INTERVIEW
Jennifer Anne Gordon is an award-winning author and podcast host. Her debut novel Beautiful, Frightening, and Silent won the Kindle Book Award for Best Horror/Suspense in 2020 as well as Best Horror Novel of the Year from the Authors on The Air Global Radio Network. Her novel Pretty/Ugly won the Helicon Award for Best Horror 2022 and the Kindle Book Award for Best Novel of the Year 2022 (Reader’s Choice). Her novelette The Japanese Box won the Lit Nastie Award for Best Short Story (2023), and her essay ‘Navy Blue Dickies’ (Glassworks) is a Best of the Net nominee (2025). Her mainstream debut, a book club thriller, Perfect Wives, Perfect Lies, was released September 8, 2026, by Podium Publishing. Her essays have appeared in Miniskirt Magazine, Tangled Locks Journal, Lumina, Flash Glass, Persephone Literary Magazine, Horror Tree, and The Nerd Daily. They are also included in the collections Such a Loss, Not Ghosts, But Spirits (Volume V) and Letting Grief Speak: Writing Portals for Life After Loss. Gordon, who is also the creator and co-host of the popular comedic literary podcast Vox Vomitus and is a co-host of House of Mystery on NBC Radio, was interviewed by B Sudharsan, Founding Editor-in-Chief, Literary Harbinger, via email recently. You can read the interview, slightly edited for flow, below.
HARBINGER EXCLUSIVE
B Sudharsan: You seem to have been drawn to storytelling from a very young age. What are your earliest memories of writing, and how has your writing evolved since then?
Jennifer Anne Gordon: I think like most writers, I feel like I have always been writing something. My first writing memory was in third grade when I got a short “prayer for a cat” published in our little school newspaper. From there I wrote some Nightmare on Elm Street fan fiction in sixth grade—this was very embarrassing and honestly pretty gross. In seventh grade I would eat lunch in my English teacher’s classroom and write short stories. I have dabbled in poetry over the years, a short foray into trying to write comics and graphic novels, and now I mainly write personal essays and novels…and the occasional short story.
‘I Start Writing and See Where It Takes Me’
B Sudharsan: How do your novels usually come into being, and what can you tell us about your latest book?
Jennifer Anne Gordon: All of my published novels have come out in the same manner, when the story in my head gets too big and it needs to come out. I start writing and see where it takes me. I joke that my first novel, Beautiful, Frightening, and Silent, took 20 years and 2 months to write… 20 years of the story living in my head and eventually two months to write the first draft of the novel. My latest novel is a book club thriller called Perfect Wives, Perfect Lies. It is a story about a woman who is still processing the grief of losing her son 11 years ago, and the only comfort she finds is in drinking cheap wine and pretending to be someone else online. She gets involved with a group of women on the internet and quickly gets in over her head with their cult-like connection. It’s a story of female friendship, toxic internet culture, and trauma.
B Sudharsan: Since you tend to start writing and see where the story takes you, how much do you know about your characters and plot before you begin?
Jennifer Anne Gordon: I usually have a vibe or a rough concept. I let that simmer in my head for a while when I am trying to figure out who the story is about. To me the character(s) are truly the most important aspect of any story, so once I figure out who they are, then I start writing. Usually this involves me discovering things about the character along the way. I am a pantser, so I don’t have an outline to follow. Mostly I have scenes or flashes of scenes that I know need to happen, and then I try to figure out how to link those together and have it make sense.
‘I’ll Keep the Same Schedule for an Entire Project’
B Sudharsan: Which authors have had the strongest influence on you as a reader and writer, and what do you particularly admire about their work?
Jennifer Anne Gordon: I have too many to mention, and depending on my mood, they change. But the authors that have been my favorites as long as I can remember are Shirley Jackson, Anne Sexton, Josh Malerman, Sarah Langdon, Clay Mcleoud Chapman, Jennifer MacMahon, Stephen Graham Jones, May Cobb, Megan Collins, Rachel Harrison…the list goes on and on. They all inspire me in different ways. May, Rachel, and Megan are masters of twists and turns. I burn through their books so fast, and they are easily some of the most fun I ever have while reading. Josh, Jennifer, Sarah, Stephen, and Clay… They are masters of terrifying me while also breaking my heart.
B Sudharsan: Does your writing routine change from one project to another, or do you tend to follow a fixed schedule?
Jennifer Anne Gordon: I don’t really have a fixed schedule, but I will usually keep the same schedule for an entire project. So, if I start to write a book during the afternoons, then I stick to afternoons for the duration of the project. It’s where my muse can find me for that specific book. Maybe it’s superstitious; maybe it’s true. It’s hard to say.
ALSO READ | After a Lifetime of Facts, He Chose Fiction
‘I Am Still a Very Avid Reader’
B Sudharsan: Was becoming a full-time writer something you had consciously planned, or did circumstances lead you towards it?
Jennifer Anne Gordon: When I sat down to write my first novel, I didn’t think I would become a “full-time writer” so quickly, but then the pandemic lockdown happened, and I lost my job, and suddenly I had all the time in the world to try and make this happen. It had been something that I had always dreamed of doing, but dreaming it and being it are very different things.
B Sudharsan: What other work and interests occupy your time?
Jennifer Anne Gordon: I am a ballroom dance instructor part-time; I also love photography and travel. I host a literary podcast, and I am still a very avid reader. My husband (Roman Sirotin) and I are also painters, and we co-paint abstract mixed media paintings.
B Sudharsan: You mentioned that you can be a little superstitious about your projects. Without giving away too much, what can you tell us about what you are currently working on?
Jennifer Anne Gordon: I try not to talk too much about current projects; again, I am superstitious…but I will say that it is very slightly autobiographical, except in the work in progress there are a lot more murders than in my real life. Haha.
‘Most of My Days Revolve Around My Dog’
B Sudharsan: To writers who become discouraged when their work does not perform as well as they hoped, what would you say?
Jennifer Anne Gordon: I would say they should try to remember why they started writing in the first place. To remember the joy in it. I know how hard this is, and it’s all easier said than done. So, when this doesn’t work, I encourage writers to try writing something completely new, maybe try a new genre or try writing flash. Even using writing prompts or taking a class or workshop has helped me in the past.
B Sudharsan: If you could change one thing about the world, what would you most want to eliminate?
Jennifer Anne Gordon: If there was a way to eliminate cruelty, that would be the big one. I think that would cover most of the things I wish were different in this world.
B Sudharsan: Away from writing and your other creative pursuits, what does an ordinary day in your life tend to revolve around?
Jennifer Anne Gordon: I have a dog, so truthfully most of my days revolve around him, his snacks, his walks, and his playtime.
B Sudharsan: Last but not least, where can readers who would like to follow your work and read more of your personal essays find you?
Jennifer Anne Gordon: If anyone wants to know more about me or my work and subscribe to my Substack (where I share personal essays), all of that information can be found on my website at http://www.JenniferAnneGordon.com.
DO READ | Writing Beyond Retirement
I would say they (discouraged writers) should try to remember why they started writing in the first place. To remember the joy in it. I know how hard this is, and it’s all easier said than done. So, when this doesn’t work, I encourage writers to try writing something completely new, maybe try a new genre or try writing flash. Even using writing prompts or taking a class or workshop has helped me in the past.
~ JENNIFER ANNE GORDON
ENGAGE WITH LH | Click on the cover image of Perfect Wives, Perfect Lies, and grab yourself a copy right away!