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The Book Case

Jennifer McMahon Writes What Scares Her

The Book Case

ABC News

Fiction, Arts, Society & Culture, Books

4.7913 Ratings

🗓️ 17 August 2023

⏱️ 37 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

We have three horror shows left. But we are not sure Jennifer McMahon fits within the genre so neatly. If you are dipping your toe into the genre...start with the Children on the Hill, her latest. It's suspenseful, compelling, chilling and the ghoulish gore is at a bare minimum. We talk to her about why she keeps coming back to what scares her. We then talk to horror academic (yes, you heard us) Michael Arnzen, an accomplished writer in his own right. Books mentioned in this week's podcast: Children on the Hill by Jennifer McMahon Promise Not to Tell by Jennifer McMahon The Drowning Kind by Jennifer McMahon Island of Lost Girls by Jennifer McMahon The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon The Night Sister by Jennifer McMahon The Invited by Jennifer McMahon Don't Breathe a Word by Jennifer McMahon The One I Left Behind by Jennifer McMahon Dismantled by Jennifer McMahon Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Lord of the Flies by William Golding The Road by Cormac McCarthy Geek Love by Katherine Dunn Beloved by Toni Morrison Amityville Horror by Jay Anson Jaws by Peter Benchley Grave Markings by Michael A. Arnzen Play Dead by Michael A. Arnzen Dying (With No Apologies to Martha Stewart) by Michael A. Arnzen Many Genres, One Craft: Lessons in Writing Popular Fiction by Michael A. Arnzen and Heidi Ruby Miller Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:36.4

Hello, bookcase listeners.

0:38.2

It is that time again.

0:39.5

I am Kate Gibson.

0:40.7

And I'm Charlie Gibson.

0:41.7

Good to have you with us.

0:42.9

Another week has passed.

0:44.3

Another few books read.

0:46.0

And we have today the third of the shows that Kate has put together on the horror

0:51.8

genre.

0:52.2

But Kate, in this instance, Jennifer McMahon is the author

0:55.5

we're going to talk to. In this instance, while she adopts the title of being a horror writer

1:00.9

or accepts the fact that she is, I don't think she is. This is one that I really liked.

1:05.7

Yeah, I get that this genre is not for everybody. And I think Jennifer McMahon, who we talked to us today, Children on

1:11.9

the Hill is her most recent, really stretches the genre. I don't even like using, you and I have

1:17.2

talked before that the word horror comes with certain things that we're not terribly comfortable

1:21.4

with. So I very much am comfortable calling this thriller or dark fiction. It is a really interesting modern take on the Frankenstein myth, where she really talks

...

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