February 2025
An interview with Zoe B. Wallbrook, all hail the multi-genre thriller, and I am now a JonBenét truther
What’s new
Eventually I’ll have some thoughts to share about my third novel, but that day is not yet today, friends. I recently published a review of Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor in Ms. magazine and loved it—the ending rearranged my total understanding of the book, and maybe even my cellular makeup. Read it, go, go, go.
I also read Goddess Complex by Sanjena Sathian and loved it—the book chews over a lot of weighty topics (motherhood, identity, abortion, womanhood, life in India vs. America) and it’s also maybe the funniest book I’ve ever read. It’s out March 11—definitely nab a copy!
Zoe B. Wallbrook is a writer of funny, romantic mysteries with characters you want to root for. She is a recently tenured professor whose academic research has appeared in outlets such as the New York Times and The New Yorker. Her first novel, History Lessons, was a runner up for the Eleanor Taylor Bland award and selected for mentorship by LA Times bestseller Elizabeth Little. It will debut in July 2025 with Soho Crime. Zoe’s hobbies include beginning all emails with, “My sincerest apologies for my slow reply,” pretending to understand how astrological signs work, and crying at the end of every Call the Midwife episode. She and her husband live with their stalker, a black lab/pittie mix named Sophie.
Editor’s note: I am reading HISTORY LESSONS right this very now and it is SO good! Funny, dark, whipsmart, great prose (in particular, the dialogue is so crisp I’m jealous of the craft). Goodreads is offering a giveaway for it from now until March 11—sign up here!
What tabs do you currently have open on your computer? Feel free to share as many or as few as you like.
I apologize in advance for how boring I am. I've got two different language dictionaries going, my three inboxes, a budget spreadsheet, Bad Bunny lyrics ("DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS" is eeeeeverythaaaaang), and a few Biryani recipes for the instant pot I'm hoping to try out.
Where do you go to refill your creative well?
Is it weird to admit that one of my favorite places to refill my well is at the airport? I fly a lot for work (conferences, research, etc.). There's something about forced waiting that unspools me. At the airport I've written poetry, come up with a plot for a novel, read whole novels, and revised many, many drafts of my own work. I've even contemplated staying at an airport hotel nearby just for the R&R! [Editor’s note: I love this so much! I know EXACTLY the feeling…]
What’s the best craft advice you've ever received?
Keep going. It's so simple and so fucking hard it hurts. I would, however, like to offer an addendum to that axiom: I've learned that "keep going" doesn't mean that if you persevere your life will unfold in some neat, linear direction. Nor does it mean that putting yourself through intense, agonizing pain is somehow worth the cost. Rather, to me, at least, the phrase "keep going" has come to mean a declaration of sorts—that you are choosing to invest in the act of creation as a reminder of your own humanity, that you are choosing to invest in yourself, whatever that looks like for you. Telling myself to "keep going" now means telling myself that I believe in myself and in my craft and that I'm going to try to put that belief into practice by sitting there and squirming in front of my laptop. [Editor’s note: bookmarking this wisdom for future reference!]
What was the last piece of art—book, show, movie, whatever—that made you want to create something?
I don't know if I can point to one particular thing but I can say that I'm so thankful to be living in a time where I can read more widely than ever before. I'm grateful for BIPOC and/or queer authors who have chosen to write whatever their heart desires—from the sacred to the profane, from the politically urgent to the silliest and frothiest of things—and who have endured and continue to endure a challenging climate (putting it mildly) to bring us their treasures.
What's a book or movie or piece of art or other you wish you'd created?
I don't wish that I'd created it because I'm a terrible rapper and no one needs to hear me perform for them but man, I'm loving GloRilla's latest album, "Glorious." Glo, Doechii, and Meg thee Stallion are on an infinite loop in my house right now (much to my quiet scientist husband's horror). I should also say that Beyoncé's "Renaissance"—the album, the tour, the film, the merch—still fills me with absolute awe.
What do you think people would be most surprised to discover you're obsessed with?
I can talk about RuPaul's Drag Race in the way that other people spit baseball stats. That moment on All Stars 2 when both Alyssa Edwards and Tatianna got a double shantay and sent Phi Phi O'Hara home? A religious experience. It cleansed my skin, watered my crops, fed several elementary schools, and was responsible for brokering world peace. Listen, there's the Paris Accords of 1973, and then there's Roxxy Andrews's wig underneath the wig reveal. There's the moon landing of 1969, and then there's Sasha Velour's rose petal moment. I know in my heart which of these events is more important. [Editor’s note: You guys…if this prose doesn’t convince you to go read HISTORY LESSONS, you are a lost cause.]
What booklist book (which I'm defining as published at least two years ago) would you like to recommend?
The book I shove into everyone's hands upon meeting me is the short story collection, What It Means When A Man Falls From The Sky, by Lesley Nneka Arimah. That first story knocked me OUT. Every single story in it is breathtaking.
What has been the most surprising aspect of the publishing process, in the run up to your debut?
All of it has delighted and confounded me at every turn. To be honest, leading up to signing my contract I kept hyperventilating. I felt like a dog who had finally caught its tail and regretted it. I just didn't know what I was stepping into and worse, I couldn't know. I just had to take the plunge, and I was truly terrified. I'm so grateful for kind editors and agents who patiently walked me through everything—edit letters, structural developments, copy edits, you name it.
I know HISTORY LESSONS is the first in a planned series—how far ahead do you plan your series novels? Do you have an arc in your mind for Daphne overall as you're writing—where she'll end up, multiple books from now?
Before I knew what I was really doing, I drafted three books in this series. My take on writing novels has changed greatly since those early days, however, and my interest in seeing my characters develop over time has grown. So while I do have some pretty strong ideas for plots and the like, I'm now more committed to seeing where my characters' emotional journeys take me.
Thank you, Zoe, for an absolute banger of an interview! Readers, get thee to Goodreads and enter that giveaway!
My open tabs
Cynthia Pelayo’s latest book, Vanishing Daughters, is excerpted in Paste Magazine and is described as psychological thriller/deconstruction of a fairytale/true crime mystery and guess what? I want to read that book!
Did they really find Jack the Ripper and why is the answer to a 150 year old mystery so unsatisfying to me????
About to unsubscribe from The New York Times after their egregious recent coverage of Planned Parenthood (not to mention consistently bad takes on trans people) but have to read this article first.
Ogling this creamy garlic chicken recipe (yes, one of these links is not like the others).
Look, I don’t know about you, but I was a kid in the 90s and there were a few truths I held to be self evident: there was no finer lunch than Lunchables, Blue Barracudas were the team to beat [iykyk], and the Ramseys definitely had something to do with JonBenét’s death. SO IMAGINE MY SURPRISE when I watched the recent Cold Case documentary on Netflix and came away with A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT TAKE. Namely, that the theory of an intruder was much stronger than the Boulder Police Department and the local media would have you believe… Watch it so we can talk about it!