In the noir genre, there is almost nothing more dangerous than the sexually empowered woman. I wanted to take that fear and danger and make it explicit for my femmes fatales—what if they really were using their sexuality to destroy men? It felt like both a timeless and a timely idea.

I think representation in fiction is always important. But I also think when writing about sex it wasn’t possible to imagine some of my characters not being fluid in their sexuality—that’s just not true to life, and it didn’t feel true to Jo or Lou, either. But I don’t think I ever specifically label them in the book, because I don’t think Jo would label herself as anything. It’s not Jo’s relationship to sex or to being queer that’s hardest for her to deal with in the novel; it’s the fact that she has feelings for Lou (and Jackal!) at all, that it’s not actually possible for her to be the hardened woman she’s always striving to be.

What do you hope readers take away from Jo and her story? What lessons can we learn from Jo’s example?

At the end of the novel, Jo speculates that the business started as a way for women to take back power, before pivoting into another way to assert power, and that original idea isn’t flawed per se. But eventually, if you’re working within an institutionalized system that prioritizes money over people, any good that might have happened along the way becomes secondary. I think there’s strength in community and standing up to power and the patriarchy, but I don’t know if it’s possible for that not to be corrupted when it becomes about the individual.

What is next for you?

Hopefully twenty-five more books with my name on them.

About the Author

Photo of the author © 2019 by Faizah Rajput

HALLEY SUTTON is a writer and editor who lives in Los Angeles. She is a frequent contributor to CrimeReads and a mentor for Pitch Wars, a program pairing published authors with up-and-coming writers. She holds a bachelor’s degree in creative writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a master’s degree in writing from Otis College of Art and Design. The Lady Upstairs is her debut novel.

Visit Halley Sutton Online

HalleySutton.com

Halley_Sutton

What’s next on
your reading list?

Discover your next
great read!

Get personalized book picks and up-to-date news about this author.

Sign up now.