Husk!

Husk is a standalone that comes after launching a series, so I fully expect my husband to read half of it before saying, “I don’t know what this has to do with The Dredes…”

He’s furious that I won’t allow him to leave a review on my books. They are the first pieces of fiction he’s read since high school (apart from me forcing him to listen to parts of Gideon the Ninth on audible) so if anyone should be able to say, “hey I like this!” it should be him but unfortunately he’s married to me.

That being said, I don’t imagine he’ll enjoy the protagonist in Husk! She’s rich, snotty, entitled, and has a penchant for vandalism, but she was largely inspired by the lead actress in Scream Queens and American Horror Story, Emma Roberts.

Something about Emma’s bitter little expressions and eye-rolling as her characters reluctantly do the right thing, not because they care, of course. We often see that anti-hero persona among male archetypes but not so much with women characters. Her need to be perceived as shallow and materialistic when in truth, there’s something deeper behind it. That’s what inspired Husk!

That and I was jamming out heavily to Fleetwood Mac’s “Tusk!” hence the name.

Amid the popularity of Wednesday and Enid’s unlikely friendship dynamic, it felt like a good time to release this book. Carlie is a California vibes, high fashion sort of girl whereas her best friend is the moody Hispanic Goth, Estella.

I kid you not, I wrote this years ago… 2022, I believe.

Another unlikely inspiration was my friend Jacob, and yes, Jacob is in the book.

So, Jacob was getting married on a Portland Vineyard overlooking the valley. Super beautiful, classy. All the things a guy who makes his own bed every morning would want. He didn’t wear a polo, though he had one in every color crisply ironed. That day he wore a tux and hoped his friends would dress accordingly.

Unfortunately for Jacob, his friends are trolls and become bigger trolls when the temperature exceeds 80 degrees. That’s right, it was 110 the day of Jacob’s wedding and I showed up pretty much naked. I had large flesh colored undies beneath a sheer dress and it was open wine bar. And like any white woman, I love a free wine.

So me and bestie got trashed, I got cut off from said wine bar, we stole the glassware from the venue (they charged Jacob for that) and then there was a bit of an afterparty in my hotel room where we were naked and in a jacuzzi.

Months after the chaos, we were chatting with Jacob online so he could show me his adorable Bernadoodle while I drank from the cup I stole from his wedding. He recognized the upcharge.

Jacob is polite, well-groomed, organized, has an adorable family, and unfortunately, trolls for friends. Husk! Is a continuation of my trolling Jacob.

Friendship can be horrifying.