Thank you so much to Erin for the interview. I would also like to thank Penguin Random House for the help organising the interview. Erin A Craig is a #1 New York Times best selling author and has always loved telling stories.

Interview

What was your inspiration for the Sisters of the Salt books? What about Small Favors?

I had been attempting to write a retelling of Poe’s “Annabel Lee” and wasn’t making much progress with it when I came across a box of pictures from my time in Girl Scouts. My mother was the leader for my sister’s troop and they did short plays to present at libraries and retirement homes. When they’d done a production of “The Twelve Dancing Princesses,” I was wrangled in to be the soldier in it. Staring at my younger self in a shiny gold vest and green sweatpants, I suddenly wanted to mash my grim, gothic story with something beautiful, with notes of a fairytale.

When it came time to write my next book, I knew I wanted to have a similar blend of horror and magic. “Rumpelstiltskin” was one of my favorite fairytales and I grew up poring over those “Time Life Mysteries of the Unknown” books. I loved the Mysterious Creatures one and knew I wanted my Rumpelstiltskin to be some sort of American cryptid. Bigfoot wasn’t going to be right but I loved the idea of a love interest being Mothman! Still wasn’t right though, but when I came across an article on the California Dark Watchers, I knew I had something good! Then I added in the bees and we were off to the races!

What was your process for writing for the Sisters of the Salt duology? Did the process change for Small Favors?

Every book I write begins with world building. I like to flesh out a location, with all of its quirks and peculiarities, before I ever start writing about what’s going on in its midst. I usually start with a pinterest board, capturing the mood and tone and then start building on character ideas. Then there’s an excited letter to my agent, asking what she thinks of the jumbled mess I’ve come up with, and then lots and lots of outlining!

My actual writing process has changed with every book I’ve written. My daughter was just about one when I began drafting HOSAS, so many, many, many words were typed out on the Notes section of my phone, at 3am, in her dark nursery when she’d wake up hungry! With SF, she was a little older so I wrote a lot in journals during little snippets throughout the day. It’s amazing how quickly a plot can build when you’re waiting for a pot of water to boil! Word sprints were very good motivators for me then! With HORAR—oh Covid Year!—I was homeschooling her so I was up at 5am every day, getting down as much as I could before she woke and our day started. Now that she’s in school, most of my writing happens during normal business hours!

How would you describe House of Roots and Sorrow?

It’s my love letter to gothic horror and haunted houses. I grew up fascinated with stories with nightgown clad heroines running through a manor—maybe running from the manor itself!—and have always wanted to create something that gave me the sensation of that.

Did you have a favourite moment to write?

I love writing dialogue. I’m a former stage manager and with all of the hours and hours spent in a rehearsal hall, listening to scripts come to life, it’s a joy to create conversations and hear them play out in the theatre in my head!

What was your favourite book growing up?

That’s an impossible question!!! I’ve always loved books. The first series I ever devoured was “The Boxcar Children” and I hung out with “The Babysitter’s Club” for far longer than I probably should have. “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” were so deliciously creepy and I have many fond memories of trying to sneak Stephen King books out of the library without my mom catching me!

Do you have a favourite genre to read?

I love horror! Anything with hauntings or cursed objects, doomed movie projects, home reno projects gone very wrong, or boarding schools where all the students might not be entirely human, is my jam! It’s so exciting to see that horror—in so many of its various forms—has been making such a grand resurgence. I remember when so many bookstores would smash a couple Stephen Kings in their sci-fi/fantasy section and call it a day. Now we’re seeing whole shelves—plural!—filled with such exciting new authors and concepts (Stephen, if you’re reading this, this is absolutely not a slight to you—love you, mean it!). It’s a wonderful time to be a reader of all things spooky!