Q&A with Suzanne Junered

  

Photo by Sarah Rizzolo

 

 

Suzanne Junered is the author of the new novel Goodnight Monsters. She lives in Colorado.

 

Q: What inspired you to write Goodnight Monsters, and how did you create your character Lia? 

 

A: My novels always stem from my own curiosities about human behavior, and a few questions that came forward were: What happens when we have bad thoughts but don’t act upon them? Do bad thoughts make us bad people? And what might push us to the edge where those thoughts turn to action?

 

Lia came to me with these questions. I wanted to write a novel about a woman who had murderous fantasies but knew she would never act them out. She had morals, you know. And I wondered how she would react if I gave her a job where the body of someone she fantasized about murdering could show up on her “desk.” 

 

Those were the two initial sparks into what became Goodnight Monsters, and I began writing it during stolen pockets of time between caring for a toddler and a newborn. 

 

What I didn’t realize until after the first draft was that I was writing metaphorically into my own instability and emotional state during dark post-partum days.

 

When I dove into my first big edit of the novel, I wrote Lia’s pregnancy into the story. Everything seemed to click into place from there. I understood her better. I felt for her. . . because I was her (minus murderous thoughts, that is). There are many deep layers as to how a story unfolds, and Goodnight Monsters was no exception. 

 

Q: The author Emily Carpenter said of the novel, “Pitting primal feminine desire and rage against the cultural expectations of women and motherhood, Junered has crafted an unforgettably spiky and deeply human heroine as well as a story that will have you wondering what the hell you just read.” What do you think of that description? 

 

A: I think Emily nailed it and am so honored she saw these pieces of my novel which are most important to me. Lia’s desires are at war with her social conditioning, and I think a lot of women can relate, even if our desires are not quite at the same morally gray intensity as Lia’s.

 

And “wondering what the hell you just read” is a high compliment—this review left me tickled and seen. I like to surprise people. I like to create curiosity and intrigue more so than just tell a story. Might we see parts of ourselves in Lia, even though we don’t want to? What went wrong? What happened to her? Could it happen to me…?

 

I also have to say it takes a very talented writer like Emily Carpenter to distill a novel into a precise, quippy sentence that covers all its bases! Brava to Emily. 

 

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

 

A: Yes, I absolutely knew the beginning of the novel and the ending before I began writing my way into the middle. And then the ending changed along the way! We can project and predict all we want, but what I’ve learned is we can never be certain what will happen until it happens. 

 

Q: How was the book’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?

 

A: Goodnight Monsters is a play on Goodnight Moon, though I like to warn people it’s not your children’s bedtime story. While endearing, timeless, and close to my heart, to me Goodnight Moon is quite a strange story that doesn’t fully explain itself, so it aligns with Goodnight Monsters in that way.

 

And Lia’s ultimate goal becomes putting her monsters to bed, so in a way, it is a bedtime story. For adults who like “what the hell did I just read” kind of fiction. 

 

Q: What are you working on now? 

 

A: My next novel, House of Mannequins, will release September 28, 2027, so I’m working alongside my publisher to get that ready. It follows a woman who is suddenly burdened with psychic abilities and is taken in by a like-minded community where she finally feels at home—until she learns they’re taking the future into their own hands based on premonitions.

 

House of Mannequins asks: How far would you go to change the future if you could predict it? 

 

I am currently writing a novel about a PR specialist who goes to a swanky beachfront resort to turn around their bad reputation but ends up seduced by the power of the Kool-Aid they’re selling instead. Think Nine Perfect Strangers meeting Dark Matter with a touch of The Secret and The White Lotus vibes.

 

Titled Manifestation, this novel asks: Where is the line between living in your power and abusing your power? 

 

Q: Anything else we should know? 

 

A: Because novels are about much more than their plots alone, I am soon launching a podcast called No Secrets No Shame, which will touch on topics and themes that inspire my writing, especially the provocative and taboo ones.

 

I’m bringing these conversations out of the fictional realm and into the real world, inviting listeners to connect with conversations about things like sex, power, social conditioning, and the inner workings of the mind and body.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb