1. Introduce yourself; who are you and what types of books do you write?
Hi there! My name is Chloe Spencer, and I am an author who specializes in writing sapphic speculative fiction book for teens and adults! Most of my work is in the horror genre, but my latest release, Haunting Melody, is a paranormal mystery romance!
2. What are your books about?
As a whole, my books are often about traumatized and disturbed women either trying to find a way to survive, or reclaim power for themselves, and the convoluted (and sometimes terrible!) ways that they go about doing it. My latest release, Haunting Melody, is centered on a disgraced teenage ghost hunter who must team up with a musically talented ghost in order to solve a murder mystery, and her quest for redemption.
3. What was the inspiration behind writing your first book?
The inspiration behind my first YA book, Monstersona, was giant monsters and films like Jennifer’s Body. I personally love stories with problematic or rageful female protagonists, so I wanted to write a book that explored that. I also really love road trips, so that was incorporated into the book as well.
4. What did you learn while writing your second book?
I think what I learned from writing my second book is that there are a lot of different ways to learn worldbuilding and incorporate it into your story. I researched how different fantasy authors do their worldbuilding, and I also researched techniques for how to incorporate worldbuilding into a book without it being dense or overwhelming. When I first started drafting this book, I had read Tiffany D. Jackson’s The Weight of Blood as well as Aislinn Brophy’s How to Succeed in Witchcraft, both of which incorporate epigraphs or “found media” into their stories. I had also been writing some short stories for anthology calls which centered around “found footage” or epistolary, or a written work in the form of letters. The Weight of Blood is sometimes told in prose, but other times, is told using podcast interviews to propel the story forward. I researched other types of epigraphs as well and found that they could be useful to use preceding a chapter; they’re great when it comes to presenting information to your audience that may not necessarily show up in the story in an organic way.
5. What is the most rewarding part of being an author?
Connecting with readers. Knowing that I’ve written something that makes them feel seen or heard in ways that they haven’t seen before, or haven’t been able to articulate for themselves.
6. What elements do you think make for a good story?
A compelling protagonist. Not likable. Compelling. I want a character who has strong goals in mind, a distinguished voice, and flaws that will get in the way of them achieving those goals. I think poor plot or convenient plot can sometimes be forgiven (depending on the reader) but the characters need to stand out. They need to be so vivid that I can picture having a conversation with them at a coffee shop, asking questions, and knowing how they’ll respond.
Treating the setting as though it’s a character is important as well. When writing Murkmore for Haunting Melody, I tried to research the history of different island towns, problems that they face in the modern-world, and the sort of cultural influences that would impact the island. A reader should know what it’s like to live there not from the physical description, but from conversations the townsfolk would have, the industries that take place there, the problems that impact the social structure of the town… all these things come together to build a strong sense of place.
7. What is the hardest part of being an author for you?
Honestly, social media management. It takes so much time away from writing, and it’s very hard for me to come up with things to do. So much of social media is focused on the visuals, and so designing a nice photo or a fun post can take several hours. This just takes away time from writing for me, which is another frustrating aspect.
8. What is your current writing project?
Currently I’m working on a YA steampunk fantasy-mystery that centers on an escaped trapeze artist-turned-cat-burglar, who ends up getting framed for the disappearance of a prominent politician’s son, and given one week to find him or otherwise risk being sent to the gallows. This is inspired by Tamora Pierce’s Beka Cooper books, which I read as a kid, but also by the webcomic Girl Genius. It’s meant to be a younger YA/older middle grade story, so I tried to revisit a lot of the books and series I loved as a middle schooler to try to create this piece. I’m almost done with my first draft, and I’m very excited to share it with my beta readers soon!
9. What is the best writing advice you’ve ever received?
To read, and read often. I find that when I’m suffering from the most writer’s block, is usually stemming from one of two things: 1) I haven’t done enough pre-writing or research, OR 2) I haven’t been reading enough new books lately, so I’ve lost inspiration. I try to read across a variety of genres so that I can challenge myself.
10. Where can readers discover more about you and your books?
Readers can learn more about me by visiting my website: https://www.chloespenceronline.com/
Or by following me on Instagram and TikTok @heyitschloespencer.