A Deep Dive Into Suspense, Creation, and Secrets
Michael Mullin’s Gothic Revival blends gothic tradition with modern suspense, exploring creation, hubris, and the weight of secrets within a graduate reunion.
Michael Mullin is an author whose career began with a darkly twisted fairytale trilogy, setting the tone for his evolving literary style. Best known for his intricate storytelling and deep character exploration, he has garnered both awards and industry recognition. Michael’s early career as a marketing writer for Disney and other major studios eventually gave way to his passion for writing novels, after he grew disillusioned with the consumerism he was part of. He now resides in Pasadena, California, with his wife Dani and their dog Finn, remaining fiercely loyal to his New England sports allegiances despite living in California since 1996. In this interview, Michael discusses his latest novel, Gothic Revival, a modern homage to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Set around a reunion of former graduate students, the novel explores themes of hubris, creation, and secrets, drawing on the rich gothic tradition. Michael also delves into the creative process behind his book, the challenges of writing multiple perspectives, and his approach to building suspense. As he embarks on his next thriller inspired by Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, Michael continues to captivate readers with his mastery of psychological tension and complex storytelling.
Michael Mullin crafts a slow-burn thriller that hooks readers with rich characters and tense psychological drama.
Your tagline says Gothic Revival is “inspired by the creation of Frankenstein.” How so?
As many know, Mary Shelley created Frankenstein as part of a ghost story writing competition proposed by Lord Byron in 1816 at the Villa Diodati in Switzerland. Also present were Mary’s fiancé Percy Shelley, her half-sister Claire Claremont, and Byron’s doctor John Polidori. Gothic Revival is about a reunion of five friends from a creative writing graduate program. The one who organizes the reunion has become obsessed with the similarities between their group and the Diodati one: a couple, a free spirit, a PhD, and himself, a successful screenwriter, as the Byron parallel. He inspires them to return to their roots as writers with a ghost story activity, but in truth, he has called the reunion for very different reasons.
Is he the “monster among us” that the book cover alludes to?
That’s a distinct possibility.
Is it fair to say the homage to Shelley’s masterpiece doesn’t end there?
Very fair. I wanted to be subtle but consistent with parallel themes and such. For example, hubris acts as a primary plot mover. The idea of writing fiction, creating characters and bringing them to life provides an obvious parallel. Themes like secrets as well as being judged and misunderstood come into play. Also, my characters pitch and read from the stories they’re writing providing an occasional story-within-a-story structure that’s also a nod to Frankenstein.
How did the idea for this novel come to you?
I’ve always been a fan of the classic, gothic stories like Frankenstein, Dracula, Jekyll & Hyde, House of Usher and such. I came across a reference to Villa Diodati and refreshed my memory of that story. I dove into more of the genre and time period, including the collection of German stories translated to French then English, titled Fantasmagoria. This was the book Byron read to his guests that summer, inspiring them to create their own ghost stories. My host character, Eric, inspires his old friends to write ghost stories, which proved to be a good set-up for my readers. I knew I could write about adults who got MFAs in Creative Writing long ago, because I’m one of them.
Do you know your plot points and twists beforehand or do they surprise you as you write?
A little of both. Knowing what I think is going to happen is a motivator for me, but that thing doesn’t always happen the way I first envision it, if at all. Gothic Revival went through several drafts that are quite different from one another. It’s interesting to look at the old versions and remember plot lines and even minor characters who didn’t make the final cut. One thing I’ve gotten good at over the years is the domino effect of plotting a story. If this happens, how does it affect that, and that, and that. An important part of the craft is choosing and designing events that work in both a micro sense (for example, a moment of surprise) and the macro sense: all the events contributing to the success of the overall story.
The four guests have alternating chapters. Were there any unexpected challenges writing from multiple points of view?
You always want your characters to have their own, distinct voices. For me, being entirely in the head of each character during her or his chapter helped to that end. At times I had to move plot points around which would often take them out of one character’s chapter and into another’s. The rewrites had to bear that in mind for even though the conversations might remain the same, the introspective thoughts offered to the reader had to change because they were coming from a different person. You can’t help but get in tune with each member of the ensemble.
There’s a kind of slow-burn suspense build in Gothic Revival. How did you arrive at that approach?
That was intentional for a number of reasons. One early reader wanted things ramped up and off the rails sooner, but that didn’t work for me. The people invited to the villa would just call an Uber and leave. I felt that the characters should wonder and at times be uneasy with what’s going on, but it all has to be realistic. If they feel fear, they need the voice on their other shoulder telling them the fear’s irrational. Readers don’t have to think it’s irrational; they only need to believe that the character is realistically having that internal debate.
Is this your first book in the thriller genre?
Sort of. My Hamlet retelling, which is titled Simon, is a compelling revenge story in which a young man plots to kill his uncle. I know from the reviews that I was successful building suspense, despite the story being so well known. Writing that had more of a puzzle aspect to it, manipulating the plot of the original to make everything fit in a modern setting. I took some liberties which I’ve been told are clever, so that was nice.
What’s next for you?
My new thriller is inspired by Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. It’s a contemporary story that harkens back to a serial killer from the 1970s.
