Authors Interviewing Characters: Zoje Stage

DEAR HANNA

Zoje Stage delivers another knockout with a blood-chilling follow-up to international sensation Baby Teeth, taking readers back into the unsteady world of a young sociopath who’s all grown up.

Hanna is no stranger to dark thoughts: as a young child, she tried to murder her own mother. But that was more than sixteen years ago. And extensive therapy—and writing letters to her younger brother—has since curbed those nasty tendencies.

Now twenty-four, Hanna is living an outwardly normal life of domestic content. Married to real estate agent Jacob, she’s also stepmother to his teenage daughter Joelle. They live in a beautiful home, and Hanna loves her career as a phlebotomist—a job perfectly suited to her occasional need to hurt people.

But when Joelle begins to change in ways that don’t suit Hanna’s purposes, her carefully planned existence threatens to come apart. With life slipping out of her control, Hanna reverts to old habits, determined to manipulate the events and people around her. And the only thing worse than a baby sociopath is a fully grown one.

With its dark humor and chillingly seductive protagonist, Dear Hanna is a standalone sequel sure to thrill returning and new readers alike.

Zoje Stage interviews Hanna:

ZS: I know you have a passion for movies—have you seen anything interesting lately? Any recommendations?

HANNA: I was fascinated by the documentary The Painter and the Thief. It’s about a woman who creates sometimes-disturbing—and always-unsettling—photorealistic paintings. And when two of her best pieces are stolen from an art gallery, she proceeds to track down the thief. And they become…I guess you’d call them friends, but it seems a little more intense than that. And their stories unfold, with their dark, self-destructive backgrounds and…wow.

ZS: It sounds like it hit home for you. Did you imagine what you’d do if someone stole your artwork?

HANNA: Well, my work isn’t on par with hers—but even if it was, I can’t imagine becoming friends with the thief. I mean…I think I’d be more than a little pissed, to be honest. I know I wouldn’t be nearly as forgiving.

ZS: I’m guessing you’re pretty bummed that Netflix doesn’t carry DVDs anymore.

HANNA: I watched The Painter and the Thief on Amazon—there’s good stuff available to stream for sure. But there are so many more movies that will never be digitized or whatever. And with all the weird licensing, who knows how many movies will never be available to stream? It’s sad. I could talk about movies forever, by the way, so if you want some more recommendations…?

ZS: Maybe a few, but then we should probably broaden the scope of this conversation.

HANNA: You might not be able to find all of these—I don’t know what’s available where—or you can go to a used DVD store like Eide’s where you can scope out treasures. Anyway: The Wall (that’s an Austrian film—a little weird, but so good!); I’ve always loved Heavenly Creatures; Anatomy of a Fall (won the Palme d’Or and an Oscar and a bunch of other awards—great movie). I could do whole categories, like most disturbing movies, beautifully photographed movies…

ZS: I know you share your art on TikTok, but have you ever considered doing a blog or social media channel devoted to movies? 

HANNA: Hm, that’s not a bad idea. I just might do that.

ZS: Let’s switch gears a little—what about your career? You were pretty young when you decided to become a phlebotomist…Is it everything you thought it would be?

HANNA: (laughs) Sure, it’s exactly what I thought it would be—needles and blood. That part is fine, but to be honest, I hadn’t factored in quite how much “customer service” would be involved. I mean, I’m sure the people getting their blood drawn don’t think of themselves as “customers,” but they definitely expect a level of patience and, in a way, pampering. Sometimes I wonder if I should’ve become a tattoo artist? But then I think no, those people would probably complain even more, if it didn’t turn out exactly how they were expecting. And while there’s some blood involved, it’s not really at the same level.

ZS: Um…I’m not sure if I should ask this, but…have you considered becoming a surgeon? Or something like that?

HANNA: Hah! You can picture me with a rib spreader, right? Wrists submerged in someone’s opened torso?

ZS: Okay, maybe I shouldn’t have brought that up.

HANNA: I would totally do that if it didn’t involve so much school!

ZS: Okay, that’s probably enough for now. Thanks for speaking with me.

HANNA: No problem. Thanks for getting my wheels turning. I really might start a movie-related page. I wouldn’t even totally rule out trying my skills at tattooing. I probably don’t have the patience to become a surgeon…unless I emulate Dr. Frankenstein and do a little grave robbing, just for the practice cadavers, haha.

ZS: …

HANNA: What?

To learn more about Hanna, be sure to check out DEAR HANNA (available Aug. 13).

BUY HERE

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Zoje Stage’s debut novel, Baby Teeth, was a USA Today and international bestseller and was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award. Her second “mind-bending” (New York Times) novel, Wonderland, was one of Book Riot’s Best Horror Books of 2020. Getaway, a “stunning…third triumph” (Booklist, starred review), was named by LitReactor as one of the Best Books of 2021. Her most recent novel, “utterly arrowing…masterful” (Criminal Element), is Mothered. She lives in Pittsburgh with her cats. For more information visit https://zojestage.blogspot.com/.

Tags: featured, womeen writers

Category: Interviews, On Writing