I want to get into talking about your 2018 release, Crestfallen, but first could you tell readers a bit about yourself, including when and how you got into writing?
Oh boy… writing was actually the first thing I loved doing as a child, but it wasn’t something that I considered doing professionally until I was in my mid-twenties. When I moved to Toronto in 2012, I thought that I would take a real shot at journalism and copywriting. However, creative writing – prose and screenwriting – was always the goal. This past year has heralded the inception of some pretty wonderful upcoming creative projects that I can’t wait to share. As for the writing itself, the horror genre is my long-standing passion. I’m so excited to continue on in that vein, moving forward!
Well on that note, your passion for horror rings loud and clear in Crestfallen. I had a blast reading this novel. Where did the idea come from to center monstrous and evil forces on a run-down apartment building?
Thank you so much!! It’s funny – I’ve always found apartment complexes to be eerie and disconcerting. Years ago, I lived in an apartment complex and one of the neighbors (who likely worked in a bar) would come home at 3:30 AM every night. On the dot. I’d hear his footsteps late at night, and sometimes he’d be whistling. It always ran shivers up my spine for some reason. I wanted to capture that dread I felt, the terror of not knowing your neighbors and being unable to escape from that feeling that something could be very wrong. And then what if something was wrong with them? It all spiraled from there.
As an aside for those who aren’t familiar with this book yet, each chapter features the account of a different inhabitant of Crestfallen Estates, and their encounters with (usually) supernatural forces that seek to trap them there in some manner. These run the gamut from being grisly to downright haunting. Without explicit spoilers – unless you choose to give one – which of the stories do you personally find scariest?
Allison’s story was the scariest to me. Without giving too much away, the story was about a girl who is slowly replaced by another girl who lives down the hallway. That story represents the desire to disappear – something that I think everyone can relate to at one point in their lives. My husband read that one and asked me if I was OK, which is always a sign that I’ve tapped into something grotesque.
What was your writing process for this novel, and do you have a process that you employ generally in terms of concentration, creativity, and so forth?
This is going to sound like a cop out, but I don’t have a defined process: I get a spark of an idea and then I just start writing. As long as your pen (or keyboard) are moving, you’re doing the work. However, there is one thing I always do, and that’s write the ending before I write the beginning. I kind of work backwards that way. Once I know where I’m ultimately going, the rest of the story follows.
Are there any novels, short stories or authors that have been a big source of inspiration for you as a writer?
Gillian Flynn is probably my biggest influence. Her protagonists are highly realistic in that they are never virtuous and often unlikable – they’re flawed human beings who get sucked into problematic behaviors. It’s both engrossing and refreshing to see such honesty in her storytelling. Aside from her, the novels that I believe most influenced me are American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, and Pet Sematary by Stephen King. (Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn would also be in there).
I’ve heard tantalizing whispers of an upcoming novella from you. What can you tell us about that?
Yes! It’s called Mantis and follows the story of a young woman who is gang raped by a group of boys at a party and exacts her revenge by enacting the mating rituals of praying mantises. Basically your classic coming of age tale… In all seriousness, I’m excited about this one. It’s a weird tale that is very much a reflection on rape culture during the #metoo movement. It’s out in 2022!
In the meantime, where else can we get our eyes on your writing, fiction or otherwise?
Crestfallen is on Amazon! As for the rest of my writing, there are some cool things in the mix, but in the interim, you can check out my journalistic side at Huffington Post Canada.
Lastly, here’s your wild-card question: Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not?
Oh great question! I do! I’ve had a few spectral encounters in my day, though nothing nearly as malicious as the things I write about. The world is a strange place, so why wouldn’t there be ghosts?
Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Lauren Messervey is a writer, screenwriter, and journalist who now calls Toronto, Ontario home. When she’s not writing, she enjoys bizarre horror films, spending time with her husband, playing with her adorable dog, and Schadenfreude.
Twitter: @laurenmesservey
HuffPo: https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/author/lauren-messervey/
