We chat with author Ellery Adams about Invasive Species, which sees the women in Cold Harbor all having something to prove, and they’ll have to do it in a world full of monsters.
Hi Ellery, can you tell us a little about yourself?
I’m a reader, writer, and book collector. An empty-nester, mom to three rescue cats, and coffee lover. I read across many genres but have a deep love of literary fiction, horror, and mystery. Other than reading, I’m into native species gardening, college football and basketball, horror flicks, and jigsaw puzzles.
When did you discover your love for writing?
As a kid, I wrote stories and sold them on the school bus for a quarter. In college, I thought I’d be a poet, but I soon realized I’d starve. After that, I gave children’s books a shot, but that didn’t lead anywhere, so I decided to start killing people in print. That worked much better.
If you could describe Invasive Species in five words, what would they be?
Stranger Things meets Desperate Housewives.
What can readers expect when they read Invasive Species?
A multi-layered plot with tension that slowly builds from the first chapter to the explosive ending and characters that will have readers thinking about women’s roles, female rage, and what it means to be a monster.
What was the inspiration behind Invasive Species?
This novel is very autobiographical. It’s basically my childhood, which is one of the reasons it is set in 1982, sans the hungry neighbor.
Specifically, how did the idea of Mrs. Smith come into existence?
There was a woman living on our street who never came outside. In 14 years, I never saw her. Not once. Her garden was wild and weird. It included a boarded-up well and what looked like old, flat grave markers. My brother and I found jewelry while working in her garden.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I loved giving Mrs. Smith a voice. Monsters don’t usually get a POV, but hers was such fun to write. She doesn’t care what people think of her—she simply feeds her desires. She’s cold and powerful but also a victim of humanity’s greed and pollution.
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
It was hard to change my family members into complete and total jackasses, but I preserved. LOL.
Quick lightning round:
The first book you ever remember reading: Bread and Jam for Francis (and I still love it)
The one that you can’t stop thinking about: I guess it would be The Hobbit as I reread it every year.
What are a few books that you’re looking forward to reading that aren’t out yet?
Anything new by William Kent Kruegger, S.A. Cosby, Kristin Hannah, or Clay McCleod Chapman.
Lastly, what’s next for you?
My next mystery novel, The Liars’ Book Club comes out in October, and I just turned in my next speculative fiction novel, Friends in Dark Places.
