Show Notes
Paulette Kennedy didn't finish a single manuscript until age 44. Her debut novel published at 46. Now Paulette Kennedy is one of gothic suspense's most talked-about voices, and this conversation is exactly why.
In this episode, bestselling author Paulette Kennedy pulls back the curtain on her unexpected path to publication, the pandemic grocery run that sparked The Devil and Mrs. Davenport, and why she believes dark fiction isn't just entertainment, but one of the safest ways to explore what makes us human. We go deep on grief, weaponized religion, "punchable" villains, and how her stunning new novel The Two Deaths of Lillian Carmichael is really a story about transformation and what you do with the time you have left. Whether you're a lifelong gothic fiction fan or just discovering the genre, this one will stay with you.
Timestamps: 00:00 — Intro: Meet Paulette Kennedy & the "punchable" villain 00:43 — How the Brontës, VC Andrews & Stephen King shaped her voice 03:06 — The book that made her want to write (Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier) 04:04 — ADHD, unfinished manuscripts, and not publishing until 46 06:21 — The real (unglamorous) truth about early writing life 07:50 — Her morning ritual: 5 AM, candles, film scores & flow state 09:23 — Where story ideas come from — and when they don't 11:31 — Plotter vs. Pantser: why she now does both 13:40 — Working with a developmental editor & finding your craft 14:50 — Her hardest book to write (and why it became her bestseller) 17:03 — The pandemic grocery run that became The Devil and Mrs. Davenport 19:32 — Faith vs. religion — and how religion gets weaponized 21:30 — Writing grief from the inside: "I've lost pretty much everyone" 24:02 — Feeling like a midlister despite massive success 28:33 — Why writing faster made her writing better 30:15 — The Two Deaths of Lillian Carmichael: toxic families & sibling rivalry 33:29 — Crafting villains readers love to hate 35:33 — Why dark fiction matters more than people think 36:17 — Balancing emotional depth with thriller momentum 37:41 — Why she keeps choosing historical fiction (and how she picks the era) 40:05 — A full year of research: archives, maps, diaries & location visits 42:20 — Writing race, LGBTQ+ oppression & abuse in historical contexts 45:19 — The Death tarot card, transformation, and "what am I doing with my time?" 48:01 — The magic of readers finding themselves in your pages 48:48 — Why readers are drawn to the dark side 50:05 — When to make your antagonist supernatural vs. human 52:16 — What's next: future genres & upcoming projects
📚 Connect with Paulette Kennedy: 🌐 Website: paulettekennedy.com 📸 Instagram: @pkennedywrites
Follow Talking Horror Podcast: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelreddreads/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rachelredd
If you enjoyed this episode, please Like, Subscribe, and hit the notification bell to help us grow the horror community!
More from Talking Horror
Taylor Grothe, who also writes as T.G. Laine, is the author of the YA folk horror debut Hollow, the upcoming Monstrous Beautiful Things, and the new sapphic dark academia horror romance Lethal Kiss.
CONTENT WARNING: This episode covers some sensitive topics such as Sexual Abuse and Domestic Violence.
Neil McRobert is the host of the Talking Scared podcast, a PhD in Gothic literature, and the author of the Stephen King blurbed novella Good Boy, with the chapbook House of Butterflies coming in December. Neil shares how a Vulture reading list for True Detective: Night Country led to Good Boy, a Northern Weird folk horror novella about a man, his dog, and a child-eating monster in a small English town. He explains why Good Boy is his answer to Stephen King's It, and what it really says about bigotry and getting stuck in your hometown. He gets honest about imposter syndrome at StokerCon, perfectionism, and why every podcast host should read the damn book. Plus, first details on House of Butterflies, set in a 1964 leaded gasoline refinery, and Bad Home, a violent home invasion novel about economic inequality.
Isabel Cañas is the USA Today bestselling, Bram Stoker Award nominated author of The Hacienda, Vampires of El Norte, and her YA gothic debut, The House of Gardenias. Isabel shares how an "air quotes too Mexican" rejection on her honeymoon in Mexico City led to The Hacienda, and how she defended her PhD in medieval Islamic history the day before it came out. She reveals the 1850s quote from Rio Grande bandit Juan Cortina about "flocks of vampires" that turned Vampires of El Norte into a story about settler colonialism. She connects The Possession of Alba Díaz to pregnancy, bodily autonomy, and the fall of Roe v. Wade. And she opens up about the real family story, her grandfather's abusive stepmother counting tortillas, that opens The House of Gardenias.
Noelle Ihli is the international bestselling, Bram Stoker Award longlisted author of Ask for Andrea, Grey After Dark, and her latest thriller, The Last to Drown.