280 – Neena Viel & Go Heinous or Go Home
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What is the premise of Neena Viel’s new novel ‘I’ll Watch Your Baby’?
Hello and welcome to Talking Scared. I'm your host, Neil McRobber, and we're infected with ghosts and insects. You'll hear why, because this week I'm talking to Nina VL. Last year saw her debut, Listen to Your Sister, which was very well received. and now she's back with her sophomore novel, I'll Watch Your Baby, a dual timeline story of child theft, social horrors, ghosts and or demons. It's ripe with disgust, both at the way a body can fall apart, and the ways a society can pervert the truth. Nina and I talk about all of that, in particular how her book was born from the real-world figure who inspired the welfare queen trope, and we get into the difference between rural and urban horror and the challenges of writing a truly compromise main character.
This may be a horrid book, but as you'll hear, Nina is one of the funniest and most high-energy guests we've had in a while. channel. I laugh louder than I'm used to. And if you enjoy the next hour, then please review wherever you listen. That really is crucial for indie podcasts like Talkin's cared. And go the old school route. Tell a friend who likes horror or likes reading. Tell them to listen. And to support the show, in very concrete terms, become a Patreon subscriber. For a few bucks a month, you get ad-free episodes and just tons of exclusive stuff to listen to. I just uploaded a half-hour review and analysis of the new movie Obsession, which you really must go see and listen to my take. That is all at patreon.com/slash talking.
Scared pod and thanks to subscribers. But now come with me to a bug-infested apartment in the city heat. Babies are crying, flies are buzzing, and the scent of rot hangs heavy in the air. Let's talk scared.
Hello Nina. Welcome to Talking Scared. How are you?
I'm doing great. Ready to be here.
Where in the world are you speaking to us from?
I'm speaking to you from a little island in the Puget Sound off the coast of Seattle.
Wow. Okay. That is that is isolated. And it's your biothospit a cabin.
Sort of, yeah. And um it's on a little five rural acres. I don't know how to plant not even one pot of lavender. So it's been an exciting journey. I feel like I only just went outside for the first time and it's at my house.
But that's an amazing so is that a thing you've done to sort of get away from just the suckage of everything else. Are you are you kind of in your own little world over there?
A little bit. I definitely hit a point where I was like, you know what? I think I'm just not like doing people at this phase of my life. I'm trying to have my only neighbors be deer and other woodland critters, you know, a little bit more palatable than humans. And uh yeah, we made the shift uh during the pandemic. I think it was everybody being home. I was like, wow, my neighbors are so annoying. I gotta get out of here. I gotta get far away.
Yeah, I I cannot tell you how much I sympathise and I like my neighbours, but I I live in this row of terraced houses and I've realized that I'm the problem. I just I can't people anymore.
Yeah.
And I like people, but on my own terms.
Yeah, no, I'm with you.
I am so jealous of your cabin, but are we talking how how cabin y is it? Are we talking on a scale of Little House on the Prairie to like Evil Dead Two? W where are we in in cabin terms?
I would say it's more a little house on the prairie. I'm not moving into an evil dead house, y'all. I mean, even though with the way housing prices are these days, I'm not blaming anybody who does.
Yeah.
Cause I'm like prices are such that if there is a ghost in here I'm just gonna we're just gonna have to live with it. And um it was a little bit of a of a chat with my husband because you can see in this house it maybe the residents before weren't like super happy. There are some like marks where maybe some violence was involved and
Oh wow.
My husband, yeah, he was just like, I'm getting, you know, a bad feeling about this. I'm like, baby, you're trying not not trying to buy this house because of that. Okay. Terrible things happen everywhere. Let's get it now, Achanel.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the premise of Neena Viel’s new novel ‘I’ll Watch Your Baby’?
0:11–8:43
2
How did the concept of the ‘welfare queen’ inspire the book’s story and themes?
8:43–18:10
3
Why does the novel focus on a morally ambiguous, criminal protagonist and how is her redemption explored?
18:10–27:57
4
What challenges did Neena face writing about extreme crimes like newborn baby theft?
27:57–37:27
5
How do rural vs. urban horror settings and the white‑fly motif shape the novel’s atmosphere?
37:27–46:06
6
What writing techniques does Neena use to create sensory overload and disorientation for readers?
46:06–55:16
7
Which other books does Neena recommend for fans of unsettling horror and why?
55:16–1:03:59
8
What final thoughts and takeaways does the host share about the episode’s discussion?
1:03:59–1:17:15
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from Talking Scared
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The Dark Tower Deep Dive #10 – Wolves of the Calla
288 – Danielle Giles & A Spoonful of Skulldust (Makes the Medicine Go Down)