In today’s author interview, Suzanne Junered discusses Goodnight Monsters, her unsettling novel about motherhood, identity, grief, and the disturbing thoughts we don’t always admit. When I reviewed Goodnight Monsters, I was struck by the novel’s unsettling exploration of motherhood, identity, and the thoughts we’re often afraid to admit we have. Through Lia’s fascination with death and decomposition, her complicated relationship with pregnancy, and her increasingly blurred line between fantasy and reality, Junered creates a story that is as psychologically disturbing as it is thought-provoking.
In this interview, she talks about the deeply personal experiences that shaped the novel, the unexpected origins of the Body Farm setting, and her desire to challenge the idea that there is one “right” way to experience motherhood. She also shares how her own struggles with grief, anger, and loss of identity found their way onto the page—and offers a glimpse at what she’s working on next.
Q: Lia spends two years trying desperately to become pregnant, only to discover that getting what she thought she wanted doesn’t necessarily make her happy. What interested you about exploring that particular contradiction—and did you know from the beginning that Lia would have such complicated feelings about motherhood?
A: To share some insight over my writing process, when I wrote the first draft of Goodnight Monsters, Lia was not yet pregnant. The story that emerged from me was very much a fever dream—scenes about a woman whose childhood trauma seeped into an obsession with death. A mentor read the draft and said to me, “I can’t help but think this is a metaphor for something bigger,” and as soon as he said it, the voice in my head replied, “motherhood.” And here’s the real-life twist: I wrote the bones of this draft during my own dark, postpartum days. I had put my feelings of grief, anger, and confusion onto the page. The contradiction of both loving and hating motherhood was sitting inside of me. And confusing the hell out of me. I needed to not be the only one feeling this way, so Lia became my ally.
Q: The Body Farm is such an unusual setting, and it becomes much more than a creepy backdrop. Lia’s fascination with decomposition and death seems to grow alongside her uncertainty about pregnancy and motherhood. What drew you to forensic anthropology as a way of exploring those themes?
A: In college one of my advanced nutrition professors was obsessed with the university’s forensic anthropology site, aka the local Body Farm. He spoke about it with such enthusiasm and a reverence I have never forgotten. So when Lia was born into my mind, the Body Farm wasn’t a conscious choice, it was a seed that had been planted more than a decade earlier. This setting allowed the juxtaposition of life and death to flourish, and I hope some of that reverence for the work conducted at the Body Farm comes through Lia as well. She finds it quite beautiful, almost artistic. And the fact that she can glorify death but be terrified of new life is what I wanted to highlight.
Q: Lia’s murder fantasies are incredibly vivid, and one of the things that makes the novel so unsettling is that even Lia—and eventually the reader—can’t always tell where fantasy ends and reality begins. How did you approach writing those scenes so that readers would question what was actually happening without simply feeling lost?
A: I wanted the reader to get lost in Lia’s imagination as much as she herself does throughout the story, and early on my goal was to make sure there was always a key moment that took us out of the fantasy to remind us—and Lia—that what she imagined was not real. As Lia became more unstable, I did want the reader to have that same experience alongside her, so writing from Lia’s point of view felt natural.
After two years of trying to become a mother, Lia is surprised to find that pregnancy brings not fulfillment but doubt. Seeking a purpose beyond motherhood, she takes a job at a forensic anthropology center known as The Body Farm, where her fascination with death grows alongside increasingly vivid murder fantasies. When a woman she imagined killing turns up dead, Lia begins to question whether her disturbing thoughts are more than fantasies—and whether the greatest threat may be herself.
Q: There’s a fascinating parallel between Lia’s fascination with what happens to a body after death and her anxiety about what will happen to her own identity if she becomes a mother. Was that connection intentional from the beginning, or did it emerge as you were writing the novel?
A: Lia’s curiosity over death and decomposition lived in the story first—I wanted to explore the mind of someone fascinated by the end of life. Her growing of new life emerged as I was writing while struggling with my own loss of identity as a new mother. I was grieving my autonomy and feeling into the pent-up rage and anger over societal expectations of what good mothers look like, all while being insanely sleep-deprived. It was a recipe for a killer character.
Q: Lia is not always an easy character to root for. She lies to her husband, has an affair, makes increasingly questionable decisions, and becomes obsessed with some genuinely disturbing thoughts. What was your relationship with Lia as a writer? Did you ever find yourself wanting to defend her, judge her, or simply tell her to stop making everything worse?
A: I remained curious and cared about Lia and to this day feel the same. My own curiosity over human behavior has led me to understand there’s always a deep reason behind every action, and Lia is no exception. While making some terrible choices, and although she is fictional, I hope she comes across as human, if nothing else.
Q: The novel asks some pretty uncomfortable questions about the expectations placed on women around motherhood—particularly the assumption that pregnancy and becoming a mother should automatically feel fulfilling. What conversations about motherhood did you hope readers would have after finishing Goodnight Monsters?
A: I hope Goodnight Monsters highlights some unrealistic expectations placed on mothers. But beyond acknowledgement of social conditioning, I want to draw attention to the struggle in motherhood—whether caused by hormones, grieving a past part of ourselves, sleep deprivation, whatever the reason—I want to normalize women having whatever experience they are having. We are not to be shamed into thinking we are bad mothers if we have bad thoughts about motherhood.
Q: Without giving away any spoilers, what is one thing you hope readers will notice about Goodnight Monsters that might not be obvious on a first read?
A: I hope the readers notice that the book brings up questions for themselves. Do bad thoughts make us bad people? What expectations have shaped the person you’ve become? Have you ever found yourself fascinated with something that also made you uncomfortable?
Q: Now that Goodnight Monsters is headed into the world, what are you working on next? Can you give us any hints about what readers can look forward to from you?
A: My next novel, House of Mannequins, will release Sept 2027 and follows a woman who unexpectedly becomes psychic and is forced to decide if she’s willing to change the future based on her premonitions. I’m also launching a podcast, No Secrets No Shame, where I host conversations about the themes and topics which inspire my writing. I’m calling it a book club for being human because the topic we discuss is real life. I’m most active online on Instagram if readers want to follow along @suzannejunered_author.
Author Bio
Suzanne Junered writes horror stories that are a little too close to reality. She is the author of novels Goodnight Monsters and House of Mannequins (forthcoming Sept 2027) and hosts a podcast, No Secrets No Shame. She leads with love in her daily life but her writing plunges into the darkest corners of the human psyche. A Tennessee native before the whispers in her mind urged her to head west, Suzanne’s characters call her back to her roots, writing in the voices of modern Southern women. She lives with her two sons in a home full of cat hair outside of Boulder, Colorado.
Connect with the author
- Author website
- Watch the YouTube trailer for GoodNight Monsters below!
Now available in print and on Kindle!
While you’re here, don’t forget to check out my latest suspense novel, It Had to Happen, now available in print and on Kindle!
Book Summary
When Jack Utley loses his daughter just as his business is about to soar, it seems he’s traded financial gain for Callie’s life. After an encounter with a mysterious woman on the eve of Callie’s funeral, Jack wakes up to find that time has somehow rewound to the morning of Callie’s accident. Jack gets an opportunity that most grieving parents can only dream of – he saves his daughter’s life.
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