The following is an interview with author Erica Wright regarding the upcoming release of the mystery novel, Hollow Bones, through Severn House/Canongate. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Wright about her creative process in bringing the story and characters to life on the page, how Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure served as inspiration, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: Congratulations on the upcoming release of Hollow Bones! For those who may be unfamiliar, how would you describe the book’s premise?
Erica Wright: Wildlife technician Essa Montgomery worries that she’ll always be “the serpent orphan” if she stays in Vintera, West Virginia. Her neighbors will never forget that her snake-handling mother and father were both killed by cottonmouths. A fire at her old church pulls her into an improbable investigation alongside hotshot reporter Merritt Callahan and into direct conflict with the new preacher, a man the town considers a hero for fighting the local opioid epidemic. It’s a literary mystery that takes its inspiration from Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure, using a modern setting to ask an age-old question about mercy.
BD: In taking inspiration from Measure for Measure, what can you share with us about your creative process in adapting this story for modern audiences?
EW: Measure for Measure has been my favorite Shakespeare play since high school. I was re-reading it about ten years ago and had the idle thought that if I were a theater director, I would use a snake-handling church as the setting. There are so many interesting parallels in terms of faith and power. The play’s central conflict is that a young man has been sentenced to death for impregnating his fiancée. His sister—who is on the cusp of entering a convent—goes to plead for his life. The man in charge offers to commute the sentence if Isabella (my Essa) sleeps with him. The premise feels so awfully modern. Shakespeare basically wrote a #metoo play in the early seventeenth century. Alas, I’m not a theater director, so I wrote a novel instead.
BD: At Fanbase Press, our #StoriesMatter initiative endeavors to highlight the impact that stories can have on audiences of various mediums. How do you feel that these characters’ interconnected stories may connect with readers?
EW: All three of my main characters have reached impasses in their lives. We’ve all known moments like that where the odds seem impossible. What was interesting in writing Hollow Bones is that I have one character whose normal reaction would be to retreat, another who always fight, and another who likes to win. I wrote several points of view that didn’t end up in the final version. I kept moving the pieces around, and they finally clicked together when I put Essa, Juliet, and Merritt together. They needed each other.
BD: What makes Severn House/Canongate the perfect home for Hollow Bones?
EW: Working with Severn House has been a dream. I write character-driven mysteries, and the editors liked that about Hollow Bones. In fact, it’s the first thing they mentioned in their offer letter. They described Essa as quiet, but with backbone, and I could have cheered. That’s exactly how I want readers to see her. Never underestimate the quiet ones.
BD: Do you foresee expanding the novel into subsequent books or even into other entertainment media, if given the opportunity?
EW: Well, Tantor Media will be releasing the audio version soon, which is exciting. And I certainly daydream about seeing this story adapted into a show or movie. It’s eerie and atmospheric, which I think would work well on film. Julia Garner from Ozarks has such depth as an actress; I can see her as Essa. And what fun it would be to have Leanne Morgan play the local, no-nonsense bar owner Charlene. Shakespeare’s play has comedic relief, and Charlene lightens the mood every time she’s on the page. This character could do the same on screen.
BD: Are there any other projects – past or current – that you would like to highlight for our readers?
EW: I wrote an essay collection about snakes, creatively titled Snake, for Bloomsbury’s Object Lessons series. My research turned out to be incredibly helpful for Hollow Bones, as well, in making sure that I was fairly representing so-called “signs following” churches. And my mystery, The Blue Kingfisher, is getting a second life as The Kingfisher Murder. Bloodhound Books re-published it in August. Private investigator Kat Stone finds her building’s maintenance man on top of the Little Red Lighthouse in New York City, dead from an apparent fall. Stone suspects foul play rather than suicide and goes undercover with a deep-sea fishing company to investigate.
BD: Lastly, what is the best way for our readers to find more information about Hollow Bones and your other work?
EW: Thanks for asking! My website has information about all of my books: www.ericawright.org
