Talk to Me by Peaches
I think of Jenny Greenteeth in my debut JENNY WILL EAT YOU NOW as a being of unvarnished desire. She’s a roving id attached to a green, humanoid form that hungers for flesh in more ways than one. “Talk to Me” by Peaches embodies that sense of obsession and rage she has when she meets a man and has to figure out if she wants to love or devour him. Early in the narrative, when our human hero hasn’t yet realized he’s pursued by this creature, she’s infuriated he would exist without knowing she does, too. This is Jenny demanding his attention, wanting his acknowledgement without her making any effort herself. Why would a woman who sets herself apart from humanity think of making herself vulnerable? It’s much easier to burn for that attention without doing a thing, of course. “Talk to Me” is a stalker anthem in that sense, but much like “Every Breath You Take” by The Police, a ballad that’s made its way onto a lot of wedding playlists, I think it’s a song about an unearned sense of ownership that’s a critical part of a crush. I would caution against mistaking that sense of entitlement for “love,” but it’s certainly a sign of an all-consuming “want.” This song helped me get into the head of my beloved, monstrous main character and access my own sense of disappointment, fury, and thwarted longing.
Faceshopping by SOPHIE
For Jenny, it’s difficult to fit herself into the mold of “human” much less “human woman.” She literally has to shop for a new face. The clanging, power tool lunge and fall of “Faceshopping” reminds me of the effort it takes to fit into the narrow box that is socially acceptable “femininity,” a thing Jenny has to do when she goes out among humans much less have any hope of attracting one. It’s hard work to convince people you belong! The performer SOPHIE, who has sadly passed, contributed a hyperpop piece to the zeitgeist that I think does a great job in showing the shock and peculiarity of the modern world and its obsession with materialism and what people choose to reveal about themselves. Jenny submerging herself in the current trends and standards of our reality, including eyebrow plucking and shaving, are among her early challenges in the novel. It’s something I doubt she would meet easily without the aid of side characters Faun and Clyde. As a satyr and selkie, respectively, they struggle with passing in the contemporary world, too, and the shocks that come from a long life among ever-evolving cultural standards. Yet I think that prepares them well for helping Jenny along into our milieu.
Swimming Pools (Drank) by Kendrick Lamar
Being at parties can make you very aware of your own awkwardness and shortcomings. I find it to be true and so does Jenny. Kendrick Lamar’s party song here communicates that sense of dislocation without sacrificing fun. This is the song I thought about during a latter part of the novel where Jenny has ended up in an abandoned building of transient young people having a party. She doesn’t quite belong there, no, but does anyone? She’s a monster capable of feeding on her hosts, but when everyone else is having a great time, it’s hard not to enjoy yourself at least a little. Socializing, I think, can be a lot like swimming, pushing past your own mental barriers to arrive at a shared moment of community. In becoming a part of the human world, whatever her own history and hang-ups, Jenny has to push herself to find that instant of recognition. “Swimming Pools” touches on the difficulties of peer pressure, too, but it’s also about leaping into the deep end and seeing if you can swim.
Damn Fool by Exuma
“You thought you married a woman / You married a big black bird,” Exuma cries! Jenny’s not a bird, but she is a predator. Zeke, a human man with a longstanding interest in the supernatural, has his own choices to make and they involve the idea of embracing a more interpersonal relationship with a non-human entity. Jenny, who sustains herself with human flesh, is not an easy partner to have when you are made of that same flesh. Exuma’s “Damn Fool” is a cautionary song about choosing foolishly when it comes to a bride. Yes, it’s fun to be attracted to someone you think is gorgeous and powerful, but what’s it like to live with her? If they pursue a relationship that lasts beyond a few days, will Zeke be expected to hide dead bodies and lie? Will the neighbors wonder what’s happening when he ages and Jenny doesn’t? The story is told through Jenny’s perspective, her interiority central to the novel, but I spent a lot of time thinking about who Zeke is and what he might get out of dating a woman who feeds on his fellow mortals. The musician Exuma here takes a dim view of a man who follows his heart. Much like the frenetic beat and energy of “Damn Fool,” however, Zeke’s first reaction to consummating desire is euphoria.
Waterbound by Fretless
I think a lot of bluegrass has a sense of longing and this song nails that. I also think it’s a great piece about solitude. JENNY WILL EAT YOU NOW is a romance not just in that it’s a story of falling for a man but also because it’s about falling for humanity, embracing the full breadth of emotions and terrible, gnawing self-awareness. The horror in this story is from the blood and guts spilled in the process but also the sense that, once you care about things, you open yourself up to their loss. Jenny, while alone, doesn’t have to understand she feels lonely; it’s only when she comes into contact with others that she has to deal with a sense of what she’s been missing and may one day miss. Yes, entangling herself with this man is important for her now, but humans all either leave or die eventually. One day, she’ll be alone, bound to the water in which she was born and in which she will always return. I think I’ve made a lot of room for dark humor in this novel, but I also wanted to leave some space for the eventual sadness that comes with caring for others. Breaking one’s heart is not something a man-eating creature has to worry about. A woman who chooses to love someone though? Yes, heart break is inevitable, but it can even be something worth embracing.
JENNY WILL EAT YOU NOW by Gillian Daniels
Sometimes you want to eat the ones you love…right? In this gorgeous horror-romance, river monster Jenny Greenteeth stalks a handsome academic through Boston after a chance encounter leaves her hungry and curious about the world she’s been hiding from.
Jenny Greenteeth prefers to keep her own company beneath the streets of Boston, where she’s lived for hundreds of years. With a conviction that she is far superior to humans—who are petty, dangerous, and fragile—she has no qualms about satisfying her hunger with their flesh. That is, until she comes face to face with a human man who, for the first time, she doesn’t want to eat (but also…she kind of does). Confused by these conflicting feelings, Jenny is intrigued.
So, when two city-dwelling cryptids take up residence in her station, she (begrudgingly) asks them to help her find this mystery man. Along the way, Jenny experiences the modern world for the first time—discovering catcalling, pigeons, protests, fashion, friendship, and Dunkin’ Donuts. On her quest to find the man she couldn’t eat at first sight, Jenny finds herself falling in love. And as she falls in love, two conflicting hungers grow within her—the hunger to be seen and understood and the hunger for human flesh.
Romance Paranormal | Horror [ Gallery Books, On Sale: September 29, 2026, Paperback / e-Book / audiobook, ISBN: 9781668218136 / eISBN: 9781668218143 ]
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About Gillian Daniels
Gillian Daniels writes and works in Boston, MA. Since attending the 2011 Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Workshop, her poetry and short fiction have appeared in Strange Horizons, Apex Magazine, Electric Velocipede, Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine, Flash Fiction Online, and PodCastle among others.
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