Q&A with Christa Carmen

 

Christa Carmen is the author of the new novel Beneath the Poet's House. Her other books include the novel The Daughters of Block Island. She lives in Rhode Island.

 

Q: The writer Jessa Maxwell said of Beneath the Poet's House, “Carmen uses a gothic New England setting to explore art and magic and left me thinking that the things men do to women are far more terrifying than any conjuring.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I really enjoy this description (and am eternally grateful to Jessa Maxwell for providing it!) because it calls to mind part of the original pitch I wrote for the novel when I was approaching my publisher with both Beneath the Poet’s House and The Daughters of Block Island:

 

“The Haunting of a Thousand Dreams [yes, that was my original title!] places historical figures [Poe & Whitman] in modern-day Providence and explores the intersection between a personal haunting and the lingering ghosts of much-revered public figures, as well as the ramifications of men who treat women as stepping stones on their way to artistic greatness.”

 

That line about men treating women as stepping stones on their way to artistic greatness took on greater meaning as the manuscript evolved (and, let’s face it, rose in pitch from a man merely taking advantage of a woman to putting her in very grave—no pun intended!—danger), and I think Jess perfectly captured that wonderful ability of horror and dark thrillers to reflect the hideous and appalling parts of life back at us through a carnivalesque filter that makes the suffering more bearable.

 

As for my use of a Gothic setting, well, anyone who has read The Daughters of Block Island knows I can’t resist a good old fashioned “damsel in distress” who flips the script, a slew of buried secrets, apparent ghosts, and dastardly villains!

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the story?

 

A: While the story—and the characters—can stand on their own, separate from the inspiration of Sarah Helen Whitman and Edgar Allan Poe, I did aim to write my main character, Saoirse White, in such a way that she would embody the strength, fortitude, talent, and discernment of the woman who (actually) lived—and loved—on Providence’s Benefit Street in the early-to-mid-19th century.

 

I hope readers enjoy both a twisty, satisfying thriller and a peek into the past.

 

And most of all, I hope they’re motivated to pick up the works of Poe (again) and Whitman (maybe for the first time), as well as other novels inspired by historical literary figures.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I am also the author of the short novella Through the Looking Glass and Straight into Hell, from Orphans of Bliss: Tales of Addiction Horror (Wicked Run Press), which was nominated for the 2022 Bram Stoker Award® for Superior Achievement in Long Fiction; the short story collection Something Borrowed, Something Blood-Soaked, which won the 2018 Indie Horror Book Award for Best Debut Collection; and the co-editor, along with L.E. Daniels, of two anthologies written by Rhode Island horror writers and based on Rhode Island legend and folklore, We Are Providence, which was a finalist for the 2022 Aurealis Award for Best Anthology, and its 2024 successor, Monsters in the Mills. 

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb