THE HOUSE OF IDYLL by Delilah S. Dawson

I’ve been a fan of Delilah S. Dawson for well over a decade, and I was lucky enough to interview her about her YA books Hit and Servants of the Storm, as well as her adult steampunk romance Wicked as They Come. When I saw her at a conference this year, I knew I had to feature her new fantasy novel, HOUSE OF IDYLL, as well as her middle grade books.

Angelina Yves is a struggling singer/songwriter offered the chance of a lifetime to join the experimental luxury compound sponsored by the most famous band in the world, Black Idyll. With her every need accommodated, she finally has the time and space to perfect her music. Her muse? Reclusive rock star Jesper Idyll, who lives up to her every high school daydream. But this paradise has a haunted underbelly heralded by screaming horses, mysterious figures in the night, and dreams too twisted to be real. When people start to disappear and Jesper’s ex turns up dead and hideously mutilated, Angelina begins to suspect that something malevolent lurks behind the cult that’s grown around the band…

In our last interview (from 11 years ago!), regarding your (then) new website, you said, “I wanted to make a site that highlighted the whimsical darkness that connects all my different genres.” In what ways, if any, has your website evolved since then?

Almost none? 🤣😭 In the past 11 years, author websites have gone from ABSOLUTELY VITAL INFORMATION HUBS to That Thing I Have So People Can Find Me, I Guess, And Make Sure I Am Legitimate And Also Not Steal My Name. I am very bad at updating my website with my upcoming books, and I do not blog anymore. It makes me sad, if I’m honest; websites used to make me feel so connected, but now I feel like I am entirely sick of hearing other people’s opinions and tips. We were so innocent in 2014! But it can still be found at whimsydark.com.

Ironically, that makes me feel better about my own website, ha! And I absolutely love the premise of HOUSE OF IDYLL! Without giving away spoilers, in what ways, if any, did the story develop in ways you didn’t expect?

For most books, especially IP like Star Wars or Dungeons & Dragons, I outline my story using the method shown in Lisa Cron’s amazing book Story Genius. I need to know the entire plot and character arc, although there is always room along the way to have little adventures. With Horror books, however, I feel like I’m discovering the story in the pitch dark with a blindfold on. I need room to wander, so follow serendipitous trails, to find new ways to frighten myself and the reader. So the story developed organically, step by step. I had no idea what was going to happen and was just as startled as Angelina. The only thing I knew was the identity of the driving force behind the terror, but the ending felt like a pleasing revelation!

Story Genius is one of my favorite crafting books too. I use it as often as I can. Your most recent MG book, RIDE OR DIE, takes place in an amusement park. How did you know this was the background and setting this story needed?

My middle grade Horror stories tend to dip into the worst moments of my childhood, and Ride or Die centers on my youthful fears of amusement parks. I was 100% certain that amusement parks were allowed to kill kids, that maybe one out of every ten children just got yeeted into the forest or tossed into the water and scraped up with a broom. When I was an adult and lived in Tampa near Busch Gardens, I was fascinated by an older roller coaster they tried to hide with walls and trees. Its decaying gray wood looked so creepy jutting up between more colorful metal coasters and sunny palm trees. That coaster has since been reinvigorated into Iron Gwazi, but it really captured my imagination and inspired the abandoned part of the park hidden by a wall in Ride or Die. I was a very weird, nerdy kid who just didn’t understand other kids, so Brie’s desperation to be popular for just one night really taps into my own middle grade confusion.

Um, it me. (Fellow weird, nerdy kids of the world unite!) If you could tell your younger author self one thing, what would it be and why?

Honestly, I wouldn’t change a thing. Every step of the journey brought me to where I am, and I wouldn’t trade it. I love my books, my agent, my editors, my writer friends, and the readers I meet at events and online. I do wish I’d kept better records of my books and short stories, though. If I had to make a list of all the short stories I’d written, I would do a very poor job. I’m just not an organized person, and it’s looking like that’s not going to change.

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