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

Zilla: If you’re as nostalgic for Goosebumps as I am—young-adult horror with ‘90s vibes—then you need to read our next guest’s novella, CodeSkull. Chloe Spencer’s been on this blog before, and we’re delighted to have her back! What’s your latest book about?

Chloe: CodeSkull is a YAt sci-fi horror novella set in 1998 which centers on a gamer girl named Mick who is one day gifted an RPG by her rival, Tommy. When she plays it, she accidentally unleashes a demon upon her town which can possess and control any electrical object. Now, Mick, Tommy, and a fledgling occultist/punk rocker named Cain must team up to save their town from total annihilation. 

Zilla: What inspired you to write this book?

Chloe: I was inspired to write this book when my publisher, Mad Axe Media, put out the call for it. They were looking for books set in the 90s that could harken back to the days of Goosebumps, and I was stoked, because I hadn’t had the opportunity to write a YA novella yet. I wanted to write something that gave me the same spooky feelings I had when watching things like Scooby Doo on Zombie Island. I also wanted to try to write a book where romance wasn’t a big focus (this is one of 2 published novels or novellas that I have where the B-story isn’t romance) and reflected on a lot of my friendships growing up. One of the characters, Tommy, is inspired in part by my childhood best friend. 

Zilla: I love asking authors what their characters would say to them, but in your case it’s an extra-fun question since one of the characters is inspired by a real person. So—what would they all say?

Chloe: Mick would absolutely say, “How COULD you?!” 

Cain would ask, “Was all that necessary?” 

Tommy would say, “Actually, that’s not how any of this happened, can I rewrite this?” 

I have no doubt that all three of them would roast me. 

Zilla: That’s delightful. It sounds like you were following the old rule to “write what you know” for this book. Did you end up needing to do any research?

Chloe: One of my goals with writing CodeSkull was to create a story that was more geared towards a younger audience. My two other YA works, Monstersona and Haunting Melody, are more for readers who are 16 and up. When I was promoting Haunting Melody, I encountered a lot of teachers and parents who were desperately looking for something for their 13- and 14-year olds. And I was like, “Oh, surely there has to be a LOT of books out there for 13- and 14-year olds, right?” And I was surprised to discover that there weren’t that many! I remember having access to tons of books with characters that were close to my age when I was a kid, but nowadays, it’s very rare to encounter a character in the YA space that’s under the age of 16, which is interesting, because YA as a whole is supposed to be for kids between the ages of 13-18. 

I have a lot of knowledge in the YA horror space already, but I lacked that same knowledge in middle grade, so I ended up checking out a lot of books for that age range so that I could try to write something that could successfully serve as a “transitional” read between those two age groups. 

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?

Chloe: You can find out more about me at my website, www.chloespenceronline.com. I’m also available on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @heyitschloespencer. You can get the paperback here, and the e-book here.