Velvet Hammer x Beneath
We’ve been collaborating with Ariel Sullivan on a special recipe in support of her newest book, Beneath. The author and mom of two shared more about her writing process, her favorite elixir, and what readers can expect next.
Q: What was the first spark for this series? A moment? A feeling?
A: This series started during COVID. I made an offhand comment to my husband after receiving a tracing text message that stated someone we had been around had tested positive for COVID. We debated whether to test or quarantine, and I said, ‘Sooner or later, we will have chips in our wrists that will alert us to any illnesses, deficiencies, or diseases. It will eradicate all sickness.’ I didn’t think much of it, went to bed, woke up at 2 am to nurse our youngest, and by then the idea had exploded in my subconscious. I finished nursing and didn’t go back to sleep. I outlined Conform that night.
Q: You’re writing a trilogy of trilogies. Have you mapped everything out, or are some parts still evolving?
A: I have mapped everything out in the sense of major plot moments, how each trilogy interlocks with the others, easter eggs, and how the timelines align. I don’t plot each chapter as I draft. I love to give my characters the freedom to get me from one plot point to the next.
Q: You’ve built a very dystopian world. Do you have any writing rituals that help you move in and out of the book's tone?
A: My only writing ritual is music. I listen to whatever song represents the scene I’m working on repeatedly until the scene is done. I’ve listened to certain songs hundreds of times.
Q: How do you get to know your characters? And how many times do their names change?
A: I get to know each character differently. Some are very forthright with their stories, others take time. There are certain things I always make sure to know about them—their biggest fear, the lies they tell themselves, what they want more than anything, core beliefs about themselves, and the world they are in. Names depend on the character as well. Some come with a name. Others, it’s like trying on clothes, waiting for the right fit.
Q: Where do you usually write? What’s your ideal atmosphere?
A: I can write just about anywhere, on planes, in cafes, and at the school pick-up line. I wrote Conform while we were all stuck at home for COVID. I wrote Beneath while my youngest was in school for only 4 hours a day. Then I wrote Core while on tour for Conform. I’ve learned to embrace the chaos. Ideally, though, if my kids are in school and I’m home, I weirdly love writing in my bedroom.
Q: When you’re writing, are you drinking anything? An elixir, perhaps?
A: My drink is dependent on the time of day. Hot black coffee in the morning, always. Typically, iced coffee in the afternoon, tea in the evening. Now you guys have entered the lineup! I have been swapping my afternoon coffee for Inner Light mixed with a little ginger beer. I also really love the Serenity at the end of the day when I reread anything I wrote that day before going to sleep.
Q: What should readers who haven’t yet read your books know about your work?
A: I love complex characters and the idea that no one is all good or all bad. I’m not afraid of tragic endings or cliffhangers.
Q: We have to know…what’s one trope you’ll just never get tired of?
A: Enemies to lovers. So cliché, but the idea of being loved at your worst will always get me.
Q: F***, marry, kill: paperback, hardcover, kindle?
A: This is hard! Why choose? Is that an option? If I had to…Marry hardcover—sturdy & pretty. F*** paperback—flexible & easy. Kill Kindle—no book smell & needs charging.
Q: Our name is a nod to the women who embody strength and power and femininity, in our favorite books and in real life. Who’s your favorite Velvet Hammer?
A: I could talk about the power of women all day! In real life, there are too many to name, both in my life and in history, whose stories have emboldened, guided, and changed my life. If I have to name one, it would be Jannetje Johanna (Jo) Schaft, also known as Hannie and ‘the girl with the red hair.’ Please look up her story. Books are just as difficult. I chose women who shaped my adolescence and my taste as a reader. Jo March, Elizabeth Bennett, Katniss Everdeen, and Hermione Granger.
