YA Book Chat

Author Interview: Jamison Shea (I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast is Me)

Today I am chatting with debut author Jamison Shea about their brand new book, I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast is Me.

Join Jamison and me as we chat about this thrilling dark horror story about a girl who  knows what she wants, and has to decide how far she will go to get it. Jamison and I dive into their writing style, research, character and world building, and more! If you love creepy horror stories, this is the one for you!

Entire episode is 100% spoiler free!

A little about I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast is Me:

Laure Mesny is a perfectionist with an axe to grind. Despite being constantly overlooked in the elite and cutthroat world of the Parisian ballet, she will do anything to prove that a Black girl can take center stage. To level the playing field, Laure ventures deep into the depths of the Catacombs and strikes a deal with a pulsating river of blood.

The primordial power Laure gains promises influence and adoration, everything she’s dreamed of and worked toward. With retribution on her mind, she surpasses her bitter and privileged peers, leaving broken bodies behind her on her climb to stardom.

But even as undeniable as she is, Laure is not the only monster around. And her vicious desires make her a perfect target for slaughter. As she descends into madness and the mystifying underworld beneath her, she is faced with the ultimate choice: continue to break herself for scraps of validation or succumb to the darkness that wants her exactly as she is―monstrous heart and all. That is, if the god-killer doesn’t catch her first.

From debut author Jamison Shea comes I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me, a slow-burn horror that lifts a veil on the institutions that profit on exclusion and the toll of giving everything to a world that will never love you back.

Content Warning:

Blood, gore, bones, corpses, ritualistic self-harm (with the purpose of summoning a nonhuman entity), body horror, an instance of body-shaming related to ballet, non-graphic torture, murder, vomit, and a very toxic relationship.

There are also themes around classism, racism, parental neglect, and abandonment that are not graphically depicted but still permeate the work.


Check out Jamison Shea's website
Follow Jamison on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter
Purchase I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast is Me

A special thank you to Jamison Shea for being my guest today! And thank you as well to Chantel Gersch at MacMillian Children's Publishing group (Fierce Reads) for setting up the interview!

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