The Nerd Daily recently had the chance to chat with Andrew Joseph White, whose debut novel Hell Followed with Us, a fierce and enrapturing novel about embracing the monster within and unleashing its power against your oppressors, releases in June. We got to ask Andrew about his favorite apocalyptic stories, his writing process and so much more!
Hi, Andrew! Thank you so much for joining us! Why don’t you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hello! Thank you for having me! I’m Andrew (he/him)—I’m a queer, trans, autistic author from Virginia who writes about queer, trans, autistic kids with split knuckles and bloody teeth. The past few months have been endlessly busy as I finished up my master’s degree, but as of writing, I finally graduated four days ago—whew! The release of Hell Followed with Us will be a great way to wrap up my academic career.
Lightning round: what was the first book you can remember reading, the first book that made you feel seen and one that you can never recommend enough?
First book I can remember reading: Baby in the Box by Frank Asch (I was obsessed with it as a toddler and read it until the pages fell out). First book that made me feel seen: Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas (reading it for the first time was like gulping down fresh air after a lifetime in smog). And a book I can never recommend enough: a tough choice, but probably The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling (an autistic woman marrying a hot surgeon who does disgusting operations in a terrifying house? Yes please!).
Now, onto Hell Followed with Us! What can readers expect?
Hell Followed with Us is a bloody, blasphemous, bare-your-teeth-and-snarl post-apocalyptic horror about a trans boy escaping from a fundamentalist cult and finding community in a group of queer survivors, all while turning into a giant, rotting monster. Readers can expect messy but meaningful found family, gut-churning gore, and opinions that will make conservatives extremely angry. I’m especially proud of that last part.
As always, I urge my readers to check the content warnings at the beginning of the book. Some of it might be a little much for more sensitive readers, and I totally understand if that’s the case.
What inspired you to write Benji’s story?
Benji’s story is one that is deeply, intensely personal to me. Growing up, I always loved monsters—I struggled to connect with both myself and my peers, and monsters became an outlet for that. Of course, that disconnection was due to a winning combination of gender dysphoria and autism, but that love of monsters never really went away. So when it finally came time for me to write an honest story about a trans character, there really was no other choice but to write about a trans boy who turns into a monster. That, combined with a rise in anti-queer, transphobic rhetoric and a simmering rage I’ve carried most of my life, made Benji’s story a disgusting, feral thing.
And speaking of writing, Hell Followed with Us is your debut novel and it shines with its vibrancy and depth. What tips would you give to any aspiring writers out there?
Aspiring writers can get a million tips from a million different places, so here’s a weirdly specific one that helped me immensely: figure out the lens your narrator sees the world through and build your writing style around that lens as tightly as possible. For example, the narrator of Hell Followed with Us was raised in a religious cult, so I modeled the writing style after televangelist preachers. I’m currently working with a character who is obsessed with surgery and the medical sciences, so in revision, I’ll be weaving that vocabulary and mindset into his narration. It’s a cool little thing you can do to make the voice that much richer.
The setting of Hell Followed with Us is also incredibly immersive – do you have favorite (post-)apocalyptic stories that inspired you in the creation of your world?
I’ve always loved post-apocalyptic media, but most of the post-apocalyptic books accessible to me as a teen were never what I wanted to read (especially in YA). What kept my love of the genre afloat were video games like Fallout, S.T.A.L.K.E.R., Metro, and The Last of Us. So much of Hell Followed with Us’s worldbuilding was spent chasing the feeling those games gave me—the open world, the desolation, the nonstop action and dread. (And even though they might not be post-apocalyptic, other games that influenced the book are Far Cry 5, Dead Space, and Outlast 2. They’re some of my favorites!)
You address queer trauma, body dysmorphia and queer rage in Hell Followed with Us. What do you want readers to take away from Benji’s story?
The power of queer rage is the most important to me. There’s nothing the community has that they haven’t fought tooth and nail for, and recently, it feels like the progress we’ve made is backsliding. All the anger and pain I poured into this book is more relevant than ever. I want every trans kid to know they’re allowed to be angry about the way the world is treating them, and that anger can be channeled into making that world a better place. I support every single queer kid that feels like they need to burn it all down to be heard, and this book is for them.
One of the elements that makes Hell Followed with Us such a captivating read is the discussions surrounding what makes you human and what might turn you into a monster. Without spoiling too much, did you have a favorite scene while writing your novel where this struggle is thematized?
There’s a chapter almost two-thirds of the way through where Benji is just…unhinged. Completely feral, bloodthirsty, hellbent on violence and destruction. It was so much fun to write. There’s something cathartic in watching a trans boy wreak havoc against terrible people without a shred of guilt or consequence. And what makes it so powerful to me is that Benji’s rage from a place of love. He may be a horrific monster in this moment—his face melting off, the virus turning him almost into an animal—but that monstrosity comes from a desperate need to protect his friends and loved ones. I think that’s the most human thing in the world.
With Hell Followed with Us releasing soon, are you already working on another project? If so, can you share a sneak peek with us?
I’m hard at work on two projects—a YA novel that turns away from brazen gore to something more subtle but no less disturbing, and an adult project that leans into the blood and guts so hard that it’s somehow even harder to stomach. I can’t say much about either of them, but I can say that no matter what I announce next, I’ll find a place to explore the intersection of horror, transness, and the autistic experience. I am so, so excited to get to show the world this part of myself.
Last but not least, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
If you’re looking forward to Hell Followed with Us for the transmasculine rep, I will happily recommend The Witch King (H.E. Edgmon), Felix Ever After (Kacen Callender), and Cemetery Boys (Aiden Thomas). But if you’re looking forward to it for themes, I’ll recommend All That’s Left in the World (Erik J Brown), Wilder Girls (Rory Power), and The Project (Courtney Summers). Enjoy!
