In this month’s newsletter (catch up HERE if you missed it) I interviewed Katya de Becerra about When Ghosts Call Us Home, her latest YA horror about a girl who revisits the house where she and her older sister made a cult horror movie several years ago, and where she was last seen before she disappeared. This had so many of the horror tropes I love, as well as a truly cult-horror-worthy villain, and was a gripping, terrifying read.
As soon as I’d finished, I needed to know more about the author herself…
Enter the 5 Random Questions!
You wake up in a hundred years in a lab full of clones and androids, and realise you must be one or the other. Which would you rather be?
Probably, an android! (Assuming I have a sturdier body to come with it, given how I’d be at least part robot?)
Have you ever seen a ghost?
Can’t say that I have, but I’ve definitely heard and felt things I can’t explain!
What movie scared you the most?
Most recently, Hereditary (Ari Aster’s 2018 feature debut). It’s very hard for a movie or a book to scare me, but I’ve had nightmares for days after watching Hereditary. It’s probably so effective because it creates such a realistic portrayal of a dysfunctional family in crisis and grief. And it’s so beautifully acted too!
As a kid, I remember being terrified by The Exorcist (1973). I’m embarrassed to admit that to this day I’ve only seen it in bits and pieces but never from beginning to end. Hopefully, one day I’ll be brave enough.
What’s your go-to karaoke song?
Depeche Mode’s Personal Jesus. It always makes me feel like a teen again – and this song is imbued with personal meaning. And I always love to end my karaoke session with Nena’s 99 Luftballons – by then I’d usually have already lost my voice, so I just throw what I have left at it!
You hit your head and wake up inside a book. Which book is it?
I sure hope it’s not one of mine!
About Katya de Becerra
Katya de Becerra writes atmospheric young adult horror featuring determined characters, complicated families and enigmatic places. Critics called her debut What The Woods Keep “a thoughtful and compelling horror fantasy” (The Bulletin) and “a narrative that will keep readers enthralled” (Booklist), while her second novel Oasis earned a starred review from Booklist. Katya regularly publishes short fiction in anthologies and literary magazines. She is also co-editor of the anthology This Fresh Hell, which reimagines and subverts horror tropes in new and unexpected ways. As a child, Katya wanted to be an Egyptologist, but instead she earned a PhD in Cultural Anthropology and now works at a university, where she teaches and researches as well as supervises graduate students in Anthropology, Creative Writing and Education. Katya is a short version of her real name, which is very long and gets mispronounced a lot. Her third novel, When Ghosts Call Us Home, has just been released.
You can follow her on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook as @KatyaDeBecerra and read her blog here.
You can also sign up for her occasional newsletter here.
If you missed my interview with Katya about When Ghosts Call Us Home, catch up here. Also remember to sign up for my newsletter which goes out every month – next month’s will go out on Friday, 1st December and will feature an interview with Sarah Wishart about her brilliant new YA thriller, Four Good Liars, as well as more details about my next YA horror. Don’t miss it!
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