Q&A: Emma Jackson, Author of ‘A House of Vipers’

We chat with author Emma Jackson about A House of Vipers, which is a new dark academia mystery that begins a year after a student’s mysterious disappearance when his brother finds clues that can help him and his friends solve their boarding school’s most elusive puzzle—and find his brother dead or alive.

Hi, Emma! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

Hi! My name is Emma Jackson and I’m an author of YA mystery and thriller novels. A House of Vipers is my debut—a dark academia mystery taking place at a boarding school in the mountains—and my sophomore novel, When Songbirds Bleed, is a survival thriller slated for summer of 2027.

When I’m not writing, I’m reading absolutely anything I can get my hands on. Mysteries and thrillers tend to be my favorite, but I also love fantasy, romance, and dystopian or apocalyptic stories. My other favorite hobby is playing cozy or choice-based video games like Stardew Valley, Coral Island, Life is Strange, Spiritfarer, and Astro Bot. And perhaps the most important fact about me—I’m a cat person! My husband and I have an orange tabby cat and he is the star of the show in our household.

When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?

When I was in second grade, my class was given an assignment to write a story. I wrote a very short story about myself and a few classmates solving a mystery at a haunted lighthouse. It was very much inspired by Scooby-Doo, and it lit the storytelling spark in my heart. I’d always loved telling stories—my parents recorded several home movies of me doing dramatic readings of the Three Little Pigs and Little Red Riding Hood—but this was the first time I realized I could tell stories of my own for others to enjoy. I ended up writing dozens of installments of my mystery story in my composition notebook, and my classmates would all pass it around to read each new edition. I knew from that point on that I wanted to be an author one day!

Quick lightning round! Tell us:

• The first book you ever remember reading: The Babysitter’s Club by Ann M. Martin!
• The one that made you want to become an author: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins helped me realize I wanted to be a YA author!
• The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Most recently, it would be This Raging Sea by De Elizabeth. It wrecked me!

Your debut novel, A House of Vipers, is out April 28^th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

Does not include real snakes!

What can readers expect?

Readers can expect a tight-knit found family cast that would do anything for each other, a secret society with brutal initiation rituals, ALL the hidden tunnels, an intense love triangle, a mysterious and historical boarding school setting, midnight adventures on campus, and lots of riddles, puzzles, and poems. They can also expect a mystery with clues that they can solve themselves if they’re paying attention, and an ending that gives them all the answers!

Where did the inspiration for A House of Vipers come from?

I wrote the first draft of Vipers in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic when I was spending a lot of time at home. I really needed something fun that felt like an escape, and I started brainstorming ideas that could provide that for me. I knew I wanted to write a story set at a boarding school, but then I watched the first season of Outer Banks on Netflix and was so inspired by the found family group on the show! Once the pieces of the plot materialized in my brain, I’m not sure I’ve ever written a first draft of anything so fast—it was just so fun. I was simply enjoying every minute in that world! The story has evolved quite a bit since then, but at its core, it’s still the story that brought me so much joy during a really dark and stressful time.

Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?

Weaving a web of interconnections into the mystery was a really fun and rewarding part of writing this book, but I also really enjoyed getting to explore the backstories of the three main characters. They each have a lot going on internally, and they’re complex in their own ways. Grayson’s story in particular is a special one to me. I relate strongly to different aspects of Sutter and Fallon’s personalities and arcs, but getting to know Grayson was different. Going into the first draft, I had a pretty strong image of who I wanted him to be—the broody, strong-and-silent one of the group—but he ended up presenting himself a little differently than I had initially planned for him to. Ultimately, it was important for me to get his arc right, so I spent a lot of time working to understand what motivates him and the things that make him who he is. I hope readers enjoy getting to know him, too!

Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?

The biggest challenge for me with this book (and truthfully, with most of the books I write) was the beginning. I hear other authors often talk about how the middle is the toughest part to write, but for me, it’s always the first few chapters. There’s so much riding on those! You want to hit the ground running and establish a good storytelling pace, but you also want to give enough background information for readers to care about the characters and keep turning pages. I have a tendency when drafting to want to frontload background information, and I had to really refine the early chapters in A House of Vipers so certain pieces of the backstory are revealed later on. Tightening up the beginning was by far the biggest hurdle with this particular story—I worked on it in every single revision.

This is your debut novel! What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?

It’s been a long journey to get here! I signed on with my literary agent when I was 18 years old and right about to start college. From there, we spent 8 years putting my books on submission with publishers before selling my debut. I faced countless rejections during that period of time, but I did the only thing I could do and kept writing. I can look back now and feel grateful for all the experience and knowledge I gained through the path to publication—there have been many lessons learned! I’m thrilled that A House of Vipers will be my first book. It feels right!

What’s next for you?

My next book is called When Songbirds Bleed. It’s a speculative thriller that follows a group of tight-knit childhood friends who endure a dangerous plane crash and are then taken in by a wilderness cult to survive. Ultimately, this book is a coming-of-age story mixed with themes of survival, belonging, manipulation, and the power to choose who you want to be.

My goal when I wrote the first draft of Songbirds was to take the things I loved about my debut and push them to the next level. I hope readers who enjoyed Vipers will want to return to my next book for another found family cast and an even more complicated love triangle! This book means so much to me—I really believe it’s special, and I’m excited to see how readers respond to it.

Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up this year?

An endless amount! Where do I begin? Some unreleased books that I’m so excited to read are You’re Dead to Me, Reed Walker by Gwenyth Reitz, In Case I Go Missing by R.N. Swann, The Heirs by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, and Bound by Fury by Noelle Monét. But there are truly too many to name!

Will you be picking up A House of Vipers? Tell us in the comments below!