Q&A with Emily Carpenter

  

 

Emily Carpenter is the author of the new novel A Spell for Saints and Sinners. Her other novels include Gothictown. She lives outside Atlanta. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write A Spell for Saints and Sinners?

 

A: Honestly, it was such a fluke, how this book came to be. When Kensington was looking to buy my first novel, I had pitched a totally different second book to my editor.

 

But then, when it came time to write that book, I had this wild inspiration--an idea about a psychic witch working in Savannah who gets carried away with her brush with a very wealthy, powerful family.

 

The germ of the story came to me after randomly watching the movie Taxi Driver for the first time. Something hit me hard with that film, watching the Robert DeNiro character grapple with his outsider status, his lack of power.

 

Of course, his solution was to puff himself up in this hyper-masculine way, start collecting guns and stalking a politician which, as a viewer, you're just consumed with dread watching this disaster snowballing right before your eyes.

 

It got me to thinking about how women are so different in our reaction to feeling powerless and left behind by society. How we turn inward or to the natural world and more pagan traditions to find our power.

 

I love Stephen King's Carrie--it's one of my favorite books, but again, there's this theme of female rage and powerlessness (or a shocking level of telekinetic power).

 

It was such an odd thing, how these two pieces of art combined in my mind, but that's exactly what happened...and I got this picture of an isolated, awkward young woman who's at such an economic and social disadvantage in her life for all these reasons and what she does to grab onto the power she truly believes can save her. She's like the female Travis Bickel, and that's how I pitched it to my editor.

 

Thankfully, everybody was on board and excited about the idea, even though Ingrid turned out to be more of a morally gray character rather than a full-blown sociopath like Travis. 

 

Q: The novel is set in Savannah, and you’ve said you’ve always been fascinated by that city--can you say more about why you chose to set the book there?

 

A: When I came up with the character of Ingrid, I automatically knew she would live in Savannah. I set most all of my books in either Georgia or Alabama, and I knew the city pretty well from going to the SCAD Film Festival for many years.

 

It's also a city, like Charleston and New Orleans, that's a very haunted, witchy kind of place.

 

And, like so many cities, there's a big divide between the folks who keep the tourist industry going--the workers in the service industry, etc.--and the people with generational wealth.

 

I also will give myself any excuse to spend time in Savannah, as it's just gorgeous and filled with beautiful old buildings and squares, but, like the rest of the South, has such a dark past. This is not some quaint little beach town. There's heavy, heavy energy there, in certain places.

 

Q: How did you create your character Ingrid?

 

A: I say she's Travis Bickel crossed with Carrie White--in fact I gave her the last name White in tribute to Stephen King's character. In fact, she has a lot in common with Carrie.

 

I knew she would have been abandoned by her mother, raised by an eccentric, but loving, grandmother which leads some of her schoolmates to bully her.

 

I knew she would be struggling to pay her bills, feeling desperate and panicked and maybe also being willing to use some questionable spellcraft her grandmother taught her to ensure her survival.

 

I fell instantly in love with her, in spite of her insecurity, in spite of her occasional unwise decisions. I just instantly wanted her to know she was loved and to win. 

 

Q: The writer Susan Crawford said of the book, “With lush writing and colorful characters, Carpenter creates a solid stage and then deftly peels back the layers to reveal a different world entirely, one that will stay with you long after the last page.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: First of all, I have a huge amount of admiration for Susan's writing, so I'm humbled by her quote. I really try to write thrillers that are both page-turners but also about something deeper and meaningful. Something about what it means to be human in this world.

 

For example, this book really gave me a chance to play around with class issues and wealth inequality and basically just how damn hard it is to pay your bills these days.

 

Meanwhile, wealthy people are entertaining themselves with yacht cruises and staged war games and how frustrating it is for the people living right next door to them and serving them at restaurants or catering their parties.

 

But don't get me wrong--I'm thrilled if readers zip through my books and have a hell of a good time, but I'm always gratified if they see more and the story makes them think in a deeper way about things. 

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I'm super excited to have another book with Kensington in 2027. It's a Southern Gothic twist on Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca set in the world of Alabama's legendary Muscle Shoals roots music scene, following an aspiring musician and an infamous producer as the lines between fame, art, love, and murder blur.

 

I started banjo lessons for research and am having so much fun with it even though I'm pretty terrible. 

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Just that I'm more thankful than ever for readers. We are all a community and I couldn't be more convinced that books bring people together. So if I'm in your town at a local indie bookstore, I'd love to meet you. I should have my tour schedule on Instagram and Facebook as well as my website: www.emilycarpenterauthor.com. 

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Emily Carpenter.