We chat with author Josh Malerman about Incidents Around the House, which is a chilling horror novel about a haunting told from the perspective of a young girl whose troubled family is targeted by an entity she calls “Other Mommy”.
Hi, Josh! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi! I grew up in Michigan, went off to school at Michigan State, then moved to NYC, where me and my lifelong best friends started a band, before hitting the road for close to 7 years, no apartments or homes, living entirely on the road. It was somewhere in the brilliant light of those days that I finally wrapped my first novel. Wendy. From there it’s been an absolute explosion of 40 novels and a constant (and welcome) juggling act of books and albums. And even sometimes movies. (more of this I say)
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I didn’t realize it at the time, but looking back now I see breadcrumbs. Comics as a kid. Poems in high school. Short stories in college. Then the ten year attempt to write a novel before wrapping that first one, upon which the flood gates exploded open. I think the big moment for me was when I came home from a basketball tournament. I was on this travel team and we won the tournament and when I got back home I wrote a 40 page account of the experience. This was in high school. Three pages sounded like a lot back then. But…. 40? So I didn’t recognize it as a writer’s life until I finished my first book, then I saw clearly the breadcrumbs that led me there.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: The Face of Fear Dean Koontz.
- The one that made you want to become an author: Probably the same. Because it all took place in one setting and I was like, wait… we can DO this?
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Moby Dick. The ending makes me breathless. Just absolutely brilliant in all ways, both professional and frayed.
Your latest novel, Incidents Around the House, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
A cold wind, no music.
What can readers expect?
Well, I hope they feel they are looking through a magnifying glass, atching closely an entity’s attempt to get in.
Where did the inspiration for Incidents Around the House come from?
I’ve had the idea for some 13 years. My brother told me a story similar to the first chapter, about him and his wife putting their kid to bed for the night and the kid saying goodnight to “Other Mommy.” The little story stuck in a big way and finally, recently, I wrote the outline on the office wall. Then went for it.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
Yes! Daddo is a an timer character for me. Insomuch as I didn’t have to rewrite him at all. Plus: the events at Evelyn’s house.
What are some of the key lessons you’ve learned as a writer since your debut novel published a decade ago?
To keep doing things how you were doing them before you broke through. To always remember that the ultimate reward is finishing the book itself, and any worries beyond that pale in comparison to that reward.
What’s next for you?
A nonfiction book. A documentary. And the next horror novel for Del Rey.
Lastly, what books have you enjoyed so far this year and are there any that you can’t wait to get your hands on?
So excited for Ronald Malfi’s Small Town Horror. And I loved W.H. Chizmar’s Them.
