Gothic Hustle: the Samara Breger Interview
October 2, 2023 | Samara Breger writes the books she wants to read — and, to our delight, ones we want to read, too. She is the author of the high-fantasy romance/adventure A Walk Between Worlds (Bywater, 2021) and the sapphic gothic vampire romance A Long Time Dead (Bywater, 2023), which the New York Times called “stunning” and “sublime.”
With queer fiction taking fire at school board meetings and Halloween well underway here in Tarrytown, we asked Samara to share her thoughts on book bans, her literary inspiration, defying and defining genres, and why romance runs deep in America’s legal ranks.
Transom Bookshop: Given the reception and reviews, it obviously works creatively that A Long Time Dead is a multi-faceted novel—meaning, it’s gothic, and queer, and a vampire horror, and a romance, and historical fiction. From a commercial perspective, though, do you find that a mashup of genres narrows your audience, or actually helps to broaden it?
Samara Breger: From what I’ve seen of reviews, having a toe in a few different genres has provided inroads for new readers. Maybe a horror reader wouldn’t gravitate towards a queer romance, but they tried out my book because they wanted traditionally-bloodthirsty vampires. That said, all of those aforementioned genres fit pretty neatly under the umbrella of gothic romance. I hate to say it, but while romance is a hugely commercially popular genre, it’s still seen as having less literary weight than other genre fiction. Hopefully A Long Time Dead has birthed some new romance-lovers.
TBS: Your publisher, Bywater Books, is a small independent press with a focus on queer literature. What are the advantages and challenges of working with a small press?
SB: When I first pitched Walk Between Worlds to agents, nobody was interested. In retrospect, I’m not surprised; it needed a lot of work. Through a connection, I got the book to some people at Bywater, and they actually gave me the time of day. They sent me a twelve page email filled with notes, along with the promise that, if I rewrote the book, they would consider publishing it. That’s not a thing you really get at a big publisher, and I’ll always be grateful. That said, it’s been much more difficult to get press for my books. Bywater just doesn’t have the infrastructure to send out tons of books to tons of social media reviewers. I spend a lot of time finding influencers, reaching out, and sending books myself. I don’t mind doing it, I just sometimes think that time would be better spent writing.
“It was hugely formative for me as a young queer reader to squirrel away gay books, which I wouldn’t have found if they weren’t right in front of my face.”
TBS: I’ve vacillated on breaking queer fiction out into its own section at Transom. Part of me worries that it makes it too easy for someone to walk by and, however subconsciously, think “that’s not for me”—but it’s also a missed opportunity to say “stop! look! this is important!” As a writer (and reader) of queer literature, what are your thoughts on merging-in vs. spotlighting queer literature?
SB: I also go back and forth on this, but these days, as book ban hydras are rearing their many heads, I’m solidly pro queer-fiction section. Part of me feels like, now that there’s so much mainstream fiction with queer characters, something like this shouldn’t be necessary, but—and I hate these next four words—in this current climate, it makes sense to feature them, and feature them visibly. Beyond that, it was hugely formative for me as a young queer reader to squirrel away gay books, which I wouldn’t have found if they weren’t right in front of my face, on a table with a little rainbow flag.
TBS: I hate that I have to ask this, but it’s hard to ignore the book witch hunt that’s happening across the country. As books are being banned from schools, libraries (and now bookshops!) for “sexual content,” what does this mean for romance writers—and, especially, writers of queer fiction?
SB: This does frighten me, but something that gave me hope was learning how many romance writers are also lawyers. There are so, so many lawyers moonlighting as romance writers, or the other way around –
TBS: Wait, really? Romance writers are secretly lawyers and vice versa? How'd you find this out? And what do you think that say about the romance genre...or about the legal profession
SB: Oh, absolutely! Jasmine Guillory and Alyssa Day both have law degrees. Courtney Milan clerked for Sandra Day O’Connor. Former Georgia State Rep Stacey Abrams has been a romance writer for years. Her pen name is Selena Montgomery and her books absolutely bang. I found most of this out when the Romance Writers of America imploded—that’s a much longer story. I think a lot of people found romance novels as young, voracious readers looking through their mom’s books. That sort of drive definitely leads people to ambitious careers like law. I also know that all the lawyers in my life are pretty stressed out. Romance provides an excellent mental escape.
TBS: Fascinating! But you were saying about book bans–
SB: Generally, I am pretty scared. Less for me as a writer, more for me and my community as a queer person. The “groomer” accusations have gotten extremely prevalent and insidious, especially for the trans community. The books that are in real trouble are children’s and YA books, because the bigots, as always, have disguised their hatred as an effort to protect kids. I’m never not thinking about Helen Lovejoy screaming “Won’t somebody think of the children?!” It’s been really hard to see the light at the end of this tunnel.
TBS: Aside from buying, reading, and telling the world about great queer books, what can the average reader do to support the cause?
SB: If you can, I recommend donating to campaigns in contested areas. Book bans are political. Voting is important, but it’s not enough. Another great thing to do is visit your local library. Libraries are at the forefront of this fight. We should show them our support.
TBS: The obvious bookseller question: what book have you read recently that you’d strongly recommend, to whom, and why?
SB: I’m reading Lucky Red by Claudia Cravens and I’m really enjoying it. I’m not usually a western person, but this one has completely grabbed me. Sex workers in westerns are usually quippy or tragic side characters, so having one right at the center of this book is so refreshing.
“Book bans are political. Voting is important, but it’s not enough.”
TBS: It's awesome seeing an old genre through a new lens. To what kind of reader should we recommend this? Is it Western enough for Western fans? Feminist enough for feminist readers? Romantic enough for romance lovers? Or someone else entirely?
SB: I’ll tell you what—it’s not a romance. It is romantic, though, and that’s the part I enjoyed the most about it. It is absolutely feminist, especially in the way it frames sex work. That familiar western ethos is very present, but I would say that the book leans more character study than adventure. I recommend it to scorpios, because the revenge is extremely satisfying. I was very happy to see some good, old-fashioned revenge. There wasn’t even a hint of being the bigger person. Just fun, bloody vengeance.
TBS: What writers and books have influenced your own work, creatively or otherwise?
SB: Cat Sebastian, KJ Charles, Tamsyn Muir, Carmen Maria Machado, and Alexis Hall all have written life-changers. I finished Less by Andrew Sean Greer at 1:00am at JFK baggage claim and I was crying too hard to see my bag. That book won a Pulitzer for a reason.
TBS: The “top drawer” question: now that you’ve done high fantasy adventure and gothic vampire, what genre are you excited to tackle next? And is there a possibility for a continuation of Scratch’s or Poppy’s narratives?
SB: I always planned on writing a second adventure for Scratch, but I haven’t felt the urge to go back yet. I’m not ruling it out, but if it happens, it won’t be for a while. Poppy’s story is over, but I’ve been thinking about taking some other A Long Time Dead characters and messing around with them. Again, that won’t be for a bit. Right now I’m working on a trio of Victorian gothic romances, starting with a ghost story. I’m also in the early stages of plotting out a 19th century Gangs of New York-type thing involving Hudson River pirates. It’s set right here in the lower Hudson Valley. I’m really excited to do some in-person research. We have so much cool, old stuff right here in our area, and it would be so silly of me as a writer not to take full advantage of it!
