Countdown to MOTHER-EATING! #1

The following post is written by Jess Hagemann, author of Mother-Eating, forthcoming from Ghoulish Books.

Twelve months from now, my sophomore novel Mother-Eating—a contemporary reimagining of the true story of French queen Marie Antoinette, set in Austin, Texas and featuring plenty of body horror—will come out from Ghoulish Books.

To celebrate, I’m counting down twelve BTS stories that went into the crafting of this book, starting with where it all began:

At Christmas 2017, my mother-in-law gifted me a 23andMe genealogy test. A little spit later, I was thrilled to find out I share a common ancestor with Marie Antoinette… inspiring me to learn all I could about this 18th-century monarch.

Because I already loved and agreed with Czech surrealist filmmaker Jan Svankmajer, who once told me in person how important it is to write your obsessions, I put pen to paper, over and over again, for years.

Mother-Eating was the result.

You can add it to your Goodreads TBR now, and pre-order through the Ghoulish Books webstore.

Note: All paperback pre-orders secured through the Ghoulish webstore before October 10, 2025 will be signed & personalized by the author.

Jess Hagemann’s recent work has appeared in Last Girls Club, Ghoulish Tales, and Sky Island Journal. Her debut novel Headcheese (2018) won an IPPY Award in Horror. Her sophomore novel Mother-Eating (2025) is forthcoming. She holds an MFA from the Jack Kerouac School, and is the proud recipient of writing residencies at McNeese State and Dear Butte. Austin, Texas is home.  More at www.jesshagemann.com.