Ayr Writers’ Club took a turn for the gothic on Wednesday night as we welcomed our fourth speaker of the year, Carolyn Jess-Cooke, aka CJ Cooke.
Carolyn has written 16 novels which have been translated into over 23 languages. The Lighthouse Witches, published in 2021, has been optioned for TV by the Picture Company and Studio Canal.
Carolyn began by explaining that she felt drawn to gothic as a genre because it explores what happens when the known world collapses and the unknown steps forward. She uses her work to explore themes of feminism, despair and trauma.
She then took us through a whistlestop tour of her published works. The Guardian Angel’s Journal was her first book, published in 2011. By the time she published The Nesting in 2020, she was trying to tone down the weirdness present in it, thinking that it wouldn’t be popular. Her publisher disagreed, much to Carolyn’s delight. Her next book, The Lighthouse Witches, covers witch trials and giving a voice back to historical female figures that have been lost over the years.
Through The Ghost Woods (2022), A Haunting in the Arctic (2023) and The Book of Witching (2024), she continued to explore women’s roles in society throughout history, both distant and recent.
She also published Bad Tourists this year under the pen name Caro Carver. While her publisher disagreed, Carolyn thinks it’s also a gothic novel, with her signature feminist themes coming through.
Her books require extensive research and we were fascinated to hear about how much work goes into her writing (trip to Iceland, anyone?).
After the break, we were treated to a reading from The Book of Witching. Many of us left with copies at the end of the night, desperate to know what happens next.
Then it was our turn to get writing. Carolyn gave us a prompt and 15 minutes to see what we could come up with. The prompt couldn’t have been more gothic.
A new owner moves into an old house. They discover a hidden doorway, leading to a room with a bookcase inside. On one of the shelves is an old, unopened letter with the new owner’s full name written on the front.
Creepy or what?
Carolyn was then gracious enough to answer questions on her writing process, editing, and everything else we threw her way.
A pleasant and inspiring evening was had by all.
Kirsty Hammond