Capturing the nostalgia of ’90s horror flicks, This Stays Between Us is the latest novel by Margot McGovern. In this episode, Margot shares her inspiration for telling this kind of story, writing her cast of characters and her experience publishing the novel.
00:00 Introduction 09:13 Writing tip: Scheduling time for reading 13:53 WIN!: 2 Sisters Murder Investigations by Candice Fox and James Patterson 15:28 Word of the week: ‘Lycanthrope’ 17:00 Writer in residence: Margot McGovern 19:40 The attraction of horror stories 21:00 Representing and reflecting young people’s worlds 23:11 The differences between 2000 and today 25:26 School camp inspirations 27:38 Nostalgia for ’90s horror films 28:49 Writing multiple points of view 30:23 Drafting and editing process 34:20 Publishing journey with Penguin 38:07 Publicity and the social media landscape 39:56 Upcoming projects 44:26 Margot’s tips for aspiring writers 45:48 Final thoughts
Margot McGovern lives in Adelaide and has a creative writing PhD from Flinders University. Her debut novel, Neverland, was shortlisted for the Text Prize and the Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature, and her short horror fiction has appeared in issues of The Dark and the Aurealis-Award-shortlisted anthology Hometown Haunts: #LoveOzYA Horror Tales.
