We chat with author Mackenzie Reed about I Hope This Email Finds You in Hell, which is an adult fiction debut about an office receptionist who discovers her handsome boss is a demon hunter, think Sign Here meets Bride meets Assistant to the Villain.
Hi, Mackenzie! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi there! I’m an author of young adult and adult fiction, lover of meandering walks, and pizza connoisseur. On the YA side, I like writing genre-bendy thrillers, like my books The Rosewood Hunt, The Wilde Trials, and my next one Worse Than the Others, which comes out February 9th, 2027. As for my adult books, I’m having so much fun writing stories that straddle the line between paranormal, fantasy, and romance, such as my debut, I Hope This Email Finds You in Hell.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
From as early as I can remember, I always had a head full of stories. My mom says that I would sit in my car seat making things up and singing little songs. When I was ten years old, I started writing songs, and I began writing my first book when I was eleven. From there, I did both all the way through college, but it didn’t click that being a published author was something I could seriously pursue until I was a sophomore in college and finished writing a trilogy. That’s when I started exploring querying and traditional publishing. I really was just in it for the love of stories, and still am.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: My very first reading memory is with my mom, and we would read the Biscuit books together. I also loved Junie B. Jones and The Magic Tree House.
- The one that made you want to become an author: Meg Cabot’s The Mediator Suze Simon was my icon and it was my first venture into reading romance.
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: I’m currently obsessed with Cursed City by Kate Golden, which is book 2 in the Harker Academy
Your latest novel, I Hope This Email Finds You in Hell, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Hellish. Romantic. Adventurous. Zany. Slowburn.
What can readers expect?
Readers can expect a deliciously dark and funny paranormal romance about a receptionist who teams up with her hot demon hunter boss on a road trip to hell to save their emotional support coworker. Baked inside are corporate underworld antics like monsters going to work, hell hound hunters, and a certain devilish CEO I can’t wait for readers to meet.
Where did the inspiration for I Hope This Email Finds You in Hell come from?
It all started with the title. I was scrolling Twitter (RIP) one night and kept seeing the meme “This is how your email finds me…” and the phrase “I hope this email finds you in hell” popped into my head. Immediately, a story unfolded about a receptionist who goes back into work after hours and catches her hot boss performing an exorcism on Debra from Accounting, forever changing her life by discovering that demons exist and hell is real. From there, I knew I wanted it to be a story about friendship and the lengths we’d go for those we love, similar to Hadestown but without ending in tragedy. I’m a happy ever after type of girl!
Did you specifically write this book so you could email people with the subject line ‘I Hope This Email Finds You in Hell’? Have to say, we were very intrigued when we received that email from the publicist for the cover reveal earlier this year!
Ha!! It wasn’t intentional but that has been one of my favorite parts of sending emails for this book. I always follow it up with “I hope this email finds you well and NOT in hell…” I love knowing that something that began as a cheeky little book title now brings a smile to people’s faces when they see it.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
So many! One of my favorite moments happens in the Night Market, which is a chaotic place that our main characters Brie and Luke have to visit in the underworld. It was such a fun spooky spot to flesh out, and we meet some really interesting characters while there. It’s also a turning point for Brie and Luke, because they get separated and come together in a really sweet moment at the end of it.
What a stunning cover! Can you share any insight behind the direction?
I truly lucked out with the cover! When cover conversations began, I sent an inspiration deck to my team with motifs from the book and some potential directions, and they completely nailed the vision. My biggest thing was emphasizing the title and giving it a purple hue, because this book is so purple to me since that’s the color of the sky in hell. The designer and illustrator is Edward Bettison – I owe him my life!
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
Surprisingly, my biggest challenge was writing the romance between Brie and Luke. I wanted to make sure their romance felt earned, which was initially tricky because the book takes place over the course of barely a week. So that’s a lot to jam into a handful of days! It was also my first time writing a romance-forward story, where as usually my romances are more of a subplot. But don’t get it twisted – I had soooo much fun, and my research looked like reading more romance books. So it was a win overall!
What’s next for you?
I’m currently working on my second adult book, and though it’s not a sequel to I Hope This Email Finds You in Hell, it’s another hellish paranormal romance. I can’t wait to share more about it because it’s one of my favorite books I’ve ever written!
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up? Any you’ve read so far this year that you’ve enjoyed?
Some of my most anticipated reads of the year are: Tylor Whitlock Just Won’t Die by Kendall Annette, Sunflower Season by Daniva Nava, and Doomsdate by Laura Piper Lee. Recent reads I’ve loved are Magic and Mischief at the Wayside Hotel by Elizabeth Everett, You Had Me at Halo by Taylor Epperson, and If Not You by Ellen O’Clover (fun fact: Ellen and I are celebrating its launch together at Boulder Bookstore on 9/14!).
For book tour information, please click here.
