Editors’ note: We asked author Josh Malerman to send us a few quotes about the creation of his latest novel Pictures of You, a story described by its publisher as “an intense Hitchcockian thriller” in which “a woman becomes the unknowing subject of an artist’s dangerous work.” Josh sent back something so good and so thoughtful that we decided to run it in full below. Think of it as the liner notes to his novel, which is out today. Thanks, Josh!
Pictures of You is totally about encouragement and discouragement and how a half-sentence ovation can change everything for you. I got a book about weird animals in apple trees for a present when I was a kid. I ripped the wrapping off and read the whole book to my parents. It was a kid’s book, but it was the first time I’d done the reading, right? Well, Mom and Dad clapped. And while I’m not saying they thought I was Cicero, I felt a wave of applause: I accomplished something. So, I read another book. And another. And fell in love with them. Then I started thinking of writing one myself… way back when…
Is this whole career due to my parents clapping the first time I read a book?
It really might be.
Halfway through Pictures of You I found myself siding with the artist. Sure, she’d crossed the line, but also… at least she’d found it. And I asked myself, if there was an exhibit like this in Detroit… empty frames upon easels, framing real life as if it were stills hanging in a museum, would I love it? Of course I would. The book is a lot about voice, finding it, then lassoing it, wrangling it from there. Or… for some… like our artist in the book… letting the voice run so free it gets dangerous.
There’s also the complicated relationship with art. Especially the one Emily has in the book. Why is she so embarrassed when the subject comes up? Why does she get mad when Jack, who is the furthest thing from a critic, brings the subject up? Why is she scared of the art museum? I relate to this in a way I can’t quite articulate. I’ve devoted my life to the arts, yet even a guy like me yields swirling feelings, weird overlapping and contradictory opinions. Maybe I’m just late to the party sometimes. But I pride myself on getting there. And always bringing a bottle.
I think if we take the most socially conscious comedians we can think of, like Richard Pryor and George Carlin let’s say, I think that after their shows, having fully expressed their perspective on the modern world in which they lived, the thing they fist pumped about would be: the audience laughed. And I think us horror authors and artists must have a similar root. Our books are going to mirror our era, no matter what period or world we build… but in the end, when I step into the green room after a show (after a book comes out), the nascent original horror fanatic in methinks: you did it. You scared them.
Pictures of You is a nod from me to that kid (also me) who fell in love with horror. And I’d love to say to him: A lot going on in there, huh? But forget all that. How about that horrifying scenario? How would you like to find yourself a… living still life, kid? And I think we’d both smile about that.
Pictures of You is available to read now. Read our review here. Josh Malerman is also the author of Bird Box, It Waits in the Woods, and Incidents Around the House which was adapted into a screenplay for upcoming horror film Other Mommy, which hits theaters October 9th.
