Can you tell us a little bit about your latest book Sublime Messages and what inspired you to write it? How did you come up with the idea for it?
I’m already so wrapped up in my next book that I’ve sort of forgotten what inspired Sublime Messages. Let’s see. I knew I wanted to write something with a cult, and I liked the idea of something happening in a high school (originally it was going to be a shooting, but it became a hostage scenario), and then from there, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I never have a solid plan when I go into a book; I always have only vague ideas, and then I let the story take shape on its own. I probably didn’t plan for 95% of what happened in Sublime Messages! The ideas just came as I wrote.
What author or authors, if any, have inspired you to become a writer? When did you decide that you wanted to become a writer?
I’ve been writing since I was in high school. I wrote a bunch of middle grade and young adult lit in my twenties, then a lot of poetry in my thirties, and now here I am, writing adult horror, and I love it. I do read, but I mostly read old stuff, as I’m a lit teacher. So I read Dante and the old Greek and Russian writers and ancient epics—not the sort of stuff that’s inspired my writing. I think when I was young, I just sort of at some point realized I had stories I wanted to tell and that this was something I could do and enjoyed doing. When I hit about eighth grade, I was super mean-girled (a large inspiration for my novel Kitty), and from there into high school, I completely turned inward. I was afraid of everyone, not into sports and clubs, not good with socialization, but always wandering a rich inner world (which I still wander), and I'd spend a lot of time in creative pursuits. I wrote my first novella (about one hundred pages) at eighteen.
What does your writing process look like? Do you outline first, etc.?
My process. Oof. I sort of mentioned it already but if I want to put a kind word to it I’d call it organic. Really, it’s something closer to dark magic. Every time I write a book I think, "Oh no! This is the one that will do me in. I’ll screw this one up and pop and everyone will realize I was just a balloon full of nothing but air." Still, I can't help but push through. I tend to start out with some very vague concept, some weird little thing or group of things that interests me (puppets! poltergeists! cults! crystals!) and just create some characters and select a format (multiple perspectives, alternating timelines, etc.) and then just go. Whatever I come up with is inevitably entirely different from the vague idea I had at the start. Usually I open a ton of threads along the way, very loose ones that I leave purposely mysterious, and then I get to a point where I’m like, ok, now I have to tie these all together. How do I do that? Then after I can visualize the tapestry I want woven at the end, I go backward to sprinkle in breadcrumbs and cut threads that ended up going nowhere to make things work smoothly. I hate editing, though, so I usually edit once and move on. I'm a one-and-done.
You have many books out. Is there an overall theme amongst all of your books?
I can’t say that there is. My older middle grade fiction was a little preachy. It focused more on family relationships and friendships and always had happy endings. I have two young adult trilogies that get a bit romantic. But as far as what I’m writing more, the adult horror, no. They're very different, and what I love about horror is the openness; sometimes I have happy endings, sometimes I don't. There's a lot of leeway with horror.
What made you decide to go the independent publishing route instead of the traditional publishing route?
I’ve been trying to get traditionally published or, more recently, agented, off and on for twenty years. I’m tired of putting in all that time for zero reward. In addition, the industry has changed so much in the years since I’ve been writing. I don’t know that its looking for me, and I’m no longer in need of it. I don’t need the money or the author career I thought I wanted. I’m happy doing what I love and answering to no one. One major benefit of doing this all myself is that I answer to no one. I don’t have any timelines; I don’t have to change anything to meet anyone’s expectations; I am able to put out exactly what I want when I want to. It works for my life right now, and if nothing more ever comes of it than the occasional reader telling me they enjoyed my work, I’m ok with that. I love that, actually.
Which one of your books is your favorite and why? Which one of your books would you recommend to a new reader?
I like them all for different reasons, but I personally think Darkheart is my most meaningful. It doesn't tend to get as many reads or likes as a few of the others (which isn't saying much, as I don't have many reviews), but I just really love the vibes of that one, and it was my first dip into adult horror. I wrote Hilltop House right before it, and while that was really fun, it wasn't as dark as Darkheart. I got into some pretty heavy and personal content with Darkheart and pushed myself for the first time into the horror genre, which allowed me then to keep going with the next several. The setting for it is absolutely real, by the way. It’s based on a location I visit every summer. So that connection with the town and resort, the really strong ability I had to visualize what I wrote about while I wrote it—it just feels so real to me. As far as what I’d recommend for someone taking a look at my work, well, that depends. None of my stuff is super gory, but it can get dark and disturbing. So if you want to go a little easy while still getting some weird vibes, I'd start with Hilltop House. People seem to like that one. The Women in the Woods also tends to get good reviews, but it's a lot darker, if you're down for that.
Can you tell us a little bit about your upcoming book Strings, set to come out in August?
Oh goodness—this one’s a struggle right now so I’m just hoping I can get it done! I’m at that point where I need to figure some things out. It’s about a family that ends up in a seaside town the same summer a carnival is set to arrive. That carnival doesn’t show up until until the end, though—most of the book is the arrival of various figures involved in it and the family’s entanglements with one another and bizarre things going on in the town. I honestly just hope I can pull it off right now. Fingers crossed!
Do you have anything else you would like to add?
Well, thanks, really! Thanks for taking the time to read and interview. I aim to put out at least two novels and whatever poetry I can a year so long as time allows (I have eight cats (four inside, four outside), one husband, four children, twenty-some-odd houseplants, a full-time teaching job, and a partridge in a pear tree) the muses don't abandon me, and the fates continue to shower me with decent fortune. My website is www.sqmcgrath.com
I’m already so wrapped up in my next book that I’ve sort of forgotten what inspired Sublime Messages. Let’s see. I knew I wanted to write something with a cult, and I liked the idea of something happening in a high school (originally it was going to be a shooting, but it became a hostage scenario), and then from there, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I never have a solid plan when I go into a book; I always have only vague ideas, and then I let the story take shape on its own. I probably didn’t plan for 95% of what happened in Sublime Messages! The ideas just came as I wrote.
What author or authors, if any, have inspired you to become a writer? When did you decide that you wanted to become a writer?
I’ve been writing since I was in high school. I wrote a bunch of middle grade and young adult lit in my twenties, then a lot of poetry in my thirties, and now here I am, writing adult horror, and I love it. I do read, but I mostly read old stuff, as I’m a lit teacher. So I read Dante and the old Greek and Russian writers and ancient epics—not the sort of stuff that’s inspired my writing. I think when I was young, I just sort of at some point realized I had stories I wanted to tell and that this was something I could do and enjoyed doing. When I hit about eighth grade, I was super mean-girled (a large inspiration for my novel Kitty), and from there into high school, I completely turned inward. I was afraid of everyone, not into sports and clubs, not good with socialization, but always wandering a rich inner world (which I still wander), and I'd spend a lot of time in creative pursuits. I wrote my first novella (about one hundred pages) at eighteen.
What does your writing process look like? Do you outline first, etc.?
My process. Oof. I sort of mentioned it already but if I want to put a kind word to it I’d call it organic. Really, it’s something closer to dark magic. Every time I write a book I think, "Oh no! This is the one that will do me in. I’ll screw this one up and pop and everyone will realize I was just a balloon full of nothing but air." Still, I can't help but push through. I tend to start out with some very vague concept, some weird little thing or group of things that interests me (puppets! poltergeists! cults! crystals!) and just create some characters and select a format (multiple perspectives, alternating timelines, etc.) and then just go. Whatever I come up with is inevitably entirely different from the vague idea I had at the start. Usually I open a ton of threads along the way, very loose ones that I leave purposely mysterious, and then I get to a point where I’m like, ok, now I have to tie these all together. How do I do that? Then after I can visualize the tapestry I want woven at the end, I go backward to sprinkle in breadcrumbs and cut threads that ended up going nowhere to make things work smoothly. I hate editing, though, so I usually edit once and move on. I'm a one-and-done.
You have many books out. Is there an overall theme amongst all of your books?
I can’t say that there is. My older middle grade fiction was a little preachy. It focused more on family relationships and friendships and always had happy endings. I have two young adult trilogies that get a bit romantic. But as far as what I’m writing more, the adult horror, no. They're very different, and what I love about horror is the openness; sometimes I have happy endings, sometimes I don't. There's a lot of leeway with horror.
What made you decide to go the independent publishing route instead of the traditional publishing route?
I’ve been trying to get traditionally published or, more recently, agented, off and on for twenty years. I’m tired of putting in all that time for zero reward. In addition, the industry has changed so much in the years since I’ve been writing. I don’t know that its looking for me, and I’m no longer in need of it. I don’t need the money or the author career I thought I wanted. I’m happy doing what I love and answering to no one. One major benefit of doing this all myself is that I answer to no one. I don’t have any timelines; I don’t have to change anything to meet anyone’s expectations; I am able to put out exactly what I want when I want to. It works for my life right now, and if nothing more ever comes of it than the occasional reader telling me they enjoyed my work, I’m ok with that. I love that, actually.
Which one of your books is your favorite and why? Which one of your books would you recommend to a new reader?
I like them all for different reasons, but I personally think Darkheart is my most meaningful. It doesn't tend to get as many reads or likes as a few of the others (which isn't saying much, as I don't have many reviews), but I just really love the vibes of that one, and it was my first dip into adult horror. I wrote Hilltop House right before it, and while that was really fun, it wasn't as dark as Darkheart. I got into some pretty heavy and personal content with Darkheart and pushed myself for the first time into the horror genre, which allowed me then to keep going with the next several. The setting for it is absolutely real, by the way. It’s based on a location I visit every summer. So that connection with the town and resort, the really strong ability I had to visualize what I wrote about while I wrote it—it just feels so real to me. As far as what I’d recommend for someone taking a look at my work, well, that depends. None of my stuff is super gory, but it can get dark and disturbing. So if you want to go a little easy while still getting some weird vibes, I'd start with Hilltop House. People seem to like that one. The Women in the Woods also tends to get good reviews, but it's a lot darker, if you're down for that.
Can you tell us a little bit about your upcoming book Strings, set to come out in August?
Oh goodness—this one’s a struggle right now so I’m just hoping I can get it done! I’m at that point where I need to figure some things out. It’s about a family that ends up in a seaside town the same summer a carnival is set to arrive. That carnival doesn’t show up until until the end, though—most of the book is the arrival of various figures involved in it and the family’s entanglements with one another and bizarre things going on in the town. I honestly just hope I can pull it off right now. Fingers crossed!
Do you have anything else you would like to add?
Well, thanks, really! Thanks for taking the time to read and interview. I aim to put out at least two novels and whatever poetry I can a year so long as time allows (I have eight cats (four inside, four outside), one husband, four children, twenty-some-odd houseplants, a full-time teaching job, and a partridge in a pear tree) the muses don't abandon me, and the fates continue to shower me with decent fortune. My website is www.sqmcgrath.com
