Given the modern problems of dating and such, I have my suspicions, but can you tell us a bit about what inspired “Backseat Kiss”?

This story went through a few iterations. At first, I wanted to use a relationship to explore power dynamics, and originally the story was going to be about cuckoldry. That then shifted to exploring an open relationship scenario, which I think lends itself nicely to the shifting scale of the protagonist’s relationship with AJ. I should preface that I’m personally a big believer in letting people live their lives in peace, and this story isn’t in any way a polemic about how these types of relationships are bad or untenable. They’re just relationships; at the end of the day, success comes down to the people in it, and, at its core, this is a story about two people who bring out the worst in each other.

I also wanted to address the way we are desperate for villains and antagonists in our lives. I’ve always been struck by how quick people are to support each other by reducing life down to theatre, complete with villains and heroes. You see this with relationships a lot. In a lot of ways, no matter how mutually they end, we choose to remember them in a way that justifies our actions in ending them. Sometimes people around you will deliberately twist memories out of shape to support you through a breakup, a broken friendship, a disconnect with a family member. This is helpful, sure, but it also shows just how hungry each of us are to find claws and fangs in our peers. But this is life: we accrue monsters as we go, we make them out of each other.

I’ve been reading a lot of vampire fiction lately and I’m wondering where AJ stacks on the scale of monstrous representation. She is certainly vampiric, and definitely a vamp, but is she a vampire? Or is she something a little less familiar?

I’m a huge fan of vampire fiction too, and I think that’s an interesting point. When I was writing this story, I wasn’t particularly focussed on pinpointing the type of monster AJ is. At times she’s a vamp, at other times she’s got some shapeshifting werewolf qualities. I like the idea that she’s a vamp, though; I think that’s the best classification for it, if there must be one. Ultimately, I don’t think it’s a story about what kind of monster she is, so much as it is a story about change. Change is good, but change is scary. It can make those around us a little less familiar, a little stranger. And who can tell, really, if we can ever truly know someone.

On that note, what are your favorite monstrous feminine characters in horror?

That’s a really good question! I’m especially proud of how progressive horror is now, too. It seems every time I browse the shelves now, I find amazing representation, a bloody celebration of each of us in our monstrous forms. If I had to reel off some of my favorites I’d probably go with a few classics: Carrie White is a perfect alchemy of insecurity, adolescence, and rage—probably one of the few times you can say you rooted for a mass murderer. I adore the nonchalant cruelties of Merricat and Constance from We Have Always Lived in the Castle. There’s also a few films, too: Hereditary, Psycho, Alien, The Exorcist. Lastly, I think Junji Ito explores feminine monsters really well in his manga, particularly in shorts like Slug Girl and in long series like Tomie.

Peter seems to be the voice of the audience, but his suggestions go unheeded. If you could give your protagonist in this story a single piece of relationship advice, what would it be?

Run.

Do you have any releases to come, or hints about what you’re working on in 2024?

I am very, very slowly working on a collection of short stories; sad horror pieces or dark romances, I can’t quite figure out how best to classify what I write yet, and perhaps I never will arrive a suitable term for them. They’re sad stories about human connections and human relationships, with a few monsters, murders and magic thrown in there too. I’ve got four or so stories left to write before I decide what to do with the project. Hopefully, I finish it this year. I moved back home two years ago after, you guessed it, a relationship fell through; and there’s something about being home that just saps my creativity and my drive. I’m hoping to move later this year, so we can see if things pick up then. Alongside that, I’ve made a start on two novels. More on that if they ever materialise into anything worthwhile.