Henderson: My ideas came from a lot of places—my hometown, my own experiences in school, and of course my abiding love for magic school stories.
Originally, this story was supposed to be set in a different world. Many of the main characters were the same (Lennon, Dante, and Eileen were all present), but that version of the story didn’t quite click for me. I think I really cracked this book when I decided I wanted to set it in Savannah, Georgia, where I grew up. I’ve always wanted to write a Savannah book, and when I realized that’s what this story was meant to be, things just fell into place. I was so inspired by the gorgeous southern gothic aesthetics of Savannah, as well as my main character Lennon herself.
Paste: Let’s talk about Lennon’s journey in this book, which definitely goes to some dark and uncomfortable places. What was your main goal with her arc? And where does Dante fit into her story for you?
Henderson: With Lennon, I wanted to explore the jadedness and ennui of a young adult who feels like their life is already over. I conceptualized her as this former gifted and talented kid whose mental health, and by proxy life, took a turn for the worse somewhere around high school. As a result, her adult life is nothing like what she imagined it would be. Her childhood hopes and dreams have been thoroughly dashed, and when we meet her at the beginning of the novel, she’s at rock bottom.
Starting there gave me the opportunity to really watch her grow and evolve—sometimes in dark and pretty terrifying ways. With her arc, I really wanted to explore the metamorphosis that people endure when they go from powerless to powerful. As for Dante, I think that he and Lennon are echoes of each other.
Both of them have amassed power as a means of self-protection, and their various traumas inform a lot of their decisions. But where Dante practices control and restraint Lennon is, to be frank, a little unhinged. That stark difference created a lot of tension on the page, and it made their dynamic really fun to explore.
Paste: I am fascinated by the bits of the story where it’s so clear that Lennon has a dark, violent side and is capable of doing some truly disturbing things in the name of survival (whether that means literally fighting for her life or securing her place at Drayton or what have you). How did you kind of figure out where the line is for her, between dangerous and monstrous or not?
Henderson: I’m not sure that I really know what the line is for Lennon. I think that’s what I found so thrilling about her, as a character.
The depths of her—I’ll just say it—depravity, were really kind of unknowable. She made this book impossible to plot because I never really knew what decision she’d make until I was actively writing a scene. She just surprised me at every turn. Ultimately, I think I had to accept that Lennon has the capacity for great violence and harm, but also empathy and loyalty too. She’s all over the place.
Paste: The supporting characters in this book are so rich and interesting. Did you come up with any facts or backstories about any of them that couldn’t fit into this book? (Claude and Benedict, in particular, kind of break my heart.)
Henderson: I did! Lennon’s mom forced her into some acting/commercial work as a child. Claude is old Southern money and was mostly raised by his shopaholic grandmother. One of Benedict’s greatest passions in life is gardening, and some of his first “dates” with Claude took place in his home garden. There’s a brief mention of a romance audiobook that Dante and Lennon listened to (in a car that they stole). Dante enjoyed that audiobook so much he bought the sequel and listened to it on his own time.
Paste: Relatedly, it’s very obvious how much of this book exists outside the book, if that makes sense, how much you as an author had to kind of visualize and map out this world and its characters and its magic system for its story to work. How’d you keep all the lore and histories straight?
Henderson: Honestly…it was kind of chaotic. I gave this book so many passes, and I have to thank my publishing team here because all of us worked so hard to make sure the lore, history, character backstories, and magic system were consistent. I think large parts of this story exist in my head, but I also owe such a huge thank you to my team and my partner, for taking on the burden of this story and helping me ensure that everything in my head made its way to the page coherently.
With a story like this one, I think it’s easy to lose perspective and hit burnout before the book is even complete. I’m so grateful that I had people to keep me grounded and to help me through what turned out to be a pretty challenging writing process.
Paste: Do you think you’d ever write another story in this universe? The ending does a lovely job of feeling like an ending and also like there’s still room for more if you get the itch for it.
Henderson: Thank you! I have no plans to write another story in this universe, but I always like to leave the door cracked open! Writing An Academy for Liars was one of the biggest challenges of my career, but it was also really fun and weirdly cathartic. If the right story comes to me one day, I’m definitely open to writing a sequel.
Paste: What’s next for you as an author? Are you working on anything you can tell us about? (Yes, absolutely this is me fishing for info about that The Year of the Witching sequel, by the way.)
Henderson: I’m working on three books right now but none of them have been officially announced so I can’t say too much! I can drop a few hints though: R.V., bridesmaid, confession.
No news on The Year of the Witching front…but one day I do hope that I’ll be ready to return to that world.
Paste: And my most important question I ask everyone is, what are you reading right now? Anything you’re seen lately that our readers should make sure to keep an eye out for in the coming months?
Henderson: Rachel Harrison’s So Thirsty came out recently, and I stayed up super late (while on deadline!) to finish reading it. I’m also really looking forward to The Scorpion Queen by Mina Fears, The Maiden and Her Monster by Maddie Martinez, and literally whatever Alix E. Harrow writes next.
An Academy for Liars is available now wherever books are sold.
Lacy Baugher Milas is the Books Editor at Paste Magazine, but loves nerding out about all sorts of pop culture. You can find her on Twitter @LacyMB
