Acclaimed horror writer, editor, voice actor, podcaster, and artist Gemma Amor tells us about the genesis of ITCH!, her latest feminist horror hitting shelves just in time for spooky season.
Name: Gemma Amor (she/her)
Based in: Bristol, UK
What genres/subgenres are you drawn to?
Femgore, women’s lit, gothic, folk horror, body horror, cult horror
Is writing your full-time focus, or do you have a day job as well? What do you do?
It was my full-time focus until very recently, when I joined the behind the scenes team at the NoSleep podcast, who I have known and written stories for for years. Now I come up with fun ideas to help the show connect with listeners old and new.
The Book: From Pen to Print
What was the genesis of this book? Where did you get the idea from?
ITCH!, first and foremost, is a commissioned novel, so this might be a slightly different response to the approach I usually take when I am inspired by a scene, a conversation, a song, a place, or a movie, and that is the usual start of my novel writing journey. In this instance, Hodder wanted me to write them a book with certain themes, and with a certain inciting incident in mind: the finding of a dead body in the woods. The rest, I built from there—my love of walking in the Forest of Dean, of folklore, ritual, my feelings about growing up in rural England, my thoughts on dynamics between women and their place in the world, my Daddy issues, and much, much more.
How many drafts did you go through before you felt it was ready to query? How long did that take you?
Again, this was a book I was asked to write directly by an editor at Hodder so no querying involved, thank goodness. I try to nail a book in the first draft, and then editorial take over. We did one developmental edit, one line edit, and about three more edits after that for good measure.
Once it was in the hands of your publisher, what was the process to get it ready for release?
We turned this one around very quickly, all things told—my first draft, 140k words roughly, was written and delivered in six months. It took only a few months more to make it ready for ARCs and to start the marketing process (although I always start that the day I begin writing). Usually I would take longer for a novel of this length but the pace was also useful to keep things propulsive and lend the latter part of the novel a little urgency that was perhaps not quite present in the opening chapters. I do find that a schedule can dictate the mood and tone of a book, which is something I now bear in mind when writing other novels.
For the first time ever, I was sent a full marketing plan. I’ve written 15 books thus far and this was the first where commitment to ad spend, point of sale marketing, and a comprehensive press and PR plan plus a book tour and events were allocated to me; I nearly burst into tears when I read the document!
And now your book is about to be unleashed on the world! How are you feeling?
Incredibly nervous and excited. I feel a huge amount of (self-imposed) pressure to succeed, particularly with a novel which has received so much support from my publisher Hodder & Stoughton. I am conscious of not wanting to let anyone down, and also have ambitions to hopefully work with Hodder again in the future, which of course will depend on how well ITCH! does when it hits bookstands. I am also happy this will finally be out in the world after so much hard work and anticipation (in the UK at least; the US hardback pub date is in Jan 2026) and can hopefully take my foot off the promo pedal a little after it releases and get back to writing other projects tugging at my brain.
What would you like us to know about this book?
ITCH! is atmospheric, moody, and quite deliberately icky in parts, purposefully so. Central themes of how women interact with each other (always a bit of a misfire in many horror movies and books, which bores me) and collaborate to problem-solve were deeply important to me as I wrote this, as was leaning into my love of the land, of storytelling, of customs and strange traditions that may or may not be holding us back as a nation.
Who’s the ideal reader for this one? What sort of things do they like to read about?
Folklore, history, murder mysteries, beautiful woodlands, bodily autonomy or lack thereof. Female narratives.
Your writing process
Are you a plotter or pantser or somewhere in between? How do you do your first draft?
I am an absolute chaos beast of a pantser. I write snippets and vignettes and string them together like a weird, beaded necklace. Eventually the pieces make sense. I hope.
How do you approach writing? Are you the type of writer who needs to treat it like a job? Is there a particular time of day you find best for you to write?
I write every day in the mornings, my focus petering out about lunchtime, when I switch to admin and promotional stuff. I need total silence or one particular playlist of ambient synthwave. I need coffee or it doesn’t happen. I have a few fiddle and focus tools on my desk, crystals mostly, and I find lighting a candle or two for atmosphere helps. I have been known to write a lot in my local café as the change of scene from my home does me good.
Geek out about stationery: do you use a notebook? A specific type of pen? Or are you computer all the way?
I am a horrid cliché human; I have stacks of notebooks littered on every surface of my house. I am sure they will make for largely incoherent reading once I have popped my clogs.
Is any of that different for editing?
I despise editing. I do it begrudgingly with bowls of snacks.
Where do you work? Do you have a comfy, creative space at home or are you someone who has to grab the moment wherever it comes?
I have an office at home set up with stacked bookshelves, art, trinkets, framed accolades and tour paraphernalia. It is a little safe hole from the world outside.
(Photo by pure julia on Unsplash)
What’s your writing soundtrack?
Ambient, synthwave, brown noise, white noise, ADHD focus music, Lane 8.
Do you have a writing ritual?
Just do it every day. The rest will follow.
Where can we follow you / find out more about your work?
I am splattered all over social media as @manylittlewords, or you can Google me or visit gemmaamorauthor.com
ITCH! is released to the masses this Thursday, 9 October, through Hodder & Stoughton. Get yours here.
Pictured below: some of Gemma’s other books. Get the details on her website.
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