53 – Zoje Stage and What if You're Not a Good Person?

Morning campers! 

This week we’re off to the great outdoors for a hike, a night under the stars and a spot of psychological terror. 

Our guest is Zoje Stage. In her previous novels, Babyteeth and Wonderland she took us to dark houses and interior spaces. Her new novel, Getaway, does the opposite, dragging us   on the adventure of a lifetime. A week hiking in the Grand Canyon. Just the ticket to blow away the covid claustrophobia.

Shame it all goes so horribly wrong!

We talk a lot about characters in this conversation – how to build them, how to make them interesting, and why no-one ever thinks they are the villain of the story. Zoje also relates the eerie incident in the Great Outdoors that inspires her novel, and I go on a rant about Thanos and Negan from the Walking Dead (keeping it highbrow!)

What we learn, most of all, is that a tent is only a psychological barrier against whatever else is roaming the wilds. 

Enjoy! 

Getaway was published August 17th by Mulholland Books

Other books mentioned in this episode include:

• Babyteeth (2018), by Zoje Stage
• Wonderland (2020), by Zoje Stage
• Jaws (1974), by Peter Benchley
• Deliverance (1970), by James Dickey
• The Ritual (2011) by Adam Nevill
• The Road (2006), by Cormac McCarthy 

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