Q&A with Leigh M. Hall

 

 

 

Leigh M. Hall is the author of the new novel The Chambermaids. Her other books include Girl Bully. She lives in Texas. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write The Chambermaids, and how did you create your characters Wilbur and Elouise?

 

A: I wanted to write a Southern Gothic novel; this was a given. I love reading them and figured it was time to give it a try. Of course, I did not have an idea for an actual story, so I looked for one.

 

Two things inspired The Chambermaids. One: A true crime story that I read about years ago; the Papin Sisters were troubled girls in France back in the early 1900s. Then there was a fictional story, The Witch, a movie that came out in 2015. I borrowed a little from each to help form an idea.

 

The Chambermaids, Mary and Margo, were born from the Papin sisters. If you haven’t heard about the maid sisters who murdered their employer’s family, look them up.

 

When it comes to The Witch, that movie helped me come up with a setting. I loved the desolate location, the feeling of isolation. Even though the movie and my book are more than 200 years apart, I knew from the start that I also wanted The Chambermaids to be historical.

 

As far as the characters: I don’t know, they just kind of sprout out of my head.

 

Q: Did you need to do much research to write the novel, and if so, did you learn anything that especially surprised you?

 

A: Considering that the location is set in an undisclosed place in Texas, and there is a limited cast, I didn’t have to do much research when it came to the region. As long as my characters stayed inside their bubble, I could do whatever I wanted.

 

I was also pretty vague with the dates. Late 1800s, post-Civil War… That can be a wide range. I just needed to make sure I didn’t add anything they wouldn’t have had in that time, like Axe body spray or flu shots. I tried to be true to the dialect for the time without making it sound like an English classic. I think I managed to give it just enough Southern charm.

 

Q: Did you know how the novel would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?

 

A: One thing has stayed consistent since I started writing my first novel: I am a plotter. I create a detailed outline and character list before I begin writing. The first thing I usually write is the ending. This helps me along the way, so I always know where I am going.

 

Has the ending stayed the same for every book I have completed? No. Sometimes it changes; sometimes more chapters and details will get added to the end. This time, yes, I wrote the end first, and it pretty much stayed the same once I found my way back there after finishing the beginning and middle.

 

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

 

A: Questions. I know that is weird, right? But for real. I love leaving readers with questions circling around in their heads after they close that back cover for the last time. Stuff like, “What did I just read?” “Could that really happen?” “Wait, did they really do that to so and so?” It is my way of leaving them on read and making them want more.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: Strangely enough, I am working on something that proves I should stick with my answer to question number three. I’m writing a standalone shared-universe thriller with several other authors.

 

However, I jumped in, not really having any ideas, and decided to pants this one. Meaning by the seat of my pants, no outline this time. And I have been working on this thing since May. Six months and I am not even a third of the way done. I tried, I am failing, I will not be doing that again.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Just so we are clear, The Chambermaids is phenomenal. I may have written the book, but my opinion is genuine, not biased. I know, because I wrote it a couple of years ago, so some of the details have escaped me.

 

However, I am currently listening to the audiobook and find my hand reaching for my back during almost every chapter, like, girl, you wrote that? Kudos! Hahaha! But seriously, I am proud of myself for stepping out of my comfort zone and succeeding. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb