Christina Henry is the author of the new novel The Place Where They Buried Your Heart. Her other books include The House That Horror Built. She lives in Chicago.
Q: What inspired you to write The Place Where They Buried Your Heart?
A: All of my books come from either an image that I see or a piece of dialogue that I hear in my head.
The Place Where They Buried Your Heart was born when I saw three boys go into a house, two come out and one of those two was missing an arm. I had to write the book so that I could find out who they were and what had happened to them.
Q: How did you create your character Jessie?
A: I usually just start writing and see what happens. As soon as I started the book, Jessie’s voice was there. I write chronologically and without plotting, so the book unfolds as characters make different choices. It’s a very organic process and I try not to think too hard about it as I’m writing—I prefer to let things happen.
Q: How was the book’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?
A: It’s actually a line from a Salem song that I like, “Fall Out of Love.” The original line in the song is “Trace the steps to the place where they buried your heart” and it just seemed like it fit the story I was telling.
Q: The writer Philip Fracassi said of the book, “It's a story about monsters and murder and loss, but it’s also a story about the ferocity of love, and the improbable ways it can capture our hearts.” What do you think of that description?
A: I do think that the book, ultimately, is about love—about the love that we lose and that we gain, about the love we want and that we can’t have. It’s about parental love and or the lack thereof, and about finding people who love us just as we are.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: My next book is called Pinfeathers, and it’s a pretty off-the-rails body horror about a woman who thinks her baby daughter is turning into a bird.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: If you want to stay up-to-date on what I’m up to, please follow me on Threads and Insta at @authorchristinahenry. My website is www.christinahenry.net.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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