Unnatural Creatures: A Novel of the Frankenstein Women
I fell in love with Kris Waldherr's writing when I read The Lost History of Dreams. Then I was lucky enough to be on a panel with her a few years ago. I asked her to blurb The Deception - which she most graciously did. I was given the gift of reading an advanced copy of Unnatural Creatures...I'm telling you - it's one of my FAVORITE FAVORITE books this year. So I thought I should introduce Kris to you - and as an added bonus - invite you to an event we are co-hosting on October 20th.
So without further ado, may I introduce Kris:
Tell us about your latest book.
My latest book is Unnatural Creatures, which came out earlier this month on October 4th. (Woohoo!) It’s a historical novel retelling Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein through the eyes of the three women closest to Victor Frankenstein: his mother Caroline, bride Elizabeth, and servant Justine. I’ve been really gratified by the positive reception Unnatural Creatures
has received so far. It’s even been named an Editor’s Choice by the Historical Novels Review and one of the 25 best books for Halloween by Reader’s Digest.
What's your writing process?
I’m simultaneously methodical and intuitive when I write a book. Usually my book ideas come in a flash of inspiration, but it can take me a while to burrow out what their big themes are. As far as the writing process itself, I tend to front load my research; the more I know, the easier it is for me to write.
For example, the concept for Unnatural Creatures was spurred by two sentences in Frankenstein that always stuck me as peculiar. The first was “A servant in Geneva does not mean the same thing as a servant in England or France.” This sentence is written by Elizabeth in a letter describing the personal circumstances of their servant Justine. The second sentence also relates to Justine, when she speaks of visiting an aunt in Chêne, a village a league outside Geneva.
In my many readings of Frankenstein, I always wondered why Shelley mentions Chêne so specifically. After some thought and research, I realized these two sentences had an unexpected connection beyond Justine: Chêne was occupied by the French during the revolution, where servants were uprising against their masters and mistresses. This led me to wondering about Justine herself: What was her story during this era when Frankenstein takes place? And what about Elizabeth and Caroline? What did they experience?
From there, I dug deeper. To write Unnatural Creatures, I visited the places where Frankenstein takes place: Geneva, the Mer de Glace, Mont Blanc, and even the grounds of the Villa Diodati, where Mary Shelley began writing her gothic masterpiece in 1816. It was really exciting to walk in her footsteps! In addition to travel, I also read extensively about Mary Shelley’s life and circle. I really believe many of the themes in Frankenstein were spurred by her personal experiences with maternal and neonatal loss: Mary Shelley’s mother Mary Wollstonecraft died days after giving birth to her.
Once I have a written draft pieced together, I spend a lot of time revising and moving scenes around—I’m a big fan of Scrivener for this part of the process. From start to finish, Unnatural Creatures
took me about three years.
Are there themes you like to explore in your books?
Definitely! I seem to be drawn to unearthing women’s stories in both my fiction and nonfiction; I’m also the author of The Book of Goddesses and Doomed Queens. I particularly love writing an angsty forbidden love story. Both Unnatural Creatures and my first novel The Lost History of Dreams feature one.
Do you listen to music while you write?
I do, but it’s usually instrumental. I can’t handle anything vocal since I need to “hear” the words I’m writing in my head. I often make playlists for books too. For example, I listened to a lot of classical piano music while writing The Lost History of Dreams because one of my characters was a pianist.
What's your favorite genre to read?
I like to claim I’ll read anything if it’s well written, but the truth is I tend to ping pong between gothic, historical fiction, romance, and literary fiction. I did a deep dive into the romance genre during the pandemic—my brain was so stressed that I needed something with a guaranteed HEA.
What are you reading right now?
I’m finally reading Dodie Smith’s I Capture the Castle, which is one of those books I thought I read years ago but hadn’t. It’s laugh out loud hilarious. In terms of recent reads, I just finished an advance copy of Molly Greeley’s sublime new novel Marvelous, a historical reworking of Beauty and the Beast, as well as Jessie Burton’s The House of Fortune (aka the sequel to The Miniaturist). I also loved reading your latest gothic The Deception, Kim—such twisty fun!
Thank you, that's very kind of you!
What's the next project and when can we expect it?
I’m at work on several new projects at the moment, including a historical romance and a gothic set in 19th century Venice. I tend to go back and forth between books, which makes it a little hard to predict when they’ll enter the world. Sometimes I wish my creative process was more linear, but I also know that my brain needs space to unfurl without the pressure of slamming words onto a page. After many years in publishing, I’ve finally learned that thinking time is as important as the writing itself!
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