Amanda Linsmeier and Amy Goldsmith On Writing Horror for a YA Audience

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The following is a conversation between two debut YA novelists: Amanda Linsmeier, author of Starlings, and Amy Goldsmith, author of Those We Drown, both lyrically written horror novels that test the bounds of the YA genre. Both novels are now available from Delacorte Press.

Amanda Linsmeier: Hi Amy! I’m so excited to chat with you today about our books! Creating a strong and atmospheric setting is so important in stories. The town in STARLINGS became like its own character to me, and I loved your setting so much—as I was reading I was struck by the fact that it felt really fresh and at the same time, perfectly ominous. At what point did you know THOSE WE DROWN would take place on a cruise ship, and why do you think it’s such a great setting for this story in particular?

Amy Goldsmith: Hi Amanda. So good to chat with you, too! I agree that a setting can act almost like a character in itself—like Shirley Jackson’s eponymous Hill House—and I wanted the Eos, the vast cruise liner where THOSE WE DROWN is set, to feel like that too. Very early on, I knew I wanted to tell a story where the main character was being unconsciously led into something deeply sinister, where they didn’t realise just how much trouble they were in until it was too late. For that kind of story, a locked room setting, such as a ship, is ideal since the MC can’t just get a taxi the heck out of there like any rational person. Around the same time I was playing with this idea, there were stories in the press about thousands of people being stuck on cruise ships, quarantined for weeks due to c*vid outbreaks, which sounded pretty nightmarish to me. So those two ideas ended up converging into THOSE WE DROWN.

The town of Rosemont and its eerie rose festival reminded me a little of Ari Aster’s Midsommar. Was folk horror a conscious influence on STARLINGS?

Amanda Linsmeier: I think it was more under the surface, at least in the first several drafts. Early on, my comps were all over the place, and so was the story—I actually began it thinking more of The Crucible vibes (and it was historical). But once I settled on placing it in a contemporary town, it came alive. I wanted to set my story in a charming and “perfect” town where nothing bad ever could possibly happen, which is of course, not true at all in Rosemont’s case! As far as Midsommar, there’s something unsettling about how it sneaks up on you, particularly when you take into account the bright, light colors and that most of it takes place in the daytime. The funny thing is that I hadn’t actually seen that movie until we sold STARLINGS, and my editor told me Midsommar reminded her of it, so I immediately watched it and was like, wow! It was pretty cool picking out details that resonated and taking that into account as we marketed the book. I think the comp we went with for the pitch—if Midsommar was set in Stars Hollow—fits perfectly.

There are many writers that have influenced my own writing. From Robin McKinley to Maya Angelou to R.L. Stine, I grew up reading and loving all kinds of things, and I’m guessing you were the same. Is there any book in particular that made a lasting impact on your work?

Amy Goldsmith: Yes! The dark side of Greek mythology strongly influences THOSE WE DROWN, and I couldn’t get enough of myths and legends as a kid. This was pre-Percy Jackson, so there wasn’t a ton out there for children, but I remember being enthralled by Leon Garfield’s THE GOD BENEATH THE SEA and its sequel, THE GOLDEN SHADOW. Another favourite series of mine was Susan Cooper’s THE DARK IS RISING sequence, a contemporary fantasy series that beautifully weaves Arthurian legend, English folklore, and Welsh mythology together. There’s something so timeless about myths in general that hugely inspires my writing and many of them contain messages that are still relevant. Another childhood favourite of mine was an abridged version of Edgar Allan Poe’s TALES OF MYSTERY AND IMAGINATION, and I think that kickstarted my eternal love of dark and creepy stories.

Speaking of inspiration, what inspired you to write STARLINGS?

Amanda Linsmeier: I have a visceral memory of reading THE HAZELWOOD, and it sending a little chill up my spine. I had fallen out of habit of reading books that unsettled me—it had been years since I’d read any dark fantasy or horror or anything like that—and I had this flash of a thought as I read: can I write something like this? And so I started dipping my toe into fantasy/horror. With STARLINGS, I let myself lean into the horror aspect.

Before I even drafted it, though, I was just coming off of an Adult manuscript that was pretty dark, and I remember thinking this new idea about a girl and creepy things in the woods (no spoilers) sounds SO FUN! Like, it would be a vacation from all the grief-y and heavy things I’d immersed myself in with the prior novel. Writing STARLINGS was so fun, but it turned out to deal with themes that I wasn’t anticipating—I guess I just can’t get away from writing those darker things (I’ve fully embraced it now)! But on a purely indulgent note I was very inspired by Pinterest photos of dead flowers and girls in white dresses. Music is another things that inspired me—there’s a scene where my protagonist Kit is doing something quite frightening and as soon as I heard Unchained Melody by Norah Jones, I knew it was the perfect slow and romantic song to contrast this horrible thing happening.

Now—both our books are Young Adult. What do you like best about writing for teens? And speaking of teens, I think Kit is far braver than I ever was at seventeen—or even now! Amy, how do you think your teenage self would have fared aboard The Eos?

Amy Goldsmith: Part of the reason I love writing for teens was the absolute delight I felt the first time I discovered teen horror. At twelve, I was just as obsessed with horror as I am now, and I’d read (and enjoyed) all of my dad’s dusty old volumes of ghost stories but wasn’t quite ready for the heavier hitters of horror like Stephen King.  So, when I walked into Waterstones and discovered Point Horror and Christopher Pike for the first time, I was blown away. Shelf after shelf of ominously titled books like THE BABYSITTER and FUNHOUSE with equally spine-chilling covers. Here was horror specifically written for me. Horror that wasn’t written by a fusty old clergyman from the 1800s but was instead about the perils of house-sitting while your parents were out of town or flirting with the mysterious new boy at school. I needed the bridge those books provided before entering the more adult-orientated horror spaces.

As for how teenage Amy would have fared aboard the Eos, badly. The downside of years of reading horror is that I’m overly suspicious of everything, so I’d probably be chucked overboard the very first night!

One of the many reasons I loved Starlings was because it features a very unsettling insidious type of horror. What draws you to dark fiction?

Amanda Linsmeier: Goodness, so many things. I think there’s a part of me that simply and absolutely delights in that delicious moment where you are reading or watching a movie, and feel in your gut something is wrong and it’s the anticipation that really terrifies you. Other horror authors have touched on this, as well, but having anxiety over a lot of stuff makes me feel like I’m scared much of the time—and writing scary things gives me courage. I can face things that frighten me and look them in the eye and write my characters (and in some ways, myself) over the other side. It’s a way for me to take control in an otherwise often uncontrollable world.

Amy Goldsmith: Thanks so much for your great questions, Amanda. I enjoyed chatting and am looking forward to debuting together! What’s up next for you?

Amanda Linsmeier: Thank you! I had a fantastic time chatting with you, too, and I’m glad we get to share this amazing experience of debuting together! Up next for me is another YA with Delacorte Press, coming next summer, called SIX OF SORROW. It’s a horror novel in which six teen girls, all born on the same day, must unravel the secrets of their small town after one of them disappears, only to return very, very different. I just handed in my latest revision and I’m incredibly excited to get to share this book next year! What’s next for you, Amy?

Amy Goldsmith: That sounds so eerie; I can’t wait to read it! I also have another YA horror with Delacorte on the horizon, releasing next summer. It’s called OUR WICKED HISTORIES and was initially inspired by THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER by E A Poe. It’s a tale of betrayal and revenge centred upon a group of estranged friends reuniting in an old manor house by a cursed lake.

Amanda Linsmeier: That sounds wonderful! I can’t wait. Thanks again for the great talk!

Amanda Linsmeier’s debut novel, Starlings, is now available. 

Amy Goldsmith’s debut novel, Those We Drown, is now available.

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