We chat with author Lauren Lee Smith about The Night Pool, which is a blood-soaked, page-turning horror set in the Gold Rush West, where three women must battle monsters both human and inhuman to survive–perfect for fans of Alma Katsu’s The Hunger and Victor LaValle’s Lone Women. PLUS you can read an excerpt at the end of the interview!
Hi, Lauren! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
I am a lifelong reader and writer with a love of history and supernatural horror. I’m a mom of three, and in my nearly nonexistent free time I enjoy gardening, hiking, get Thai massages, and accumulating emotional support dogs. I particularly like older books, and my writing tends to reflects that style. Some people love this about me, and some people… love this less.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
Very early. My mom recently gave me a box of old stories I wrote, around age 9/10. Unfortunately, they are about as good as you’d expect!
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: Heckedy Peg By Audrey Wood. I found this book at the El Dorado County Library and read it so many times I nearly had it memorized. I then chose to read it aloud to my first grade class, which was a questionable move, because it involves a very scary-looking witch who turns naughty children into various elaborate foodstuffs and then tries to eat them. I absolutely LOVED it. My mother was mildly alarmed but encouraged me to read, despite my unusual predilections.
- The one that made you want to become an author: I definitely went through a strong Anne Rice phase. From her work I learned about the beauty and romance that could be found in historical horror. I also read every single book by Patricia Mckillip. Her lyrical style of fantasy writing transported me from the real world, and I really appreciated that, growing up!
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: The Neverending Story by Michael Ende. Being born in the 80s, I was (and am!) obviously a huge fan of the movie based on this book (I only recognize the first), but the book itself is quite under-appreciated. It is translated from German and extremely weird. I believe reading it so young jumpstarted my love of adventure, magic, and the limitless nature of the human imagination. There are truly no rules!
Your debut novel, The Night Pool, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Strange, dark, heavy yet hopeful.
What can readers expect?
An unconventional setting for gothic horror, with unconventional characters, and perhaps a greater understanding of a bit of forgotten history.
Where did the inspiration for The Night Pool come from?
As a person interested in history, I have observed that there is very little justice to be found in the real world, especially for women. I wanted to create my own small measure of justice in this book. The Night Pool takes the revenge convention of the western and gives it to Nisenan woman. A little historical justice, albeit fictional, felt like the right thing to do. Men too easily escape the fates they deserve in the past and the present, so I was able to give them a taste of what they’ve earned here, at least on the page.
What was it about this particular story that made it the right one for your debut?
This book is a love-song to the land where I was born. It is made up of my childhood summers swimming in the deep river, wandering the woods, learning about the fraught and tangled past of the American west. It is my way of using fiction to share this place with others, to be honest about our shared history, and acknowledge, in a small way, the suffering of past people.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I enjoyed writing the dream / hallucination sequences, for Haloke as the Killing Spirit. I had the opportunity to explore an unusual point of view, and experiment with perception and language through the eyes of a non-human entity. It allowed me to be as weird as I wanted to be.
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
This book took many years, from the research and writing phase to the querying / submission process, and there were countless times when I was concerned that I couldn’t make a supernatural horror western about women happen. The western genre is very male-dominated, and even the word ‘western’ can turn off readers who are expecting the traditional tropes because historically, the genre has been rife with misogyny and racism. But I took this book another direction, and as a result, it is in no way “on trend”. But this is its strong suit! I am a big believer in the idea that readers can appreciate something different. I was very fortunate to be supported in my endeavor by an incredible agent, who believed in the story enough to guide me and get it in front of my amazing publisher, Blackstone. And I am very grateful for the positive feedback I have already received. I think readers are seeing what I was trying to do, and that is a wonderful feeling that makes all the years of work worth it!
What’s next for you?
I am working on several novels, including another feminist horror western, this time set in the Mojave, as well as a dystopian sci-fi horror, and even a feminist fantasy! I also have a contemporary witch screenplay in the works. No shortage of ideas over here, disparate though they may seem.
Lastly, what books have you enjoyed reading this year? Are there any you’re looking forward to picking up?
I have been drafting so I haven’t read as much as I would like, but I am currently reading Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. Everyone should read that book. I also recently finally read Rebecca, which I loved, because what do you mean we are supposed to cheer for the cover-up of a murder? Daphne du Maurier is a menace! As far as upcoming, I am looking forward to catching up on a very overburdened TBR, which includes Cynthia Pelayo’s new fairytale retelling ‘It Came from Neverland’ and also ‘Angel Down’, because ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ is one of my favorite books and I feel like this will have a similar vibe. I am ready for a weird, one-sentence war book about angels that just won the Pulitzer, because why wouldn’t I be?! So many books to read, yet alas, I am mortal and cannot read them all!
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