July 2023
An exclusive mocktail recipe, an interview with Amy Suiter Clarke, and a new literary scam artist
What’s new
I’ve got a few updates for you!
First up, we have the gorgeous book club kit for The Hurricane Blonde, which you can download here. My pub team really knocked the design out of the park—you can find a map of Salma’s Stars Six Feet Under tour here, as well as an author Q&A, and an exclusive mocktail recipe.
Headed to Bouchercon? I’ll be there, chirping about all things noir and probably sweating off my full face of “professional crime writer” makeup. You can find me on Wednesday, August 30, with such noir heavy-hitters as Valerie J. Brooks and Tod Goldberg.
Finally, if you’re in the LA area in early August, I have events on August 9 at Pages (in Manhattan Beach) and on August 10 at BookSoup (in West Hollywood) with Michelle Gagnon, whose book Killing Me is like a feminist Carl Hiaasen meets Raymond Chandler. Check it out here!
Amy Suiter Clarke is the author of psychological thrillers Girl, 11 and Lay Your Body Down. Originally from a small town in Minnesota, she completed a BA in theater in the Twin Cities then earned an MFA in Creative Writing with Publishing at Kingston University in London. She currently lives in Melbourne, Australia. Her debut novel Girl, 11 has been translated into twelve languages and published in fifteen territories around the world.
What was the last piece of art—book, show, movie, whatever—that made you want to create something?
This is going to sound weird, but probably the documentary “The Way Down.” I watched that when I was deep in revisions for Lay Your Body Down, and it gave me just the right amount of inspiration and rage to get back into finishing that book! [Editor’s note: It is an exceptionally rage-making doc, can confirm.]
The best craft advice you've ever received?
The first one that comes to mind is something I use when I'm editing short content and first drafts. I had a professor in my MFA who would highlight any phrase, description, or sentence that he felt like he'd read before. Cliches, idioms, yes, but also just "tired" descriptions. It didn't mean everything had to be deleted, but it was eye-opening to see how much first drafts in particular used familiar metaphors and similes (e.g. nose running like a faucet, blood boiled with rage, etc). He encouraged us to take as many opportunities as we could to redevelop those highlighted portions into a more original thought, and I'm grateful for it.
What factors have to come together for you to feel your most creative?
Mental capacity, physical wellbeing, and time. I am a mom of nearly two-year-old twins, and let me tell you, it's hard to have all three of those things in any measure, let alone the amount I need to feel my most creative. So I have learned to adapt and create without the ideal conditions, but the few times I've taken a couple days away to work on my book with no distractions, I am on fire with motivation and creativity!
What's a book or movie or piece of art or other you wish you'd created?
Not a specific piece, but man I am jealous of the way some authors have with words. I am breathless at the prose of writers like Bethany C. Morrow, Liane Moriarty, S.A. Cosby, Emily X.R. Pan, and Tayari Jones.
What are you craving to see (or see more of) in books, movies, tv, or other art?
Original. Content. I swear to God, I love nostalgia as much as the next person, but there are thousands of exceptional original ideas out there just waiting to be published or produced! And if you can't get a new screenplay over the line, then at least adapt a book or play that hasn't been made into a film/series before instead of remaking the same fifteen properties! Sorry, this is a rant for me. [Editor’s note: Go, Amy, go!]
Billions of dollars are spent every year to rehash the same stories, but when they were first optioned, it was often because the studios took a chance on them, not knowing if it would pay off. And now, they're remaking those same popular stories that were once considered shaky prospects. Meanwhile, work by outrageously talented writers gets passed over time and again as "too risky".
What would you like to shamelessly plug?
My second thriller Lay Your Body Down came out in the USA and Australia on June 27th! I'm pitching it as The Sinner meets an evangelical Under the Banner of Heaven. After Del Walker fled her cult-like church, she vowed to never return. The man she loved, Lars, left her to marry the local golden girl Eve, and their romance is now the focus of Eve’s viral blog. But six years later, Lars is suddenly killed, and Del is convinced it was no accident.
When Del returns to her hometown for the funeral, she discovers the church—and the insidious, patriarchal teachings of Pastor Rick Franklin—has grown. Eve was clearly discontent in her marriage, despite the carefully constructed “Noble Wife” positivity of her blog posts, and Del knows better than anyone how far she will go to get what she wants. Del is determined to cut through the church’s lies and corruption to find out who killed Lars—even if it means confronting her own religious trauma.
My open tabs
This month I am:
Always fascinated by literary scam artists (or potential literary scam artists).
Crying laughing listening to this “true crime” podcast. The stakes could not be lower, but that’s what makes it so much fun.
Turning 35 (how, seriously though, HOW). As a birthday present, consider donating to the GoFundMe for the Feminist Book Club—they’re a very cool intersectional feminist organization, and I’d like them to be around for a loooong time. Check it out here.
Devouring Yellowface by R. F. Kuang, which is a remarkably smart and compulsively readable literary satire that skewers both racism and publishing head on. I made the mistake of Googling when Kuang was born; do your ego a favor and don’t look it up, but absolutely go read this book.
Voting for Megan Collin’s new book, Thicker Than Water, for the CBS New York’s book club! Go, vote, vote, vote!
Finally, I’ll leave you with this, my favorite tiny sketch from Tim Robinson’s new season of I Think You Should Leave.