Rebecca Mahoney Q&A: The Memory Eater—“There are parts in every person a bit scarier than we like to show our loved ones.”

“I’ve had anxiety for most of my life, and during my high anxiety periods, I tend to struggle with intrusive thoughts. I spend a lot of time trying to figure out where those fears are rooted so I can untangle them…”

Today, Monster Complex is interviewing author Rebecca Mahoney about her new novel The Memory Eater: A teen girl must save her town from a memory-devouring monster in this piercing exploration of grief, trauma, and memory.

Rebecca Mahoney, author of the critically acclaimed The Valley and the Flood, is a YA and middle grade writer who is a strong believer in the cathartic power of all things fantastical and creepy in children's literature. She knows firsthand that ghosts, monsters, and the unknown can give you the language you need to understand yourself.

Read the interview below to find out more about the author as well as the new book…

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Author interview with Rebecca Mahoney

Q: How do you explain your unique spin on monster fiction?

I’m a huge fan of that Bob Fosse quote about musical theater—“The time to sing is when your emotional level is too high to just speak anymore, and the time to dance is when your emotions are just too strong to only sing about how you feel”—because that’s how I feel about genre fiction, and about monster fiction in particular. I think there’s a certain kind of emotion, and a certain kind of catharsis, you can only dig into by externalizing that fear, anger, and anxiety into something as huge, earth-shattering, and operatic as it feels to you. And what’s more earth-shattering and operatic than a good monster story?

Q: What inspired you to go in this direction?

I’m what I like to call a Professional Anxious Person. I’ve had anxiety for most of my life, and during my high anxiety periods, I tend to struggle with intrusive thoughts.

So during those periods, I spend a lot of time trying to figure out where those fears are rooted so I can untangle them—but when your mind is in that kind of place, it feels a bit like you’re speaking a different language from yourself. I started to imagine what that conflict would look like if I was speaking to something outside myself, something living and breathing.

There are parts in every person that are a bit spikier and scarier than we like to show our loved ones. Parts that aren’t always so easy to control because they’re hardwired into us, usually through some self-protective instinct.

I think the reason I envisioned that instinct as a monster was not only because it was something frightening, but that a monster is both a living thing and a natural force. It can be destructive without malicious intent. It’s not something that’s good or bad—it just speaks a fundamentally different language than you do. And there’s something a little comforting about that.

So eventually, that pointed me in the direction of writing monster fiction to unpack complicated emotional questions. When you find understanding and compassion for the monster acting out your worst instincts, maybe you find compassion for that instinct in yourself, too.

Q: When and how did you become interested in writing your brand of monster stories? (Childhood reading, movies, life experiences, what?)

I’ve loved horror since I was little, but I think when it comes to monster fiction in particular, I have to give a lot of credit to The Babadook for completely rewiring my brain. Not only is the Babadook’s design and aesthetic absolutely TERRIFYING, but it was such a stunning example of the monster as a vehicle for catharsis, I couldn't stop thinking about it afterward.

Besides that, the anime Mushishi influenced my thinking on monsters quite a lot: the show’s thesis is that their creatures don’t operate within human morality, they simply “are as they are.” As I mentioned above, the idea of a monster as a kind of morally neutral natural force is one I think about so much!

Q: What are your favorite things about the section of the genre you occupy?

Besides the emotional elements, one of my favorite things about monster stories is that you can use as much or as little established lore as you want. On one hand, we've got writers doing wonderful, creative things with the classic monsters, whether they're following the established rules or putting their own spin on vampires and werewolves.

But on the other hand, anyone writing monster fiction can create their own sandbox. There's so much media out there, whether it's a production like The Ritual or The Babadook or a post on r/nosleep, where the writers invent their own monsters out of whole cloth. The implication that anything could be thriving in the dark corners of the world, just out of sight, is so delightfully chilling.

Q: What are your “monster story” pet peeves that you’ve seen others do?

I don’t have too many pet peeves. I think there are ways to do most monster tropes in a really fun, interesting way. That said, I’ll admit that I’m a little picky about monster romances where the monsters seem a bit too human. I need that monster to be at LEAST moderately freaky!

Q: What do YOU look for in a good monster story?

Really, I just love seeing what a creator is going to do! Monster stories can span so many genres, and I feel like I learn so much about a writer's style and sensibilities by seeing which directions they take their monsters in.

I do lean more toward the horror end of the spectrum when I’m looking for monster stories (especially if it’s scary AND cathartic, my ideal flavor combination), but I’m just as happy to find a romance, a fairy tale, or a sweeping high fantasy with a compelling monster story at its core.

I love watching how writers use—or subvert—the expectations of their genre as they unpack how their particular monster ticks.

Q: What are the best ways for fans to keep track of what you're writing (and related author news about you)?

You can find me on Twitter at @cafecliche and on my website www.rebeccamahoneybooks.com!

More about the book

The Memory Eater
By Rebecca Mahoney
Razorbill
Categories: Teen & Young Adult Magical Realism Fiction, Teen & Young Adult Monster Fiction
Buy The Memory Eater from Amazon

For generations, a monster called the Memory Eater has lived in the caves of Whistler Beach, Maine, surviving off the unhappy memories of those who want to forget. And for generations, the Harlows have been in charge of keeping her locked up—and keeping her fed.

After her grandmother dies, 17-year-old Alana Harlow inherits the family business. But there’s something Alana doesn’t know: the strange gaps in her memory aren’t from an accident. Her memories have been taken—eaten. And with them, she’s lost the knowledge of how to keep the monster contained.

Now the Memory Eater is loose. Alana’s mistake could cost Whistler Beach everything—unless she can figure out how to retrieve her memories and recapture the monster. But as Alana delves deeper into her family’s magic and the history of her town, she discovers a shocking secret at the center of the Harlow family business and learns that tampering with memories always comes at a price.

Monster Complex ™