We chat with author Gillian Daniels about Jenny Will Eat You Now, which is a gorgeous horror-romance that follows river monster Jenny Greenteeth who stalks a handsome academic through Boston after a chance encounter leaves her hungry and curious about the world she’s been hiding from.
Hi, Gillian! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
I’m a writer in the Greater Boston area. I grew up in the Cleveland suburbs where I spent a lot of time daydreaming, reading comics, watching anime, and plowing through fantasy and dark fantasy books. I’ve been writing since I was a teenager and have several short stories and poems under my belt. Now, I’m an adult who’s been lucky enough to publish a debut horror romance novel JENNY WILL EAT YOU NOW!
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I would make up and revisit stories in my head when I was a kid. I’d have daydreams that I would continually revise and find more details in as I thought about them again and again. As a teenager, I realized I could write these ideas down.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: Silly Sally by Audrey Wood
- The one that made you want to become an author: Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin
Your new novel, Jenny Will Eat You Now, is out September 29th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Flesh-eating monster girl murder romance!
What can readers expect?
Mythological creature Jenny Greenteeth struggles to answer the age-old question, “Should I date this man or eat him?”
Where did the inspiration for Jenny Will Eat You Now come from?
“Can a woman be too repulsive to be loved?” I asked myself one day. The question became entangled with a memory I had of a Brian Froud illustration of Jenny Greenteeth. Also, I started drafting during the pandemic lockdown where I was inhaling a lot of horror fiction and thinking a lot about loneliness, isolation, and connection. An immortal working through her anger and joy in humanity seemed like a natural choice to explore!
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I had a lot of fun building out Jenny’s entry point to the human world with the supernatural characters Clyde and Fawn. They have their own complex histories and ambivalence toward humanity.
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
Self-doubt tends to surface for me when I’m writing in a way I haven’t written before. Here, I was fighting through questions like, “Am I doing this right?” and “Who is this novel for besides me?” Turns out, it’s for a lot of people!
What’s next for you?
I’m considering something more gothic flavored with a bit of humor!
Lastly, what books have you enjoyed reading this year? Are there any you’re looking forward to picking up?
Nothing Tastes as Good by Luke Dumas is an emotional horror book about diet culture and living in a society that despises fatness. Great body horror, too!
On Sundays She Picked Flowers by Yah-Yah Scholfield is a triumph of supernatural and psychological horror. It’s a sapphic romance that turns into something monstrous.
I’m really enjoying the humor and characters of the Time of Iron series by Sarah Rees Brennan, particularly the second book All Hail Chaos. The author is super good at what she does.
I had the joyful opportunity to read an early copy of Vampire Menstrual Syndrome: A Novel by S.C. Hunter and I had a lot of fun! I hope others give it a shot.
