Welcome to another installment of If My Book, the Monkeybicycle feature in which authors shed light on their recently released books by comparing them to weird things. This week Amanda Headlee writes about her debut novel, Till We Become Monsters, out now from Woodhall Press.
If Till We Become Monsters were a ferryman, he would be Charon standing at the helm, transporting those who are engorged with regret and unfinished business to their final destination. He takes payment—two gold coins for eternity—and steers down the river Styx, stirring the waters of the dead.
The current passenger is a lone, wanton soul asking for a second chance. Begging for another try to make things right. For far too long he hid behind his false face of lies. He hurt the ones he loved, pushing them to despair and feeding off their melancholy. Sadness filled the famine in his belly, leaving him always hungry for more.
If Till We Become Monsters were a play it would be one about a yellow king because truth wears a Pallid Mask for those who hide with power and fear.
She wears the mask, relishing in the power which she wields as happiness and using it to conceal that she’ll never be good enough. To the world she is strong and unmovable, but behind the mask she is crumbling like dry clay that wasn’t properly sculpted.
If Till We Become Monsters were a quiet and starlit night sky, it would echo with dreams of those who wish to live their desired realities.
They all call out with silent tongues to the night, praying for their dreams to come true. To erase their current realities and bring them something new. Dark hopes and desires beat in their hearts to be heard, wanted, and loved. Yet, all are too timid to speak, affected by loneliness and inescapable rejection.
If Till We Become Monsters were a person they would be stranded out at sea. Suspended in a miasma of fear—never sinking, never floating. No tall ships ever appear on the horizon to save one so lost. The albatross’s rope coils tight, severing their breath.
Amanda Headlee’s short stories appear in several anthologies, such as CONSUMED: Tales Inspired by the Wendigo and Somewhere in the Middle of Eternity. She is also a book reviewer for The Horror Tree. You can follow Amanda on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and at her website.
