An Interview with Marnie Vinge: The Haunting of Solomon House
Marnie Vinge is a novelist and storyteller as well as the creator of the podcast, Eerie Okie. She first started writing at the ripe age of 7, creating a science fiction horror story about a monster that lived in seaweed off the coast of Corpus Christi. Since then, she's stretched her wings by writing urban fantasy, paranormal romance, and horror.
What inspired you to write the Haunting of Solomon House?
As you know, I host a podcast called Eerie Okie. It focuses on dark history, true crime, and strange phenomena in Oklahoma. One of the reasons I’m so into stuff like this is probably due to the media I consumed as a teenager. One of my favorite shows in early college was Destination Truth, hosted by Josh Gates and featured on the then Sci-Fi now SyFy channel. That series definitely influenced the creation of the characters in this novel.
Also, when I was a little girl, my dad worked a lot at night in the computer room at our house. And when he was working, he’d have talk radio on. Most people in the paranormal community know that the biggest radio program in that arena is Coast to Coast AM. My dad loved to listen to that. I can remember being a kid and I’d hang in the doorway, watching him work. He’d spot me and say, “Do you have your tin foil hat? You need a tin foil hat if you want to come in here and listen to this with me.”
My relationship with my father has a lot to do with the creation of this series as well. He died in 2006 and we had a stormy relationship. We butted heads about damn near everything. I’m a lot like him in a lot of ways, particularly my avoidance of emotions and feelings. I don’t like Disney movies because they make me feel too much. And that legacy of emotional distance between him and I left a gaping chasm when he died that I didn’t expect to be there.
After he passed away, I went through a lot of other trauma. Sexual assault, abusive relationships, substance abuse, and a mental health crisis that lasted almost a decade. Because of that, I didn’t feel safe enough to grieve, I think. And once I healed, I realized I had this ache in my heart from his death that I’d never dealt with. Ironically, the fall of the pandemic became a time to safely grieve my father.
And so, Blair Graves was born.
What came first, plot or characters?
Definitely the characters. I wanted to write a story about a Josh Gates-like guy originally. In the beginning, the character of Cash Kelly came first. He was actually going to be the main character. I kind of had this vision of a Scooby-Doo-esque series of stories. Monster of the week type stuff. But every time I sat down to write it, it wasn’t working. Something was missing.
This is kind of my process a lot of the time, actually. Characters usually appear for me before the actual plot. So once I was knee-deep in processing my dad’s death, Blair sort of came to me. And writing her character with Cash Kelly’s right next to her seemed like an obvious choice. It all just clicked and made sense.
Is this your favorite book that you've written so far?
Hands down. This is probably the most fun I’ve had writing anything in my life. The dialogue scenes came so naturally. I think the characters have great chemistry and the overall plot is something I’m very emotionally invested in. This series is a perfect example of me feeling like I’ve beaten the system by doing this for a living. I almost feel guilty about it.
What was the most surprising thing you discovered while writing The Haunting of Solomon House?
Probably the three-dimensional person that my father actually was. When he died, I was angry at him. I was angry at the universe. Angry at the world. I felt like I’d been cheated out of knowing my father, but I was nineteen and too immature to articulate that thought completely. So it came out in anger. I held a very flat image of who he was as a person in my mind for a long time. And it was in processing that grief that I allowed myself to feel the good memories as well as the bad, and by so doing, see him as a well-rounded individual with flaws and extremely good qualities. It’s a journey that I want to take Blair’s character on throughout the rest of the series.
Who is your favorite character from the book?
This is tough, but probably Cash. I enjoyed getting to incorporate his character into the story and it felt very effortless. Like this is where he belonged from the beginning. I have a lot more I want to reveal about his past and his relationships that will be coming in some of the next books.
If you had to describe Blair in three words what would they be?
Mixed-up. Snarky. Hurt.
If you were making a movie of this book who would you cast?
Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Hemsworth.
Is there a playlist for this book? Other inspiration?
I have several Pinterest boards relating to the series and the characters! I haven’t made a public playlist, but that’s definitely something I’m considering. I have several that I use when I’m working.
What comes next?
On to book two in the series! I have a title and a preliminary cover. I’m super excited to reveal those, probably later this month!