Interview: “Blue Bride” by Alicia Cay
A coastal mansion, a missing brother, and a legacy of violence—some doors are locked for a reason.
In “Blue Bride,” Alicia Cay reimagines the classic Bluebeard fairy tale through a gothic, gender-flipped lens. When Nathaniel Throne arrives at a secluded coastal mansion searching for his newly married and now missing brother, he steps into a chilling mystery steeped in violence, memory, and saltwater sorrow. Dreamlike, eerie, and emotionally resonant, this story blends fairy tale echoes with the slow, relentless pull of the sea—and the past.
Interview Questions
What does “haunted” mean to you—and how does that idea show up in your story?
I think the most common definition of haunted makes us all think of ghosts or spirits that cannot rest, and they do show up in this story. Personally though, I prefer the more psychological version of what haunted can mean—the torments created in our minds when we’re left alone in the dark.
I hope the latter definition shows up for the readers through the mysterious back stories of these characters. I mean, what happened to Anna that this is what she’s come to be? What must it have been like for Luella growing up with Anna; to be raised by a mother who hacks her lovers to bits and involves her daughter in luring in new victims? Then there’s our MC, Nathaniel; driven to this place in anguish over his brother’s disappearance, tormented by the ghosts of the Wright Mansion, and terrorized by Anna. But perhaps worse than all those things is how we leave Nathaniel at the end of the story. He’s put the spirits to rest, but he will forever be a haunted man because of what he’s done.
The story has such a classic gothic feel—windswept coast, haunted mansion, tragic secrets. What do you enjoy about writing stories like this?
I love that exact vibe about gothic ghost stories! And for this story, I wanted that juxtaposition of the sea and the snow. I’m from a sunny, beach-lined place, and so the idea of frost forming on the crests of waves and snow piling up on the eaves of an old mansion was just too good a gloomy and uncomfortable setting to pass up writing about.
The ambiguity around Luella was great. Was she complicit in the murders, or just another victim? Or do you know?
I love that you asked this question! There not too much mentioned about her in the story which adds, I like to think, to the mystery surrounding her and Anna. I believe she’s both a victim (of her mother) and also complicit in the murders. Luella is a grown woman in the story, and has, arguably, the ability to make her own choices about that complicity—or does she? She’s a woman forged beneath the shadow of her mother, who is definitely the true psychopath here, but also, we have to look at the time period of the story and a woman’s role in society at that time. Perhaps this is what makes her as tormented a character as the others in this story.
You reworked a classic fairy tale into something eerie, gender-swapped, and emotionally layered. What challenges—or freedoms—did you encounter while writing your own version of Bluebeard?
I think there’s some freedom in reworking a fairy tale, the plotline has already been laid out, and the reader’s familiarity with them goes a long way. After that, it’s all up to the writer as to how much we want to change, keep the same, embellish, or build on. That’s what makes retellings so fun!
I stuck to the basics of this fairy tale with the main character Anna stepping in as Bluebeard and that there’s a madness to her (and Bluebeard) that is never explained. Then we have that both stories center around the sole victims that survived their encounters with these monsters.
From those shared points, I took a short dive into: why did these characters make it when so many others were lost? And from there built some of those emotional layers you mentioned. For Nathaniel, it’s his love for his brother that’s brought him to the Wright Mansion, and his brother’s love for him that ultimately saves his life.
How is Anna able to love her daughter as deeply as she does, when she’s also quite the prolific murderess? Or imagine how all-consuming the anger and injustice must be to keep those restless spirts tied to this place. Madness.
What are you working on now—and what’s fun or exciting about it?
I’m writing my first novel. I’ve been doing short fiction for about 10 years, and it’s both exciting and a bit scary to finally break into the long fiction game (although it’s always been my goal to be a novelist). I know more about writing than if I were just starting out, but also, I’ve gotten so much practice keeping things short and getting in an entire world in less word count, that now the challenge is going to be how to add words—Lol! Still, I’m embracing the challenge, allowing myself to be terrible at it if that’s how it turns out, and it’ll be beyond exciting to finish an entire book and at last be able to call myself a novelist!! ❤️
About the Author
Alicia Cay is a writer of speculative and mystery stories. Her short fiction has appeared in Galaxy’s Edge magazine and in several anthologies including Unmasked from WordFire Press and The Wild Hunt from Air and Nothingness Press. She suffers from wanderlust, collects quotes, and lives beneath the shadows of the Rocky Mountains.
Find Alicia at: aliciacay.com
Read the Story
“Blue Bride” appears in Haunted Places, available now from Blackbird Publishing.
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