1--What is the title of your latest release?
BEWARE THE WOMAN
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
Beware the Woman is the story of Jacy—newly married and with a baby on the way—and her new husband, Jed, embarking on a trip to visit Jed’s father, Dr. Ash, in Michigan’s far-flung Upper Peninsula. Once there, Jacy has a mild health scare and her Edenic idyll turns into something far darker.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
I’m from Michigan and its Upper Peninsula has always fascinated me—its beauty and remoteness, its own cultural traditions, and idiosyncrasies. It turned out to be the perfect setting. The more I dug into its lore, the more it gave me.
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Definitely. And I would warn her!
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Hopeful, romantic, resilient.
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
I learned how to make a Cornish pasty. I learned about mountain lions. I learned about the art of neon-sign making. And a few things I can’t say to avoid spoilers.
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I’m constantly editing. Every day, I scroll back up and start by revising what I’ve already written. I can get pretty compulsive about it, fiddling with rhythm, word choice. It’s easy to get lost in the sentences.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Oysters.
9--Describe your writing space/office!
Cramped (I live in NYC) and full of visual candy: totems, postcards, statuettes, saint candles, tchotchkes, good-luck tokens, anything to catch my eye and spark inspiration.
10--Who is an author you admire?
So many. Joan Didion. Daniel Woodrell. Chester Himes. Patricia Highsmith. Willy Vlautin.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner. It showed me what books could do, how they could reach inside you and change you.
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
I remember I went to Bemelman’s, one of the swankiest bars in Manhattan and ordered a gimlet, which cost $20 (and this was nearly 20 years ago!) and before I took a sip, I emailed my agent to say: Are you sure?
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
So many, from true crime to celebrity bios to history to pulp. I like to shift constantly between them. When I’m deep in writing a novel, I do tend to turn more to non-fiction.
14--What’s your favorite movie?
Raging Bull
15--What is your favorite season?
Summer forever
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
A movie (on the big screen, please!) and drinks with a friend or two
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I love Bret Easton Ellis’s podcast. One of the few podcasts that feature extensive interviews with novelists and Ellis has always read their works and has such interesting questions. He also does long movie reviews and talks at length about the books he’s reading, usually 19th-century novels. I often disagree with him, but that’s part of the pleasure.
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Thai
19--What do you do when you have free time?
Going to movies (at least one a week), taking pictures, wandering New York City. Also jigsaw puzzles. I belong to a puzzle club organized by the writer Helen Ellis and we meet monthly to complete a puzzle together over gossip and wine. It’s so much fun.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
I’ve been writing a lot in TV/film these last few years. I’m going to be adapting Beware the Woman for a feature film, which is very exciting. I’m also adapting one of my favorite movies, Todd Haynes’s SAFE (1995), for television (that’s a dream project a few years in the making). And, yes, a new novel in there somewhere!
By the "master of thinly veiled secrets often kept by women who rage underneath their delicate exteriors" (Kirkus Reviews), Beware the Woman is Megan Abbott at the height of her game.
Honey, I just want you to have everything you ever wanted. That’s what Jacy’s mom always told her. And Jacy felt like she finally did. Newly married and with a baby on the way, Jacy and her new husband, Jed, embark on their first road trip together to visit his father, Dr. Ash, in Michigan’s far-flung Upper Peninsula. The moment they arrive at the cottage snug within the lush woods, Jacy feels bathed in love by the warm and hospitable Dr. Ash, if less so by his house manager, the enigmatic Mrs. Brandt.
But their Edenic first days take a turn when Jacy has a health scare. Swiftly, vacation activities are scrapped, and all eyes are on Jacy’s condition. Suddenly, whispers about Jed’s long-dead mother and complicated family history seem to eerily impinge upon the present, and Jacy begins to feel trapped in the cottage, her every move surveilled, her body under the looking glass. But are her fears founded or is it paranoia, or cabin fever, or—as is suggested to her—a stubborn refusal to take necessary precautions? The dense woods surrounding the cottage are full of dangers, but are the greater ones inside?
Thriller [G.P. Putnam's Sons, On Sale: May 30, 2023, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9780593084939 / eISBN: 9780593084946]
Born in the Detroit area, she graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.A. in English Literature and went on to receive her Ph.D. in English and American literature from New York University. She lives in Queens, New York City with her husband, Joshua Gaylord.
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