We chat with author C.J. Cooke about A Haunting in the Arctic, which follows a deserted shipwreck off the coast of Iceland which holds terrors and dark secrets.
Hi, CJ! Welcome back! How have the past two years been since we last spoke?
Hello, thank you! They’ve been good! I haven’t run a marathon yet, but I’m still running!
Your latest novel, A Haunting in the Arctic, is out February 27th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Gothic, ghostly, sad, cold, hopeful.
What can readers expect?
A Haunting in the Arctic has two timelines – one set in Dundee in 1901, where we depart onboard a whaler set for the Arctic, only there’s a woman on board who shouldn’t be. And the other is in a remote corner of Iceland in 2023, where a group of urban explorers stake out a shipwreck that is said to be haunted.
Readers can expect ghostliness and trauma, and a different take on the idea of haunting
Where did the inspiration for A Haunting in the Arctic come from?
I think it came partly from my interest in derelict buildings, and those abandoned towns and cities that look so post-apocalyptic. I used to spend a lot of time in a derelict house as a child, and I kept imagining a group of people living in an abandoned house. But then I thought of a shipwreck, which is infinitely cooler, so I had to set the book there. From that point I worked out that the wreck was an old whaler, and I kept seeing a woman on board, which made no sense as the crews – at least in the UK – were always male. In the US, there are records of wives going along sometimes but it was still a very masculine industry. When I worked out what the woman was doing on the ship, the story horrified me. I knew I had to write it.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I really loved exploring the Arctic! I had to imagine spending months on an old whaler in the freezing oceanic wastelands of Greenland and I was in my element. I’ve been to the Arctic, but it doesn’t have as much ice as it did back then. I’ll have to find a way to get to the Antarctic somehow…
Can you tell us about some of the challenges you faced whilst writing and how you were able to overcome them?
The research for this book was waaaay more than I had anticipated. In a way, it became enormous because I got so interested in the history of whaling, and so I ended up going down a thousand rabbit holes. The relationship between the Scots and the Inuit was an expected fascination, but it fed into the story. I just had a lot of late writing nights to catch up!
What led to your interest in writing within the “darker” genres?
Probably childhood trauma 😉 I don’t honestly know. My favourite story as a child was a Japanese folktale about a child who escapes certain death by a goblin rat by painting lots of cats which come alive and protect him, and he wakes to find blood everywhere and a huge dead rat… It’s very onbrand, I think.
This is your sixth published novel. What are some of the key lessons you’ve learned when it comes to being an author and the publishing world?
It’s actually my eighth published novel J I’ve learned a lot since my first foray into the publishing world, with many hard lessons, and many setbacks. The old sayings really are true, though. You have to keep going. It is that simple.
What’s next for you?
I have a new novel coming out in October titled The Book of Witching, so not too long to wait!
Lastly, are there any 2024 book releases that you’re looking forward to?
I’m really looking forward to The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley and The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden.
