejarnette, was a real person, the sanitarium in the book is very similar to the one he ran, and many of the scenes in the book are based on primary sources. While there is a mild supernatural aspect to this, it’s not the ghost haunting the main character that is horrific– it’s the things people do to each other, or are complicit in. And it’s not that it’s only one person– Dejarnette is just a representative of an entire movement, well-funded by corporate donors, committed to “improving” and “purifying” the human race, that is systematically eliminating anyone who gets in the way. Even knowing a little about the eugenics movement, as I was reading this, I thought “is all of this really real?” It is so outrageous and appalling in places that it’s easy to think that the author got carried away by his topic– it is fiction, after all– but having spoken to him, I can tell you that yes, people really believed and acted this way, dehumanizing the patients and practicing brutal treatments on them.

If you are looking to have your faith in humanity revitalized, this is probably not your best choice. It is a terrifying, eye-opening look at the eugenics movement, and how people become complicit in reinforcing and participating in evil. Simms does an effective job with character development; even brief interactions with minor characters make you feel you know them well enough that when they are caught in the events that occur it’s even more heartbreaking and awful. The ghost didn’t contribute much to the story, nor did the romance (the protagonist is not a likable guy), but the overall sweep of the story carried me past that. It’s an excellent piece of fiction documenting a rarely mentioned part of our history that will creep in, and stay in your mind, long after you finish it.

Editor’s note: David Simms is a personal friend and reviewer for Monster Librarian.