The following is an interview with author J. Todd Kingrea regarding the recent release of the horror novel, Only Angels Have Blue Eyes. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Kingrea about the creative process of bringing the story and characters to life on the page, the themes that may resonate with readers, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: Congratulations on the recent release of Only Angels Have Blue Eyes! How would you describe the book’s premise, and what inspired you to tell this story?
J. Todd Kingrea: Thank you! The book is about Maylin, a single mother, and her young daughter, Margo. They’re fleeing an abusive relationship and believe they’ve found a haven at Heaven’s Hope, a private rehabilitation and self-improvement clinic. It all sounds a little too good to be true, but Maylin is desperate. They agree to become part of the small group of participants.
There are weird rules, strange therapy, and some cockeyed theology, all promoted by Seraph Nakir, the charismatic leader. As the weeks pass, Maylin falls further under Nakir’s mesmeric spell, losing all sense of her identity and her daughter. It’s only when another patient dies that Maylin awakens to the horror all around her. If she has any hope of saving herself, her daughter, and the other children kept locked away in the basement, Maylin will have to find strength she didn’t know she had.
The story was inspired by a true-crime case that I discovered while reading a non-fiction book called The Education of a Coroner: Lessons in Investigating Death by John Bateson. The case immediately struck me as something that would make a great claustrophobic story. I contacted Mr. Bateson to ask if he knew whether the case had ever been fictionalized. He said he didn’t think so. I’d been wanting to challenge myself to write a novel with a female main character (All my other MCs up to this point had been male.), and this was the perfect opportunity.
BD: What can you share with us about your creative process in bringing this story and its characters to life on the page?
JTK: The first thing I had to do was ensure that the perpetrator of the actual crime couldn’t benefit in any way when the book was published. Simultaneously, I had to make sure that the surviving victims were not identified, compromised, or further traumatized. To that end, I needed to develop a full backstory for Seraph Nakir, including the twisted theology that formed the foundation of the cult’s teaching.
I needed a female main character that initially didn’t appear strong or confident. She had to be at a vulnerable point in life, someone susceptible to the false promises of the cult. Because the true-crime case involved children, I knew that Maylin had to have a daughter. I wanted Only Angels Have Blue Eyes to do what Jack Ketchum did in his 1989 novel, The Girl Next Door. He took a case from the 1950s and used it as the framework on which to hang his retelling from a different perspective. I thought, “What if we had a young woman’s perspective on the case from the early 2000s? How could I tell that story like Ketchum did?”
From there, it was just a process of creating and developing each of the characters in the cult. What took the most time was developing the basis for Seraph Nakir’s psychology/theology. I settled on the idea of angels because so many people like them, and it tied in well with Nakir’s doomsday beliefs. It allowed me to create his belief system of lost angels, angel names, and ultimately his undeniable infatuation with blue eyes.
As far as I know, the original case didn’t involve anything about angels. From the research I did, I couldn’t find anything that went into detail about what the actual cult leader believed.
BD: At Fanbase Press, our #StoriesMatter initiative endeavors to highlight the impact that stories can have on audiences of various mediums and genres. How do you feel that this story may connect with and impact readers, and what, if any, conversations do you hope that it might inspire?
JTK: I think most everyone has, at one time or another, heard about a cult in the media and thought, “Why would anyone get involved in something so absurd?” From the Manson Family in the late 1960s to Heaven’s Gate in the late 1990s, cults fascinate us because we just don’t understand how people fall under their spell.
My research revealed that cults target individuals who are at critical junctures in their lives. They may’ve just lost someone close to them. They might have been kicked out of their homes or gotten divorced. They may be experiencing financial ruin, have been diagnosed with a terminal illness, or have lost a job. They’re in a liminal space—weak, confused, desperate, lost. And they often don’t have a support network they can rely on.
It’s tempting to brush cults off, but the truth is that any of us can experience devastation and tragedy in life. Having nowhere else to turn, we could find ourselves in the grip of a persuasive, loving (at least at first) group of people who know and understand what we’re going through, who have the answers we’re so desperately seeking.
Only Angels Have Blue Eyes will help readers better understand the inner workings of cults, how they attract people, and ultimately how they bend people to the iron will of the leader. It’s a story about trying to get back on your feet and believing in the wrong person. I think it will generate a lot of dialogue among readers who are shocked and horrified by what happens inside Heaven’s Hope. It’s good discussion material about how vulnerable we really are when we’re all by ourselves, and how we have to be extremely wary of predators, whether they are of the scam, cult, or violence variety.
BD: Are there any other projects – past or current – that you would like to highlight for our readers?
JTK: I’m currently working on a historical horror novel that takes place on board a train, and later in a circus. My previous horror novel, With A Blighted Touch, is available. Readers who enjoy small-town horror, folk horror, curses, and creepy children won’t be disappointed! The Deiparian Saga trilogy will appeal to readers who like medieval settings, post-apocalyptic devastation, swords and sorcery, romantic subplots, new creatures, and epic stakes.
BD: Lastly, what is the best way for our readers to find more information about Only Angels Have Blue Eyes and your other work?
JTK: Visit my website, www.jtoddkingrea.com. It’s not fancy but interested readers can find links to my books there. They can also find out more on Goodreads and Amazon.
