Guest post written by author Liselle Sambury
Liselle Sambury is the Trinidadian-Canadian author of the Governor General’s Literary Awards Finalist, Blood Like Magic. Her work spans multiple genres, from fantasy to sci-fi, horror, and more. In her free time, she shares helpful tips for upcoming writers and details of her publishing journey through a YouTube channel dedicated to demystifying the sometimes complicated business of being an author. She’s represented by Kristy Hunter at The Knight Agency.
Her new release, Delicious Monsters, is out now, which is described as The Haunting of Hill House meets Sadie and follows two teen girls navigating the treacherous past of a mysterious mansion ten years apart.
Read on to discover some of the inspiration behind her book!
The Haunting of Hill House (the show and the book)
The Netflix adaptation came out the year before I’d started writing Delicious Monsters and I was completely drawn in by the complicated dynamics of the family at the center of the story. There were so many tense horror moments that were heightened by the equally tense atmosphere between the characters as they uncovered wounds from the past. The novel was something that I read during the process of editing my story and while the original tale doesn’t feature a family, I was so engrossed in the atmosphere of it. And I was especially stricken by its beautifully written and very well-known opening. I felt like both the original story and the new rendering of it were inspiring in their own ways.
The Kenogamissi Scenery
Delicious Monsters takes place in both the city of Timmins and the area around Kenogamissi Lake. We had a family member who was living in a cottage by the lake when I was in the early stages of thinking about the story. We went on this long hike through the property that just seemed to go on and on, filled with these dense foliage areas butted up against this wide field with power lines, wild blueberries, and daisies. I took so many videos and pictures because I knew that was where I was going to set the story.
Are You Afraid of the Dark?
Growing up, I was obsessed with this TV show of kids who’d gather at midnight in the woods to tell each other scary stories. But what hit me was that often the psychological fear bit that was included in the episodes stuck with me far longer than any of the creepy scenes or scary monsters. It really went for it in terms of getting into your head. That was absolutely something I hoped to recreate in my own stories, a lasting unsettling feeling.
Shrike by Hozier
In the early drafting phase, I was trying to get into the tone and atmosphere of the story and struggling. I decided to make a playlist, hoping music would help, and ended up listening to Hozier’s new album Wasteland, Baby! One of the songs on there was Shrike and having no idea what a “shrike” was, I looked it up and learned about the carnivorous birds. I already had a strong fear of birds—I will even avoid pigeons in the street—and the idea of a meat-eating bird stuck with me. And as I listened to the song and its lyrics, I found a lot of parallels in what I was writing. I found myself listening to the song over and over because it was so helpful in sinking into the mood that I wanted for the novel. Butcherbirds (the other name for Shrike) was even an early title for the book because I was so inspired by the song.
