Q&A: Jonathan Janz Discusses the Small-Town Setting and Real-Life Inspiration Behind His New Horror Novel MARLA

"I think Marla has been percolating in my head since I was about eight years old."

After unleashing invisible creatures from another dimension in his sci-fi horror novel Veil, prolific and thought-provoking author Jonathan Janz invites readers to the small town of King's Branch to lock eyes with an urban legend in his chilling new novel Marla. An eerie exploration of "the families we inherit, the guilt we carry, and the terrible gravity of a gaze you can’t forget," Marla is now available from Weird Tales and Blackstone Publishing in paperback, eBook, audiobook, and a marvelous hardcover edition that includes the prequel novelette "Moonflowers."

To celebrate the horror novel's anticipated release, we caught up with Jonathan Janz in a new Q&A feature to discuss the real-life inspiration behind Marla, paying homage to Stephen King, the book's eye-catching cover art by the talented Matthew Revert, as well as his plans for a Marla sequel (and a streaming series adaptation). As an additional treat, Jonathan reflects on his ambitious journey as a writer that has led to Marla being his 20th published book (with no plans of slowing down anytime soon, as he shares exciting updates on upcoming projects)!

You can read our full Q&A with Jonathan Janz below, and to learn more about Marla, be sure to visit Blackstone Publishing's official website!

Jonathan, it’s great to catch up with you again, and thank you so much for taking the time to answer questions for us about your new novel, Marla! When did you originally come up with the idea for your latest book?

Jonathan Janz: Thank you so much for talking to me again! I had an absolute blast last time.

I think Marla has been percolating in my head since I was about eight years old. At around that time, I had a really good friend who lived a goodly distance from town in the small town in which I lived (Delphi, Indiana). I used to ride my bike out there into the country (on Bicycle Bridge Road), and at the top of a winding hill, set back off the road and nestled back in the forest, there was this house that always used to give me the creeps. It’s still there and is exactly as Marla’s house is described in the book: grayish-blue, rust stains on the siding that look like streaks of blood. I used to peer at one particular window, and I suppose deep down I was hoping no one would ever be looking back at me.

In Marla, she does.

Marla takes place in King’s Branch—a seemingly idyllic small town until the bodies start to pile up. In the grand tradition of writers such as Stephen King and Brian Keene, King’s Branch is like a character in itself. How important was it for you to really bring small-town America to life in an authentic way? Also, I can’t help but ask: did you name the town in honor of Stephen King?

Jonathan Janz: Thank you so much for mentioning King and Keene—both are profound influences on my writing! As for small-town America, bringing that element to life really was a crucial facet of this novel. It’s a world I know well, having grown up in two small Indiana towns (Delphi and Monticello), and like the town in the novel, those places contained their own secret worlds. I suppose all places do, but there’s something uniquely insidious that can sometimes lurk beneath the surface of a seemingly safe small town.

And King’s Branch is absolutely an homage to Stephen King. Though he himself is part of a wonderful horror lineage that includes writers like Shirley Jackson and Edgar Allan Poe, he’s important enough to have claimed his own territory, which I imagine as a deep, dark forest. Since he was the writer who made me a reader when I was fourteen and who inspired me to write when I was eighteen, I feel like I’m very much part of a tradition he helped create and perpetuate. Therefore, King’s Branch is an extension of the forest King created—a twisted, gnarled branch that seems to grasp for passersby as they scurry past.

This novel centers on the eerie urban legend of Marla Gorman. Were you inspired by any real-life urban legends while you were writing this book?

Jonathan Janz: That’s a good question. I don’t know that I was inspired by any specific urban legend as I was the idea of urban legends and the mysteries surrounding them. Like you mentioned earlier, this book features a shadowy small town, and such a place would be fertile ground in which legends like these would flourish. There aren’t so many people around that the Gorman House would be fully investigated and demystified, yet there are more than enough people to gossip, to spread rumors, and to cast doubt on Marla and her mother, Irene.

That’s part of the insidiousness of it, I think: If Marla or Irene were men, they’d just be dismissed as weird hermits, and no one would spread rumors about them. But because they’re women, the rumors take root, and their tendrils spread. That’s the way it often works in small towns, as horrific as it is, and that’s the way it happens in Marla.

Marla is described as “a slow-burn, full-throttle horror novel about the families we inherit, the guilt we carry, and the terrible gravity of a gaze you can’t forget.” When you set out to write this book, were those themes of family and guilt paramount to this story, or did they take on a life of their own as you wrote the novel?

Jonathan Janz: They definitely weren’t intentional, but rather, as you said, they took on a life of their own during the writing of the book. It’s strange… I rarely think about themes during a rough draft. Maybe I’m subconsciously aware of themes at some points, but it’s really never a conscious process or an intentional foregrounding or inclusion. Generally, I discover themes during my arduous editing process. It makes me sound clueless, but when I’m writing, I’m just feeling and experiencing the story through my characters. When I edit, that’s when I realize what I was writing about, and it’s often a surprise. Family and guilt are certainly important themes in this book, but they emerged organically and were better fleshed out during the edit.

Marla is being published as a “Weird Tales Presents” title released by Blackstone Publishing. What has it been like to collaborate with Weird Tales and Blackstone? Also, did you grow up reading Weird Tales magazine, and do you have any favorite writers and stories that you discovered within its pulpy pages over the years?

Jonathan Janz: I have had a blast working with Weird Tales! I didn’t read the magazine growing up, but I did read at least one WT anthology, and it contained a treasure trove of great stories. As you sort of allude to in your question, WT has quite a lengthy history, so it’s a seminal part of the horror tradition. John Harlacher, the main editor of WT, has been so cool and has brought a great deal to the table as we’ve worked together on the first two books of the deal. He absolutely loves Marla, but because of his love for The Thing, he might love The Stars Have Left the Skies (coming in 2027) even more. But he’s been an incredible cheerleader and supporter of Marla. That was the book that introduced him to my work and the novel that led him to offer my agent the three-book deal. John was the one who suggested I write a bonus piece for the hardcover version, which I did, a prequel novelette called "Moonflowers." He and the higher-ups at Blackstone are also the reason why the hardcover has so many glorious, unique features (like foil lettering, sprayed edges, and a ton of interior art).

As for Blackstone, they’ve been excellent to me. They’ve been professional, kind, creative, and they’ve paid on time, which is always a plus. Additionally, they just kill it in the audio department, which is important to me, and their PR people (like Becca Malzahn and Francie Crawford) have done a fabulous job of getting the word out about both Marla and Veil.

From its inception to the final draft, approximately how long did it take you to write Marla?

Jonathan Janz: Mmm… that’s a good question. I’d say about… sixteen months? But four months of that span were eaten up by a hiatus I took because I didn’t want a certain character to die. When it came time to write that death scene, I simply couldn’t do it. I took a break, hoping I’d find a way to save the character’s life, but over that four-month hiatus, the path forward only became clearer: The character had to die. So after I finished the rough draft, I edited the heck out of the tale, like I do all my stories. So yeah… I’d say about sixteen months.

I absolutely love the cover design by Matthew Revert, which literally locks eyes with the reader when you look at it. What was your reaction the first time you saw the cover for Marla?

Jonathan Janz: Oh man, that makes me so happy to hear, and I couldn’t agree with you more—it’s a truly iconic cover. As has happened a few times with Matthew over the years, I’ll make some initial suggestions, he’ll come to me with an initial cover mockup, and I’ll like it but not love it. Then I’ll either give him some feedback in a different direction, or he’ll go back to the drawing board and find something completely different. In the case of Marla (like Children of the Dark and Exorcist Falls), on the first attempt he created something that was very good and still better than most covers I see. But I want every one of my covers to be amazing, so he created a second, completely separate cover. That’s how the Marla cover that we have now came to pass. When I saw it, I almost fainted. Not only was it gorgeous, but as you said, it seemed to bore holes into my retinas with its visceral gaze. I know I’m biased, but I believe it’s an all-time-great horror cover, and I still get creeped out by it when it catches my eye from the corner of the room. It always feels like Marla is staring at me.

And that, of course, is because of Matthew Revert’s extraordinary artistry. He’s one of the best in the world, not only because he’s brilliant, but because he’s hard-working and determined. He never makes me feel like I’ve wasted his time, and if he’s ever annoyed with me for asking for a different approach, he never shows it. I’d have to say that his Marla cover is my favorite one he’s done for me, though The Dismembered and the covers for Children of the Dark 1 & 2 are close behind.

The eye-catching hardcover edition of Marla features “a foiled cover, gorgeous-sprayed edges, and an exclusive, never-before-published prequel story.” I absolutely love sprayed edges, so I’m already all in on this edition, but can you tell us what awaits readers in the prequel story that’s included with the hardcover?

Jonathan Janz: YES! I love that you mentioned this. I think the hardcover is a work of art. The prequel story is a genuinely additive feature too. I didn’t want to just write something superfluous, so what I did was… and I hope I’m not oversharing here… but I spoke with the showrunner we’ve found for the potential streaming series, and we talked about some things we’d like to seed for later seasons. There’s a character I’ve been thinking about for a long time (as I’ve thought about a potential sequel to Marla), and I felt this was the perfect time to introduce him. His name is Gus, and I love him. I really hope audiences do too. And I hope we get to meet him in the flesh in season two, if the series happens.

Reading through my answer above, I realize I didn’t answer your question very well, so I’ll add this: On the first page of the novel (or maybe the second), there’s a quick story about events that took place eleven years or so before the story begins. It is on those events that the prequel “Moonflowers” focuses, and I really believe it brings a cool new element to the mythos (or as the showrunner and I call it, the Marla-verse). It’s also more than ten thousand words long, so hardcover readers definitely get their money’s worth.

Were you influenced or inspired by any other books or movies while working on Marla?

Jonathan Janz: I’m not sure if I was inspired by anything while I was working on Marla, though now that I consider the question a bit more, I realize I probably was reading John Sandford at the time because I’m often reading John Sandford.

For those unfamiliar with him, he’s best known for the Prey series (Golden Prey, Winter Prey, etc.), and his approach is a combination of character study, police procedural, creepy Gothic, and suspense. I absolutely love his work, and I suspect some of his influence is present in Marla. In addition to that, my novel was inspired by Carrie, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, and the novels of Gillian Flynn.

Ultimately, what do you hope readers take away from Marla?

Jonathan Janz: That’s a great question. Honestly? I hope it scares the hell out of them because it scared the hell out of me. Certain scenes freaked me out when I wrote them, and even when I edited them, they unnerved me. Marla unnerves me. I was talking with a reader recently, and she said she believes Marla exists somewhere, and I’m not sure I disagree with her. I imagine her sometimes, peering from her playroom window.

I think I’ll avoid driving by that house on Bicycle Bridge Road for a while…

Do you have plans to continue the story of Marla in a sequel (or another prequel)?

Jonathan Janz: I’m so glad you asked me that! I do! But as always with publishing, reader demand will have a say in the matter. But I would love to write a sequel to Marla. I have the cast of characters (or at least the majority of the cast), some of the story elements, and a title. If readers flip for Marla—and let’s hope they do—I’ll get started on a new Marla book very soon. And as I mentioned earlier, if things progress with the series, that will have a highly positive impact on future books in the series too.

Marla marks your 20th published novel—an amazing achievement that further cements your prolific status. When you look back on writing those 20 books, what memories do you treasure the most, and is there a type of story or genre that you haven’t told yet that you’re excited to bring to life in the future?

Jonathan Janz: Man, these questions are awesome. And thank you! I honestly treasure all of it because it brought me to this place: talking to someone as awesome as you (seriously!). Even though it has been a circuitous road, it has made me the writer and person that I am. And though I’m still learning, and will always be learning, I am very happy with where I am as a writer. The stuff I’m doing now is better than anything I’ve done so far, and that’s all I can ask for—to keep getting stronger as a storyteller.

As for future stories… there are so many, both books I’ve already written and books I haven’t yet. I want to keep pushing the boundaries of horror and explore areas into which I haven’t personally ventured (like a zombie novel or a cool aquatic horror book), as well as places that no writer has explored yet. I also see myself revisiting ghost stories, Gothic stories, demonic possession stories, and vampire stories in the near future.

Have you been reading or watching anything lately that you’d recommend to our readers?

Jonathan Janz: Yes! Viewing-wise, I’d tell folks to check out Widow's Bay if they haven’t yet. It’s a brilliant series. I really dug Hokum, Oddity, and Companion as well. And even though they’re very popular already, I’d recommend both Obsession and The Backrooms.

Reading-wise, I’d tell folks to check out Tananarive Due’s new book Mazywood. I haven’t read it yet, but she’s an auto-buy author for me, and she never lets me down. I’m also looking forward to my pal Josh Malerman’s book Pictures of You. I’ve also had a hankering for some Brian Keene storytelling lately; everything I’ve read by Brian has been awesome. Lastly, I’d tell people to read Faye Snowden and Laurel Hightower. Both are outstanding.

In addition to Marla, what other projects do you have coming up that you can tease for our readers?

Jonathan Janz: Ooooh… this is both awesome and challenging, as some things aren’t announced yet. The ones that folks know about are the three books in the Weird Tales deal: Marla, The Stars Have Left the Skies (winter horror), and Panopticon (subterranean folk horror).

As far as the stuff that hasn’t been announced yet, how about I give a few teasers?

– One book is a 200,000-word epic dystopian/sci-fi/horror/action/adventure/romance/western/thriller/tech noir book that I cannot WAIT to tell folks about.

– There’s a novelette I wrote that’s about to be serialized by one of the coolest and best-known magazines in the world, complete with amazing artwork. There’s much more to that one, but I’ve probably already said too much.

– I have another work-in-progress that’s 70% done and one of the scariest things I’ve ever written.

– And there are about seven other projects I can’t talk about at all yet for fear of giving away too much.

Thank you very much for once again taking the time to answer questions for us, Jonathan, and congratulations on Marla!

Jonathan Janz: Thank you SO much for having me. These questions were amazing, and I had a blast answering them. You rock, my friend!

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Below, we have the official synopsis for Marla and a look at Matthew Revert's eye-catching cover art, and be sure to read our exclusive excerpts from Jonathan Janz's latest horror novel. To learn more about Marla, visit Blackstone Publishing's official website!

"From beloved horror author Jonathan Janz, Marla is a slow-burn, full-throttle horror novel about the families we inherit, the guilt we carry, and the terrible gravity of a gaze you can’t forget. The hardcover edition includes a foiled cover, gorgeous sprayed edges, and an exclusive, never-before-published prequel story.

Turn the page—if you dare.

Every small town has ghosts. King’s Branch has Marla.

A reclusive young woman who lives with her mother in a creepy Gothic house, Marla Gorman is the stuff of urban legends. Some believe she’s a prisoner. Others claim she’s a witch.

The evening of the first murder, Detective Carl Lancaster sees Marla leering at him from her bedroom window. He sees her again at the exact moment a second man is killed. And though Marla was nowhere near either murder site, Carl is convinced she’s connected to the crimes.

To Carl, Marla is a menace. To social worker Annie Frost, Marla bears a bizarre connection to her past. To Dylan Ellison, a struggling college student, Marla might be the companion for whom he’s been longing.

But none of them understands Marla’s true nature. She’s about to plunge them—and everyone in King’s Branch—into an unspeakable nightmare and teach them the true meaning of terror."