We chat with author Rebekah Faubion about Lost Girls of Hollow Lake, which follows a group of teens who visit a dangerous island where three are left behind and the surviving girls realise they must return to confront the sinister force hunting them.
Hi, Rebekah! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi, y’all! I am an author and screenwriter living in LA with my family and scruffy dog best friend. I got my start in romance at Berkley, but my demonic girl soul had to take the brand into the depths of hell (admiringly), so I am now writing speculative thrillers and horror for both YA and adult audiences. I love tarot, astrology, reading scary novels and watching horror movies, taking hikes, and visiting haunted locals everywhere I go.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I started writing as soon as I could put sentences on paper, but my love of story is something I think I was born with. I was a precocious, dreamy, terror of a child with a wild imagination who wanted to be an actress and also loved to tell a tall tale. But the first time I completed a story from start to finish was the summer I was nine-years-old. My friends and I found their grandmother’s old blue typewriter and commandeered it. I spearheaded the project, dragging my friends along even though they would much rather be out in the woods getting poison ivy. The result was short play about two girls who are kidnapped and their journalist aunt who has to track them down. I was obsessed with Lois Lane at the time, which really drove the creative vision.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
- The one that made you want to become an author: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward
Your latest novel, Lost Girls of Hollow Lake, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Unhinged
Gruesome
Tender
Atmospheric
Girlhood
What can readers expect?
This is my ode to slashers and survival horror. I’ve been pitching it as Yellowjackets meets I Know What You Did Last Summer and I really feel like that sets expectations nicely! It’s got the lost in the woods with a group of girls who lowkey hate/love each other vibes + the slasher during summer in a small town thing going. Then you add in the canine companion, Tiger, and the sweet queer romance, and you get a really fun, fast-paced, messy, scary tale.
Where did the inspiration for Lost Girls of Hollow Lake come from?
I think always and forever I am going to be obsessed with haunted places and mysterious locations with a history of danger, so the initial idea of Hollow Lake National Park (my fictional location where all the horror takes place) was spawned from that fascination. There is a ghost in this book who is disturbing, and this place that captures the girls has so many mysteries tied to it, it immediately made me want to know more. I also really wanted to write a book that felt like the 90s and early 2000s slashers, so the dual-timeline came about through that.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
There are so many moments in this book that mean a lot to me personally! Getting to write the relationship between Tiger and Evie, the dog bestie and the main character, was so special. My beloved dog, Samson passed away while I was writing this book, which made getting to write about a dog poignant and cathartic. It a lot of ways, my grief and my love made it onto the page through Tiger and Evie’s bond. There are also these third-person interstitial sections that are particularly terrifying and were an absolute blast to write, including a POV moment from Tiger! And then, always, every time, gore. I love a gross out moment.
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
The dual-timeline was a new journey for me as a writer. I had never done that in a novel before, so about midway through drafting I realized I was going to have to write the whole past timeline first and then the present, before weaving them all together.
What’s next for you?
My next release is called What a Nightmare, from Berkley 10/13/26. It’s about a young woman who has the ability to dream nightmares that breach reality. When she accidentally kills her predatory boss, she returns home to Texas and her estranged family because she believes the reason this power exists must be tied to her broken, tormented past. It’s a modern Carrie with big “good for her” energy.
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up this year?
So many!!
What Happened to Those Girls by Carlyn Greenwald —this one is also a “don’t go in the woods” queer thriller and I gobbled it up. (It is also dedicated to ME which is wild, a first for me.)
We’re All Going to Die Tonight! by Veronica Bane – this is a “book in one night” about a debate team stranded with a killer and it is a fast paced thrill ride.
Molka by Monica Kim — I am obsessed with The Eyes Are the Best Part, her debut, so my need is high here.
Entities to Lovers by Mallory Marlowe — a ghost guide rivals to lovers rom com with actual ghosts? YES PLEASE.
Headlights by CJ Leede — there are wolves in this book. I LOVE wolves.
Kiss Slay Replay by Rachel Harrison — I stan her. This one’s premise is time loop at a wedding where bodies are dropping so there is no way I am not immediately IN.
There are so many books releasing this year that I am excited about. Honestly, I know I am missing at least 100 titles I am feral to read. But the theme here is women writing thrillers and horror and spec, that is what I’m excited about this year, lads.
