We chat with debut author Jess Armstrong about The Curse of Penryth Hall, an atmospheric gothic mystery that beautifully brings the ancient Cornish countryside to life.
Hi, Jess! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi! I’m Jess. I write historical murder mysteries with a gothic twist. I live in New Orleans with my husband, two kids, dog, cat, and my 7 year old’s very spoiled goldfish. I’m also a huge book worm and almost always am reading something—I’m pretty open to most genres and float around in what I read a bit, but I cannot resist a good mystery or romance novel.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I can’t remember a time I haven’t loved telling stories, but my relationship with writing has changed a lot over time. My mom loves to remind me that when I was about four or five I decided I was going to be a writer and that I would busily make my little picture books, carefully cutting out pages from scrap paper and fastening them all together before leaving them scattered all over the house. In retrospect, I think I finally understand why my grandma started hiding her stapler and the tape from me. It didn’t stop me from writing though—I just had to get her permission before I could go “bind” my little books.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: The Fire Cat. I always really loved Pickles and have this old, falling apart, hand-me-down copy that I used to read to my kids before they started reading on their own.
- The one that made you want to become an author: Tamora Pierce’s Alanna books about the girl knight. Oh my gosh, little-Jess wrote so much feminist fantasy fan-fic based off that book series. I didn’t even know what fan-fic was at the time, but I was reading so much that I had to start writing my own stories to keep up with my imagination.
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Simone St. James Haunting of Maddy Clare. Really any of her historicals for that matter. Everytime I read something by her I marvel at the craft in her work. She has this ability in her writing of both scaring me to death and making me feel totally safe on that journey. I might sleep with the lights on when I’m reading, but I also know it’s all going to be okay at the end. That’s a gift, for sure.
Your debut novel, The Curse of Penryth Hall, is out December 5th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Gothic. Twisty. Feminist. Historical. Fun.
What can readers expect?
The Curse of Penryth Hall is very much what you would expect if you dropped a lady-sleuth detective in the middle of a traditional gothic novel—with a side of murder of course. The heroine, Ruby Vaughn is a thouroughly modern woman (at least by 1922 standards), and she has to confront not only the proverbial ghosts of her own past, but also find out who or what killed Sir Edward in the orchard before someone else winds up dead. Is it the curse? Is it a person? Ruby (and the reader) get to figure that part out together.
Where did the inspiration for The Curse of Penryth Hall come from?
This book was an experiment in a lot of ways. It wasn’t the first novel I had written, but it was the first mystery I’d written as an adult. I’ve always read mysteries, but I never actually tried my hand at one. Partly, I just wanted to see if I could do it. I knew that I wanted a lady-sleuth detective and I knew I wanted to do a gothic novel—so I put them together and here we are!
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
Ruby’s counterpart in investigating the murder is Ruan Kivell, the Pellar of Lothlel Green–who the village expects to break the curse. When I first set out to write the book, Ruby was supposed to have been a folklorist who was in Cornwall gathering stories. During the research process I started reading 19th century folkstories and accounts from Cornwall to ground myself for my heroine’s point of view. During my research I kept coming across accounts of Pellars—these unique practitioners of magic born with the ability to break curses, cast out demons, heal the sick and find stolen goods.
I knew pretty quickly I wanted to work a Pellar into the story in some way, and as soon as I created the character of Ruan, the entire novel shifted on its axis. Ruby herself had to change quite a bit, because Ruan took over so much of the story. Once I reshaped her, I suddenly had this very modern heroine who was in direct conflict with a character who was a bit of an anachronism (an intentional one!). Exploring that dynamic and having them learn to work together was probably the most fun I’ve ever had writing.
This is your debut novel! What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?
Calling it a “Road to Publishing” is probably the most accurate way to describe the process of getting published. My path has definitely had all the inevitable ups and downs (and the occasional pothole), but overall I consider myself to have been really fortunate in getting to this place. Pretty much everyone in my life has been super supportive of me—long before I ever was agented, back when I was literally a mom of a toddler and a newborn with a demanding full time job who suddenly decided that this was the perfect time to start writing again and figure out how to write a novel (let me just say, that first draft wasn’t pretty—but I did learn a lot along the way!).
I have a few novels that live in my writing trunk—probably never to see the light of day—and I am totally okay with that. Each one of them taught me something, and with every draft, and every revision pass, I grow as a writer. The Curse of Penryth Hall would not exist, if I hadn’t experimented and tried things with each of those earlier novels.
What’s next for you?
I’m currently in the editing stages for the next Ruby Vaughn novel, so that’s next up and I cannot wait to share more about that hopefully soon.
With the new year fast approaching, are you setting any goals or resolutions for 2024?
I don’t really have an official resolution or goal for next year–but if I had to pick one, I’d say I’d like to actually tackle my TBR pile in 2024. Honestly the thing is getting so long that I’m afraid it’s going to topple over and take me out one of these days. This year I feel like I read a ton of books, but my list is longer now than it was at the beginning of the year. It’s a good problem to have, for sure!
Lastly, are there any 2024 book releases you’re looking forward to that our readers should have on their radar?
I think 2024 is going to be a great year for books. I just finished the ARC of A Sweet Sting of Salt by Rose Sutherland and it is such a beautifully gothic twist on The Selkie Wife folktale. Sutherland’s writing is gorgeous and the story is so wonderfully atmospheric. This is definitely one you don’t want to miss.
I also was lucky enough to get my hands on an ARC of Paulette Kennedy’s newest book The Devil and Mrs. Davenport a couple months ago. I pretty much binge read that book while I was home with a cold and it is one of my favorite reads of 2023, even though it doesn’t come out until next year. Definitely add that one to your gothic-flavored TBR for 2024 too!
