Two sisters go missing on a remote Scottish island. Twenty years later, one is found–but she’s still the same age as when she disappeared. The secrets of witches have reached across the centuries in this chilling Gothic thriller from the author of the acclaimed The Nesting.
We chat with author C.J. Cooke about her latest book release, The Lighthouse Witches, along with writing, book recommendations, and more!
Hi, C.J.! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
I’m a poet, novelist, and editor from Belfast, Northern Ireland. I’ve lived abroad for most of my adult life – Sydney, England, and now Glasgow, Scotland – but still haven’t lost my accent… I work full-time as an academic at the University of Glasgow, and convene our wonderful MLitt Creative Writing. I have four children aged 9-14, a dog named Ralph, and I’m currently learning how to run for more than 3 minutes, with the frankly hilarious goal of running a marathon some day. I love house plants, the Arctic, Scotland, rosé wine, and all things gothic and strange.
As the year gradually draws to a close, how has your 2021 been?
It’s had its ups and downs! I’ve just finished writing the first draft of my 2022 novel, which is a wonderful feeling, and I’ve also just received a big box of my author copies of The Lighthouse Witches, which is even better.
Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!
When I was about 4 or 5 my mother got me an audio book subscription to The Story Teller, which was a magazine and cassette tape (remember those?!) that you ordered from the grocery store. This was back in 1982… I suppose these were the first stories I recall reading, because they made a huge impression on me – in fact, I’ve just learned that one of the folktales that inspired The Lighthouse Witches was narrated in The Story Teller, which I find astonishing. I really think those formative years – and particularly the stories that impact you – mark you for the rest of your life.
I’ve been writing since I was 7, but I would say the book that made the biggest impression on me was On Writing by Stephen King. I read it in my early 20s and I think it was the first time I felt that my writing could be more than a secret love affair. I still teach King’s book to my students.
The book I can’t stop thinking about is Lisa Jewell’s The Family Upstairs. It’s an absolute masterpiece and sublimely gothic, despite being packaged as a crime novel.
Your new novel, The Lighthouse Witches, is out October 5th 2021! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Witches, lighthouse, folklore, bones, changelings.
What can readers expect?
A read-in-one-sitting piece of gothic fiction with the atmosphere of a haunted graveyard in Scotland on a misty November evening, with something – or someone – moving in the corner of your eye, and a murder of crows that suddenly takes flight.
Where did the inspiration for The Lighthouse Witches come from?
I think it came from a range of places – I was thinking a lot (and still am) about how different it is to parent a teenager than it is to parent a baby, and yet the speed with which a baby seems to become a teenager feels like whiplash. So the story of Liv and her 15-year-old Sapphire in the book emerged from that thinking. When we moved to Scotland in 2019, I learned about the Scottish Witch Trials. I’m very interested in women’s lives, and this slice of history is very much concerned with what happened to women – and it also bears a huge relevance to the current moment. Gradually that thinking took shape. Lastly, I was invited to teach at the University of Iceland in 2019, and while I was there – and thinking a lot about the book and how I was going to incorporate all the various ideas I had – I came across 14th century spell books, which blew my mind. As I dug deeper into the history of magic and how it impacted women in particular, the story came out of the shadows.
Can you tell us about any challenges you faced while writing and how you were able to overcome them?
Oh boy – there were a lot of challenges. This book took me almost 2 years to write, and I loathed it for most of that time. Genuinely hated it. I think I only really began to suspect it might be OK once I saw the finished copies of the book… I struggled hugely with the different plot lines, as I worried I might be overcomplicating it and shifting genre too much. I honestly thought I’d failed the story. But I edited it within an inch of its life until I felt satisfied with the way things came together – which was literally an hour before I had to submit it to my publishers!
Were there any favourite moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
Although she plays a small role in the book, I loved writing Cassie. She’s got such spunk and – without giving too much away – I wish she had have gone after Brodie…
I loved writing the lighthouse, too. It’s based on St Mary’s lighthouse in Whitley Bay, north east England, where I lived for almost 8 years. I spent many days there, walking inside and around the grounds, trying to imagine what it would be like to paint it. I also loved writing about the little bothy that Liv and her girls stay in. I imagined it as such a forlorn yet cosy place, a stone’s throw from wild seas. I would love to stay in such a place!
What’s the best and the worst writing advice you have received?
Great question. Julia Cameron’s ‘morning pages’ – whereby she advises writers/everyone to write longhand for three minutes first thing every morning – proved transformative in my writing, because they drew me gradually deeper to hear and trust my own instincts.
The worst writing advice I hear is ‘show, don’t tell’. It’s ridiculous. You have to tell some things to the reader. You just need to know when to show and when to tell, though that skill takes time and experience.
What’s next for you?
I’m about to edit my 2022 book, which is set in a mother-and-baby home in 1960s Scotland. And for 2023, ideas are beginning to stir, like the first ripples on the surface when the Kraken wakes…
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
I adored Catriona Ward’s The Last House on Needless Street, Camilla Bruce’s You Let Me In, Cheri Jones’ How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House, Bernardine Evaristo’s Girl, Woman, Other, and Oyinkan Braithwaite’s My Sister, the Serial Killer.
You can find Carolyn on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, as well as at her website.
