We chat with author Barbara Truelove about She’s a Doll, which is a ghoulish and gleeful tribute to the unstoppable power of female rage and a love letter to the friends who have our back—in this life and the next.
Hi, Barbara! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
I’m an Australian author, I live in New South Wales, I like coffee, hanging out with friends, and sometimes I remember to put on sunscreen.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I’ve been writing since I was nine years old and believe it’s probably too late to break the habit now.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle.
- The one that made you want to become an author: The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle.
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle.
Your latest novel, She’s a Doll, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
A doll murders her murderer.
What can readers expect?
A doll murdering her murderer… but also I talk a lot about grief, anger, trauma, and friendship. The real heart and soul of the story is the friendship between Lucy (the woman turned vengeful spirit turned haunted doll) and her (still living) friend Nicola. Nicola wasn’t murdered, but she was attacked by the same man.
They’re absurd, and get a little toothy at times, but they do love each other, and it’s by working together that they get the justice they both deserve. A buddy horror comedy with a sprinkle of queerness on top.
Where did the inspiration for She’s a Doll come from?
A tangle of different things. I’ve written about vengeful spirits before, back in 2020 when I was writing my interactive fiction game Blood Moon, and again in the unreleased sequel Thicker Than which has a demo online. This taught me that I love writing angry ghosts. I don’t know why. I just think they’re really fun. Also, so justified. You want to murder your murderer? Iconic. No notes. Pop off, ghoulish queen.
Back in late 2023, when I was pulling this idea out of the soup of my brain, I knew I wanted to reprise ghosts, to talk about grief and anger and lost time in a silly, spooky way. I’d also recently read How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix and remember telling a friend that it was hard not to cheer on a haunted toy because that’s one hell of a short straw, and I always want to root for the underdog.
All of these things came together and I wrote what ended up being chapter six by hand in a coffee shop. Then I kept writing, and over that summer, this book was born.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
Lucy was a very fun character to write. Her motivations (bloody murder) were clear and she never deviated from that goal, even when it created problems for her. Those sorts of characters are my favourite. She’s messy, she’s fallible, and yet she has so much will. I loved spending time with Lucy, and I hope readers do too.
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
Insecurity, same as always. It’s hard sometimes, when you’re drafting something, seeing it in its rawest, ugliest, most unfinished form, and trying to convince yourself that it’ll become something good, just so long as you keep working on it. Everything I’ve ever written has come with moments of insecurity and doubt. Is this any good? What am I doing? What even are words? Working on through those moments is always hard, but always worth it in the end.
What’s next for you?
A zombie tradwide Youtuber eats her husband’s brains on livestream. It’s a novella. We’re calling it The Secret Lives of Zombie Wives and it’s coming out in February with Tor Nightfire. It’s gooey, goofy fun and I love it so much.
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up? Any you’ve read so far this year that you’ve enjoyed?
I just found out Tananarive Due is releasing a new book this month and I’m so excited. The Reformatory is one of my favourite books of all time and I’m frothing at the mouth to get my hands on Mazywood. If the mail worker tries any of this ‘we tried to deliver your parcel and you weren’t home’ bull, I may commit crime.
