Winner - My Dark Bowered Queen – Dark Academia by Marianne Van Pelt
Marianne Van Pelt
Marianne van Pelt is American and naturalised Irish. She grew up in Connecticut, where her father taught at Yale Divinity School. Twenty years ago, she followed her heart to a small seaside village in southwestern Ireland. She holds a BA in Creative Writing and an MA in Public Relations and is an alumna of the Faber & Curtis Brown Writing a Novel courses.
What made you enter the Cheshire Novel Prize?
This was my fourth year entering the Cheshire Novel Prize. I entered because of the promise of individualised feedback for every submission. I was blown away by how good the feedback was! I never imagined I’d make the shortlist.
What did it feel like when you were LL and then SL?
I was on holiday in Italy when Sara Cox called about the longlist; I ducked into a quiet Arezzo side street and when she gave me the news I just started babbling with joy. Like many writers, I’ve worked for years not knowing if my book would resonate, so hearing that the CNP judges connected with it was transformative. The shortlist felt like a huge, unexpected bonus.
What was the reaction from those around you/family and friends?
My family are thrilled. My children keep teasing: “Remember that day in Arezzo when your life changed forever?” My writing groups have been wonderfully generous as always. Non-writer friends have mostly said: “Ah, is that’s what you’ve been doing all this time?”
How did you come up with the idea for your book?
I often meet Americans who dream of moving to Ireland. I wanted to write a book for them that would capture some of my experiences, particularly the feeling of becoming rooted in a living landscape. It often feels as if the landscape here is sort of whispering to you. I don’t know why this is true of Ireland, but many people seem to feel it. Maybe because Ireland’s land is layered with history, myth, animals. And, of course, we’re subject to the most outrageous weather here.
What’s it about?
The novel follows an American archaeology student who flees to Ireland after her mother’s death. At Galway University she’s drawn into the orbit of a privileged student clique led by a brilliant Celtic Studies professor and her magnetic son. When she’s invited to the family’s island estate for Samhain, seduction and longing spirals into deceit, obsession, and death. I think of it as The Secret History meets Saltburn, steeped in the wild myths and landscape of Atlantic Ireland.
What’s your writing routine?
I’m incredibly lucky that my husband is so supportive and I’m able to write full-time. Weekday mornings I head straight to my desk (after coffee and a regrettable scroll!) and write until early afternoon. Then I walk or swim, do life admin and read, which, as Lauren Groff says, is “80% of the job.”
What’s next for you?
In November I’m taking the novel to an Arvon residential with Andrew Michael Hurley, whose work I hugely admire. I began this book on the Curtis Brown Writing a Novel Course with Andrew; it feels like coming full circle. I’m also drafting a new novel set in Bloomsbury, featuring a large inheritance and grimoires.
What are your favourite books and why?
I love Gothic and Dark Academia: Frankenstein, Wuthering Heights, Rebecca, The Haunting of Hill House, The Secret History, The Woman in Black, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norell, and everything by Andrew Michael Hurley. I’m drawn to books where atmosphere, obsession, and the uncanny press on the edges of ordinary life.
Any tips for writers intending on entering the competition?
Read the CNP website closely, especially the Writing Tips section. Everything is there. Make sure you know all the rules and follow them to the letter. And take the feedback to heart: I didn’t always enjoy reading mine at first, but it was always invaluable. Sara Cox does the feedback, and she’s been a story editor for decades. She knows what she’s doing!