We chat with author K. L. Cerra about Under Her Spell, which follows a woman who returns to her hometown to investigate her childhood friend’s disappearance soon finds herself embroiled in a deadly web of half truths, cover-ups, and dark magic.
Hi, K. L.! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi! Thanks for having me. I’m a suspense writer and marriage and family therapist living in Southern California. My first book, a gothic suspense set in Savannah called Such Pretty Flowers, came out in 2023. I have a six-year-old Boston terrier and my favorite day of the year is Halloween.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I was one of those kids narrating stories to my nursery school teachers, so I’ve been (at least attempting) storytelling for as long as I can remember! My friends and I would write stories together in elementary school, and I remember nearly always dreaming up characters and working on something up through high school. I didn’t get serious about trying to get published until I was in my thirties, though—that’s when I started the process of finding an agent.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: On my own? Probably the Goosebumps series!
- The one that made you want to become an author: The Song of the Lioness series by Tamora Pierce.
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Gone Girl.
Your latest novel, Under Her Spell, is out September 10th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Dark, moody, witchy & sometimes uncomfortable.
What can readers expect?
Readers can expect a mystery with an edge of the supernatural that takes a definite feminist slant. I will also warn that Under Her Spell is pretty dark with some disturbing moments here and there— definitely not a light read!
Where did the inspiration for Under Her Spell come from?
A few different places! First, I grew up in Guilford, Connecticut, and was really itching to write something witchy set in New England. I also had been thinking a lot of about societal narratives floating around about marriage and motherhood, at least in this country: “You sacrifice everything when you become a wife and mother,” “you will lose your identity,” etc. These kind of extreme messages have always unsettled me, and I started wondering, what if a group of women (a coven, perhaps?) organized around protecting other women from this certain doom? And what if they resorted to some pretty dire tactics to do so?
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I think my favorite scene to write was when our main character, Liv, gets initiated into The Sisterhood, the cult-like coven at the center of Under Her Spell. I pulled from research I’d done about cults to inform this. It remains one of my favorite chapters in the book!
With this your second published novel, were there any key lessons learned between working on the two?
Oh, yes—working on two books definitely highlighted my strengths and weaknesses as a writer. While I have an easier time establishing atmosphere, for instance, I’m more challenged by the mechanics of plotting, laying out the beats of a mystery, etc. This is an area where I’ve had to get a lot of guidance from my editorial team. Moving forward, I’m going to be more deliberate about nailing those beats in an outline before drafting, to avoid multiple, massive rewrites (as much as is possible, of course!).
What’s next for you?
I don’t want to reveal too much, but I think I can say that I’m solidifying the outline for my third book, which is another suspense through a feminist lens with plenty of creeping dread. It’s set in an insular coastal community that is not as idyllic as it may seem . . .
Lastly, what books have you enjoyed so far this year and are there any that you can’t wait to get your hands on?
My favorites that I read this year: Delicate Condition (Danielle Valentine), My Darling Girl (Jennifer McMahon), Insomnia (Sarah Pinborough), and The Writing Retreat (Julia Bartz).
I’m looking forward to Rachel Harrison’s So Thirsty—I think it even has the same release date as Under Her Spell (September 10)!
