We chat with author Eric LaRocca about We Turn Gruesome at Night, which is the nightmarish second installment of a new trilogy of provocative, disruptive and brutally poetic queer horror set in a small New England town.
Hi, Eric! Welcome back! What have you been up to since we last spoke for the release of At Dark, I Become Loathsome?
Hello! Thank you so much for having me again. It’s so incredibly kind and generous of you. Thankfully, I’ve been very busy since At Dark, I Become Loathsome! Of course, I’ve been creating, writing, and reading as much as possible. I’ve also published a few novels since we last chatted. One of the novels I published was the first installment of the Burnt Sparrow series titled We Are Always Tender with Our Dead. That novel was released in hardback in September of last year and was recently released as a paperback in August. I also published a novel with Saga Press (Simon & Schuster) titled Wretch: or, The Unbecoming of Porcelain Khaw. That book is very special to me and is firmly rooted in the ‘Grief Horror’ subgenre. It’s a standalone work about a grieving widower who becomes obsessed with an enigmatic figure known as Porcelain Khaw who’s able to allow him to experience intimate final moments with his departed husband.
We Turn Gruesome At Night is the second installment in your Burnt Sparrow trilogy and it’s out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Oh, that’s difficult to say! Let me see if I can do it justice in five words:
—Depraved
—Disturbing
—Tender
—Unflinching
—Queer
For those who haven’t picked up We Are Always Tender With Our Dead, what can readers expect?
Readers can (hopefully) expect a disturbing examination of evil and corruption in a small community. That book in particular analyses how we collectively process trauma after a painful incident and how quickly things can deteriorate when vengeance becomes more important than healing and moving onward.
And for readers who have, what’s to come in We Turn Gruesome At Night?
The second novel in the series, We Turn Gruesome at Night, is more internally focused. So, the first book in the series was more interested in dissecting external threats to the community of Burnt Sparrow at large. This second book is very much focused on the psychological decay of the main characters and how our sense of self can disintegrate when we allow our more regressive, feral instincts to be unrestrained.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring further?
I actually really enjoyed bringing a new character into this story. Although I’m hesitant to get too specific for fear of spoiling the novel for those who aren’t familiar, I truly loved crafting Cormac Vale’s character. I felt he added a fascinating, compelling layer of tension to the dynamics already at play between the main characters, Rupert and Gladys.
Can you share some insight into your writing process?
I’m quite ritualistic when it comes to my writing process. Every day I attempt to write around 2,000 words or so if I’m actively working on a specific novel-length project. Sometimes I end up over that amount and very often I’ll end up under the target of 2,000 words. Regardless, I enjoy my morning routine—making a cup of tea, taking a walk around my neighborhood, settling at my desk, etc. I love to outline and prepare exactly what I plan to write; however, that’s not to say that I’m completely cut off from experiencing organic surprises throughout the process. Sometimes a character will do or say something that takes me by surprise and I end up following them on a tangent for a while. Those moments are so wonderful for me because I realize if I surprise myself, I can (hopefully) surprise a reader. Besides, so much of writing is the act of discovery. You learn about your characters, about the story as you move along through the world you’re creating.
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
There were many challenges while writing this book in particular! My poor editor, Cath. The first draft I delivered her was completely unpublishable because of the extremity of the content. I ended up revising quite a bit. Thankfully, I was able to preserve most of the story I was trying to tell, but it was an arduous editing process for this one. Regardless, I’m very happy with the outcome!
What’s the best and worst writing advice you’ve received?
Best: I really admire Paul Tremblay as an author and I’ve heard him say on numerous occasions that there’s such importance in the art of writing your obsessions, your fetishes, etc. Also, I must give a shoutout to the great Joe Lansdale for his classic advice: “write like everyone you know is dead.” I hold that one very close to my heart because of the subject matter I typically explore in my fiction.
Worst: It’s so cliché and tired at this point, but “write what you know” always frustrates me to no end.
What’s next for you?
I’m very excited for my next book release in March 2027. The novel is titled Brute and it will be published by Saga Press (S&S) in the US and Titan Books in the UK. The book is more rooted in the ‘Extreme Horror’ subgenre and follows a gay wedding planner with an unusual obsession: the art of public executions. Early reviews for the book have been incredibly promising, so I’m really looking forward to sharing it with my readers.
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up? Any you’ve read so far this year that you’ve enjoyed?
Oh, I’ve been reading so much lately! I just finished reading an excellent novel titled Eating Ashes by Brenda Navarro (translated by Megan McDowell). I highly recommend it. (I also recommend her other novel Empty Houses. Just absolutely brilliant and devastating.) I also recently read and enjoyed a novel called Margery Kempe by Robert Glück. It’s a dark, transgressive work told in parallel storylines about a woman’s obsession with Jesus Christ. I’ve been reading and blurbing a few books recently as well and the one that stands out right now is a collection of strange, dark fiction called Astral Wounds by Chris Kelso. I believe the Kelso collection is coming out next year from PS Publishing.
