Get ready to learn more about the book The Fall That Saved Us in this discussion with sapphic author Tamara Jerée.
Join us for an exclusive peek behind the scenes as we quiz Tamara Jerée about The Fall That Saved Us, writing, reading, and more.
This book is part of the Paranormal category in the 2024 IHS Reading Challenge.
Why did you write The Fall That Saved Us?
I started drafting The Fall That Saved Us in 2020. I’d just graduated with my MFA in creative writing and was feeling incredibly burned out from the entire grad school experience, the job hunt, online debates over whether Black lives mattered, and the first year of the pandemic. I wanted to write something fun and escapist that reminded me of the YA paranormal romances I loved growing up. While I had fun drafting the story, its themes were heavier than I intended them to be, and I was discouraged about anyone wanting to read it. Before writing the last chapter, I ended up trunking it for a year.
When I was inspired to return to it, the theme of religious trauma really stood out to me and was something I focused on when revising Cassiel’s character arc. A lot of the additional worldbuilding grew organically from there. I needed to show a character moving from a place of fear to a place of confidence and power while not shying away from depicting the mental health struggles that often develop because of trauma. It was a very cathartic story to write in the end, and writing it also allowed me to be honest with myself and come out as a lesbian.
Who is your favorite character in the book?
Avitue! She’s the succubus love interest who’s sent to haunt Cassiel and steal her soul. She’s a fallen angel, instagram influencer, and self-described bad girl with a hobby of ripping out men’s hearts and flaunting it on camera. This character was so fun to write because of her antisocial disinhibition, and I loved showing how she and Cassiel bring out opposite and positive traits in each other. I’m the most reserved, anxious person ever, so it’s fun writing love interests who are bold and brash.
What inspired the idea for The Fall That Saved Us?
I started with the core idea of a demon hunter who was actually very bad at her job and didn’t want to be a demon hunter but still felt bound by duty to people and practices that were actively harmful to her. For the main character Cassiel, a successful arc meant giving her full permission to live the life she wants without regrets or feeling burdened by the past. The succubus, as a symbol of unconscious and forbidden desires, was perfect for heightening (and resolving!) this tension.
How did you come up with the title for your book?
I went through a lot of working titles! First, it was The Hands of Nephilim. Then it was a too-long title taken from a line I ended up cutting from the final draft anyway. Ultimately, I wanted something tied to both characters’ arcs and how they relate to each other. The nephilim, as angel descendants, believe one of them can “fall” if their soul becomes impure. And then with demons, there’s the obvious fallen angel story. Both characters are in this shame state of being rejected from their families and coping with that in opposite ways, but as the story progresses, they reclaim the concept of what it means to fall.
If you’re planning a sequel, can you share a tiny bit about your plans for it?
I wanted to write The Fall so that it worked as a stand-alone, but there’s so much I still want to explore with the characters and their world. The sequel picks up a couple months after the events of The Fall and is told largely in Avitue’s POV, so we’ll be getting a lot more from the demons’ side of things. An incubus from Avitue’s past shows up and causes big problems for everyone. Plus, Zuriel (Cassiel’s sister) is having a personal crisis.
What is your favorite line from your book?
This is a hard choice! I have a lot of sentences I labored over to get just right, but I think I’ll go with a simple line of dialogue! Avitue says, “I would fall again if it meant I landed here,” during a big turning point moment for her and Cassiel. I love this general sentiment because life is just like that sometimes! A terrible thing or series of things will happen and you’re desperate to go back to how things were before, but there’s something so much better on the other side of the chaos that you can’t see yet.
What is your writing process like?
I describe myself as a discovery writer! So I’m kind of in the middle of the plotter-pantser dichotomy. What “plotting” looks like for me: writing an “outline” that is really just snippets of scenes and images in what becomes a 6k note in my phone. I generally know the inciting incident and main turning points when I start writing, but everything in between is hazy. I also edit as I write, so it takes me longer to get down a first draft, but with the intensive editing, my first draft is more of a second because I’m revising as I progress in the story and learn more about the world and characters. I do wish I could do a traditional outline! But when I sit down to write, I love the feeling of telling myself a story I’ve never heard before.
Do you have any odd writing quirks?
Like a lot of neurodivergent folks, I’m fidgety, can’t sit straight with my feet flat on the floor, and like to pretzel myself into all kinds of shapes. I really only work at my desk when it’s revision time and I need the larger external monitor and mouse to efficiently view my editor’s notes and make changes. Otherwise, I’m in my reading chair, in bed under the weighted blanket, or on a couch with my cat and many pillows.
Do you have a pet who helps/hinders your typing?
Yes! Aforementioned cat is confused about why computer? is in lap? instead of her? excuse me? She’s a rescue I found on Petfinder when I lived in Mississippi and is about nine years old now. She’s a flame point siamese with sparkly blue anime eyes named Frejya! She looks very goddess-like and photogenic but is actually a goof (as all cats are). It’s impossible to take an unflattering photo of her. She’s very talkative and dog-like. For example, loves strangers and will run to the door to meet new people. She has no social anxiety. I wish I was so lucky.
What is the most valuable piece of advice you’ve been given about writing, and by whom?
Not so much advice but I did have a professor in my MFA program who would pencil line edits on every story we turned in. It helped me hone my voice and become conscious of my storytelling at the line level. I feel more confident building tone and atmosphere and really enjoy this kind of attention to detail. It’s one of my favorite things about writing now!
What has helped or hindered you most when writing a book?
My inner critic! Like I mentioned above, I ended up trunking my debut before finishing it because I thought no one would possibly want to read it–even though I hadn’t let anyone see it yet! I am always fighting my perfectionism. Not a unique struggle as a writer but my biggest block by far.
Are there any books or authors that inspired you to become a writer?
I devoured YA paranormal romance as a teen. Was a huge fan of the Twilight books. Loved Blood and Chocolate. Anything about dark creatures struggling with their inner monsters while also falling in love. These creatures are such great metaphors for universal human struggles, and the love story plot is a reassurance. Having the language of monsters is an accessible entry point into the heavier themes a lot of my work deals with.
Do you only read books in one genre or do you genre hop?
Genre hop! Grad school introduced me to literary fiction which has since become a big influence for me. These stories are character driven and often follow normal people doing average things and having thoughts about them, so there’s not a Big Plot in the usual fantasy sense. Within litfic, I’ve been reading a lot of the Woman Spirals and Has a Breakdown subgenre where reality becomes fractured and surreal. I don’t know! I want writers to beat me up but with an intellectual bent? I’ve also been diving into more horror! Specifically queer horror. I wanna read something that tells me about our inner worlds and shadow sides. The truth in the exaggeration can be really cathartic. I like this sort of discomfort and questioning and pushing.
