I’m about to enter the mansion on Van Diemen’s Land Island to interview Natasha Ewendt about her debut novel, This Freshest Hell. The mansion is pretty imposing; I can see why it featured in This Freshest Hell. It’s opulent and surprisingly cosy (in a creepy, is-someone-going-to-leap-out-attack-me? kind of way). I’m hoping to meet the delectable and dangerous vampire, Orfeo. He’s twelve thousand years old — I’ve got a thing for older men. Wish me luck!

RH: Welcome to this on-the-road edition of Writers’ Block, Natasha. What’s your poison?

NE: Bloody Mary. Care to join me? Of course, the ‘bloody’ might not be so figurative.

RH: *hesitating* Sure. Oh, is that Orfeo bringing the drinks? No wonder you wanted to meet here.

NE: *Enigmatic smile over the lip of her crystal glass*

RH: Congratulations on the release of your debut novel, This Freshest Hell. You’ve had several five star reviews, you must be feeling pleased about that. What is your favourite review quote so far?

NE: Well, not to be biased but I would have to say it’s a quote by your fabulous self, one Rowie, who said “I saw shades of John Ajvide Lindqvist’s Let the Right One In though the pacing is snappier. It is a little gory and some of the conversations get very deep and dark (suitably), but I enjoyed all of that.” To have a Let the Right One In comparison in your first review is extremely, well, awesome. And I did think the book might get a bit too deep and dark for some in places, so it was good to know it wasn’t too much.

RH: Thanks Natasha! *blush* You’ve just had your launch party for This Freshest Hell. Tell us a little about that.

NE: It was a great get-together with a bunch of great people, officiated by the lovely Port Lincoln library manager Louise Mrdjen who has known me since I was in primary school and always supported my writing. Louise nailed the speech – absolutely brilliant! It was wonderful to see so many people I know and love gather together. Author Diane Hester – whose book Run To Me has just been picked up in the US after great success in Australia through Random House (congrats Di) –  made the atmosphere by bringing along a jack-o-lantern and some candlelit skulls! And my creative mum made some Halloween-themed cupcakes that were almost too creepy to eat (almost).

RH: mmm, cupcakes!

NE: I chose Halloween as the launch date as it’s a significant date in the book – it’s the main character Lily’s birthday, and also the night they do the fateful Halloween spell that leads to all kinds of crazy down the track …

RH: Oh, that incantation gave me nightmares! For those yet to read it, tell us a little about This Freshest Hell.

NE: It’s a paranormal dark fantasy/horror that follows damaged high school misfits Lily and Maggie, their personal struggles, and their foray into the dark arts – which of course doesn’t end well. A dark spell incanted on Devil’s Night leads to them becoming vampires ten years later. Maggie takes to their new life a little too well, but Lily struggles with killing to survive, and having to adapt to life with their mysterious and nefarious vampire brethren. Then an epic battle with a megalomaniac vampire and his army of monsters tests their will to survive, resulting in—

RH: Don’t say any more! This Freshest Hell opens with Maggie and Lily in high school facing bullying and isolation, and could have remained a Young Adult coming-of-age tale, but the story goes much further. Was this a conscious choice as you wrote, or did the story lead you that way? Did you face pressure to contain the story to the high school years, and if so, how did you manage that pressure?

NE: After I’d finished the book and was pitching it to publishers who couldn’t quite abide the 10-year timespan of the book, I did think about keeping it a YA or at least making them younger when they’re turned into vampires, but it would have affected the integrity of the story and characters. Maintaining that integrity was my priority above all else. I’m fairly stubborn (some would dispute the use of the word ‘fairly’) and that was something I didn’t really want to compromise on. I didn’t just want TFH to be a ‘vampire book’ – actually I didn’t set out to write a vampire book, that idea developed later – I wanted it to be a story of the girls’ journeys, and the vampire storyline was secondary. I wanted the girls to have gone through a fair bit in their lives before they became vampires, so they could be suitably disenchanted by the time the vampires came for them and gave them the choice to die or be turned. That way vampire life might seem more appealing than ordinary life … especially with the chance for revenge. 🙂

RH: I’m glad you stuck to your integrity! Lily and Maggie have some very deep conversations about the meaning of life and what it means to be human. Did you always intend for them to explore these issues as they face their demons (or should that be vampires?), or did these emerge with the story? Are these questions, or similar, ones you have faced?

NE: Great question. I did intend for the book to be full of deep and dark explorations of life and humanity – actually that was kind of the point. I’m not much of a fan of easily accessible commercial fiction where everything is mapped out and explained in its simplest terms and there’s no thinking or mystery involved. I like books to be thought-provoking and I like to come to my own conclusions when I’m reading a book, so I wanted to do the same when writing one. And I wanted to explore as many deep and dark topics as I could fit into 250 pages. Some of the questions are ones that I’ve faced myself – obviously not the ones exploring vampire life, but I think vampires can be a metaphor for various reflections of the human condition, the darkness within being one of them.

RH: Good point, Natasha. And you certainly do pack a lot into 250 pages, and that makes me wonder about your research. This Freshest Hell references contemporary events and music and gives a nod to a range of horror images and mythology, though you give each a fresh twist. It is clear from reading This Freshest Hell that you must have read widely. How much research did you need to do to cover such a range of literature?

NE: Growing up I was a voracious reader, always with a paranormal bent, so I didn’t have to do a huge amount of research. A lot of mythologies were already stored away in the memory banks. I did do a bit of occult research, and that’s where I came across the story of Arachne in Greek mythology. I liked the story of Arachne, but I thought I’d jazz it up a little and give it a horror twist to make her a spider Hell god and the source of the vampire brethren.

RH: Well you certainly give her a malevolent twist – I think you outdid the Mythologists with her! This Freshest Hell covers a range of contemporary issues of identity and belonging, but is still a taut and pacey story of friendship and the dark side of our souls. You work fulltime as a journalist, so I’m intrigued to know how you found time to write with such depth. Do you have any secrets to share with other time poor writers?

NE: Honesty is the best policy. Write from a pure, honest perspective and the story will flow, probably faster than you can keep up. Don’t think, just write. If you do that your story will develop on its own. Once you start second guessing your story, your characters, your plot points, and when you start wondering if what you’re writing is right for the market, what’s trending right now, or what people will want to read, you’re going to start losing integrity, depth and ‘meat’. If you want your story to be meaty and meaningful, you have to let it all hang out, let the characters be exactly who they are and not try to tame them. Don’t put any restrictions on yourself – worry about the minutiae like grammar, structure, exposition, all that boring stuff later during edits.

RH: That’s great advice, Natasha. You’ve certainly given Maggie and Lily a hell of a ride and left them (one of them, at least) hanging from a metaphorical cliff. Please tell me there is a sequel on the way.

EN: There is indeed a sequel on the way. It’s in the works and I’m not sure when it will be ready for the market, but hopefully soon. All the characters return – but it all takes a very different twist. It’s another rollercoaster ride, and you’ll never see what’s coming, so you’ll want to strap yourself in.

RH: I can’t wait. Will we see more of Orfeo? And what happens to the girls?

EN: *another enigmatic smile* I can’t give too much away, but I will say it involves interdimensional time travel, alternate selves, new monsters including gargoyles and the world’s most ancient vampire brethren (which are really, really creepy), and a hell of a battle in Hell. The characters face new demons, both personal and real, and they will surprise you all over again.

RH: Okay Natasha, now we’ve finished our Bloody Marys – they pack quite a punch, by the way – let’s do our …

Fast Five

RH: What is your all-time favourite book and/or movie?

NE: Book, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. Movie, Donnie Darko.

RH: What are you reading now?

NE: The Occult Handbook! It’s for research for my next book, seriously…

RH: Sure, Natasha. I won’t argue with an Occult Mistress! What is your favourite word?

NE: At the moment it’s nefarious …

RH: Good word. What is your worst writing habit?

NE: Over thinking. When I start over thinking characters and story, it waters things down too much.

RH: What is the best bit of advice you ever got (about writing or life in general)?

NE: My mum always quoted Shakespeare to me – ‘To thine own self be true.’ It’s great advice for life and writing.

RH: Thanks for joining us today Natasha. Where can we find This Freshest Hell?

NE: Thanks for such an insightful interview. Here’s a few links:

Lacuna Publishing ; Amazon ; Book Depository ; Angus and Robertson ; e-bay ; Abbey’s Bookshop ; Fishpond

You can also find Natasha on Facebook , Twitter and Goodreads

TFH also has it’s own Facebook  and Goodreads pages