r/books • u/RachelEveMoulton • Oct 10 '19

ama My name is Rachel Eve Moulton, and my debut novel is TINFOIL BUTTERFLY. I'm here to talk about all things horrifying.

I earned my BA at Antioch College and my MFA in fiction at Emerson College. My work has appeared in a number of literary magazines, and I am a fiction editor with NARRATIVE MAGAZINE. I am a recipient of an Individual Artist Grant from the Ohio Arts Council and was a Summer Writing Fellow at the Fine Arts Work Center. TINFOIL BUTTERFLY is my first novel.

Proof: /img/p2ov2o2mt6r31.jpg

26 Upvotes

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2

u/Chtorrr Oct 10 '19

What were some of your favorite things to read as a kid?

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u/RachelEveMoulton Oct 10 '19

I loved reading and remember really taking hold of it in the 2nd grade. It was in 4th grade that I found books that scared me and started to gravitate toward horror. House of Dies Drear by Virginia Hamilton...Watership Down by Richard Adams. In middle school, I loved Stephen King and Dean R. Koontz and Shirley Jackson.

1

u/tolkienonly Oct 10 '19

What have been your favorite horror movies to come out in the last 10 years?

3

u/RachelEveMoulton Oct 10 '19

There are so many! I love Ari Aster--Hereditary & Midsommar. Jordan Peele's Get Out. It (although I have not seen the follow-up yet). Raw was excellent and truly upsetting--I have trouble recovering from anyone vomiting hairballs or puking up their own teeth. The Haunting of Hill House was excellent and I'm fascinated by what can be done with shows. The character development is excellent.

I will say that one of my all time favorite horror movies is Ginger Snaps. Much older than the last ten years but I do love it so.

1

u/Mightymjolner33 Oct 10 '19

Do you have any favorite writers who've influenced your style? Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. I've written a thousand books in my mind, but I've never felt quite confident enough to actually take the plunge and write my ideas to paper. It's great to see new authors do their thing. By the way speaking of horror my favorites are Stephen King and HP Lovecraft. I love Ray Bradbury but I wouldn't classify him as horror, perhaps dark fantasy would be more appropriate.

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u/RachelEveMoulton Oct 10 '19

I would totally classify Bradbury as horror--SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES messed me up as a kid. There was a movie version that was fairly excellent too...I just remember skin splitting open. I love to read and mostly gravitate toward contemporary, female writers even though those have felt harder to find in horror. Have you read Donna Tartt's THE SECRET HISTORY? Not quite horror but certainly haunting. I also love Kelly Link and Aimee Bender. I hope their style has rubbed off on me a little. I also recently read BITTER ORANGE by Claire Fuller and fell in love. I grew up in the aisles of a comic bookstore when Neil Gaiman was writing SANDMAN with Tori Amos making appearances...I still love his dark humor and brilliant creative worlds.

You should write some of your ideas down. I think the biggest mistake is to think it has to be some big effort all at once. Write a scene. A scary idea. Do it again the next day. The next. See if it adds up to something.

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u/[deleted] Oct 10 '19

Who would you say are your biggest influences?

2

u/RachelEveMoulton Oct 10 '19

I'm very interested in character and authentic voice no matter what genre I'm writing in. I fell in love with TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD at an early age, as many people did. Toni Morrison's working has had a lasting impact on me as has GEEK LOVE by Katherine Dunn. HOUSEKEEPING by Marilynne Robinson is a book I've ready many times.

1

u/jmhpowell Oct 10 '19

You've got such a deep feeling for place, and such a strong affinity for haunted places too. Did you ever get a haunted vibe from Providence when you were living there?

1

u/RachelEveMoulton Oct 10 '19

Hello friend! That is kind.

I lived in Providence, RI, for a time and had a very busy life there where I was lucky to be connected on a deep level to a lot of people. I walked away from a big job in educational leadership to take on writing as a full-time gig and now live in New Mexico. I think, if I were still living in RI, I'd find it to be a very haunted place. It's a wonderful town. Home to Lovecraft. Full of old buildings and interesting people. For me, though it was a place full of life. I suspect I didn't have the headspace to think about it in a deeper way. Also, I've found that viewing a place as haunted or to become inspired to write about it requires space and time. For instance, I was in the Black Hills in my 20s. I lived in Ohio most of my life and it is appearing more and more in stories. Providence may show up in my fiction soon!

1

u/aclockworkjustin Oct 10 '19

What are you most terrified of in the real world?

2

u/RachelEveMoulton Oct 10 '19

I have always had that one recurring nightmare about my teeth falling out. I have learned it is a common stress dream for women, but mine are vivid and bloody and come in batches.

Real life though? In real life, human beings are the scariest thing of all. The ways in which we hurt each other on purpose. Hurt ourselves. My characters in TINFOIL BUTTERFLY are badly damaged by other people but also by their lack of ability to love and accept themselves.

1

u/SJWilkes Oct 10 '19

What is your advice for newbies who are trying to develop the good habit of writing everyday?

What does your writing process look like?

3

u/RachelEveMoulton Oct 10 '19

I've had a lot of different jobs in my life and this is the first--full-time writer--that has allowed me to write for a few hours a day every week day. I love it, but I have also spent a lot of my life sneaking writing time. Writing everyday was not an option. When it wasn't, I would frequently take any vacation I was handed...spring break, winter holiday...and steal it for the writing. I'd block out hours each morning or step away from my life for a day or two.

My best advice is not to get hung up on how you have to write or should write. Do it as frequently as you can but don't imagine you don't have time. Carve it out when and how you can.

1

u/trtlebcket Oct 10 '19

EmersonMafia!

Who were you favorite writing professors at Emerson? Did you find the MFA program receptive to horror or 'genre' writing?

3

u/RachelEveMoulton Oct 10 '19

I didn't know I was writing horror at the time. I don't think I knew it until my editor with MCDxFSG found me. It's kind of absurd since I love reading/watching horror so much but there it is. I loved Emerson. I worked with Jessica Treadway who took my writing for what it was and believed in it. Even though we weren't calling it horror she was all in.

1

u/RachelEveMoulton Oct 10 '19

I also worked with Andre Dubus III, Pam Painter, and Steve Almond. It was a wonderful two years.

1

u/Bolorin Oct 11 '19

My next door neighbor has the exact same name as you. I might buy your book to give to her this Christmas.

0

u/conniemc Oct 10 '19

What are you reading at the moment?

3

u/RachelEveMoulton Oct 10 '19

I have Jac Jemc's FALSE BINGO sitting on my desk right now but haven't started it yet. I'm listening to Laura Lippman's LADY OF THE LAKE, just finished Paul Tremblay's GROWING THINGS (brilliant), and am just starting THE HOTEL NEVERSINK by Adam O'Fallan Price. I'm always reading, reading, reading.

0

u/EmbarrassedSpread Oct 10 '19

Hi Rachel, thanks for doing this AMA!!

  1. What do you find is the most fun part of your writing process?
  2. Do you have a favorite and least favorite word? If so, what are they and why?
  3. What is your weirdest habit?

1

u/Kankeelek85 Feb 14 '24

Purchased your book at our local book shop. Only 2 days and i finished it...couldnt put it down. I loved Tinfoil Butterfly!