We chat with author Emily Carpenter about Gothictown, which follows a restauranteur who is lured by pandemic-era incentives moves her family to a seemingly idyllic small town in Georgia, only to discover a darkness lurking beneath the Southern hospitality and sun-dappled streets…
Hi, Emily! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
I’m a Southerner, a mom, and a lover of scary stories. I live in Georgia but I’m from Alabama, so all my books take place in those two states and invariably incorporate a slew of Southern Gothic themes. Lots of crumbling mansions, creepy family secrets, and hauntings of ghosts, both real and imagined. I also have two perfect and adorable dogs.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I honestly can’t remember a time when I wasn’t obsessed with stories – books, movies, TV. I remember when I was five and not yet reading, I was playing with a friend and she said she’d been reading since she was four, and I was so envious because she could READ BOOKS and I still had to be read to by my mother.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: Nancy and Plum by Betty McDonald.
- The one that made you want to become an author: Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: North Woods by Daniel Mason
Your latest novel, Gothictown, is out March 25th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Juliana, Georgia: run, girl, run.
What can readers expect?
The first chapter tells the reader in chilling detail how Juliana got its ghastly start. From there, you’re going to watch Billie, my protagonist, arrive in town full of hope and slowly uncover the truth about what happened there for herself. It’s unsettling, creepy, dread-inducing, and hopefully tons of fun.
Where did the inspiration for Gothictown come from?
Back in 2017 I started noticing a lot of American city governments offering people economic incentives to move to their cities and raise families. It seemed like a uniquely contemporary situation, especially with remote work booming. And then I came across an article about a small Italian village offering medieval villas for free as long as you promised to invest money in restoring them and stay for decades in the town. I immediately thought that was the most gothic thing ever and that town had to be full of vampires or something equally horrifying. All I had to do was move the setting to the South, and I was off to the races with the novel.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
Honestly, I loved writing Billie because she’s a smart woman, but she’s flawed. Her need to be successful, to feel that rush of being known as the “hot restaurateur” causes her to overlook a lot of red flags. I did enjoy writing a smart, interesting, capable woman who just wants to get back to doing what she’s good at. I think we can all identify with the frustrations of a career that’s maybe not going in the direction we want and maybe being willing to compromise at some points to achieve success.
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
For me, with the kind of books I write, it’s always a challenge to have this element of ghostly influence happening that stays in that liminal area between the physical and spiritual world. Like, is this a ghost I’m seeing or am I simply uncomfortable in this creepy old house I live in? That gray area is where my books live and it’s a bit of a tightrope to walk.
What’s next for you?
My next book A SPELL FOR SAINTS AND SINNERS is about a young woman who works as a psychic in Savannah and who gets pulled into the privileged and amoral world of an extremely wealthy family in town who she realizes she has a past connection to.
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up this year?
Susan Barker’s OLD SOUL (which I happened to read early but am definitely picking up in hardback to add to my shelves), Shannon Kirk’s TENKILL, Kimberly Belle’s THE EXPAT AFFAIR, and Layne Fargo’s THE FAVORITES, which I’m about to start right now.
