Every Tuesday, get to know a bit about the stories behind the books you love, and discover your next favourite novel.

Zilla: I devoured C.L. Methvin’s gruesome, touching and grotesque collection of short stories Eusect. I was delighted when they agreed to do an interview with us so I could pick their brains (not literally). C.L., can you tell us a bit about your book?

C.L.: It is a collection of horror shorts all flavored with Southern Gothic dread, varying in tone from subtle SCP-esque horrors to explicit gore, and in length from ~500 words to 6k+. Blurbed as follows:

The end is scary. The perpetual is scarier.

A suicidal housemate’s property regresses in ownership. A father is tormented by his immortal infant son. A school of fish offers communion with the heavens. A woman’s dead body multiplies across the world. These fourteen stories of terror, gore, and dissociation present people facing themselves and the infinite―often both at their worst.

Zilla: Let’s start with an introduction—between you and your characters. What would they say if they met you?

C.L.: “How fucking dare you.”

Zilla: Honestly, I can’t fault them for it, though as a reader I’m glad you did. Of all the characters you’ve tormented, who’s your favourite?

C.L.: In general: probably Aften from my 2022 novella Biting Silence. The book presents the story and characters in media res, and as such the reader doesn’t have much to go on to really meet the characters, essentially treating the reader as a wallflower. The circumstances under which the reader is introduced to Aften make him very swiftly (I think) a sympathetic character. What makes him my favorite is how one then watches his actions unfurl alongside other character vignettes and context(s) and slowly realizes the behavior and sympathy may not have been deserved. 

In EUSECT, probably the cute old woman Miriam, for reasons I’ll let the reader discover 😉

Zilla: Oh, Miriam. She’s certainly committed to self-discovery, and you have to admire someone who doesn’t let age slow her down from seeking new experiences. I’m a sucker for a love story, so as a reader, I’d pick Richard. When you’re in reader-mode, who’s your favourite character?

C.L.: It’s hard to choose just one, but probably Dorian Gray. The horrors he faced and enacted were just so human, even if the compulsion via portrait wasn’t necessarily. He was captivating, unapologetic, malleable, indulgent in his vices—and all of these wrapped up into a naïve socialite made for the perfect mixture of a man who could get away with anything. I find my favorite characters are often those who captivate (whether good or bad) by being extremely human. Martin’s Tyrion Lannister is clever; Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway is endearing; Ellis’s Clay is infuriating—each of them exemplify certain traits so wholly that everything they do is painted by it, and that consistency regardless of circumstance makes them feel real.

Zilla: After all this chat about characters, would you say you’re a character-driven writer?

C.L.: Definitely more character-driven! My general style of writing is to envision a character and circumstance and then let them interact with the situation. I find in many cases, plotting (for me) gets easily derailed because I may have outlined what I need, but if the characters would not organically reach that point, then the story doesn’t go there. Cliché as it may be, the characters often write themselves. 

Zilla: Beyond following the characters’ lead, do you do any research for your books?

C.L.: It depended on the story in EUSECT: for some, none; for others, maybe a few days of on-and-off research. I’m not one to write too heavily on a topic if I’m not familiar, for fear of misrepresenting an element of it. 

Zilla: Thanks for sharing your story and your process. We’re looking forward to reading! Where can the Night Beats community find you and your book?

C.L.: Handles on Twitter and Bluesky, and EUSECT can be found for purchase in various forms on tRaum Book’s site!