What is the title of your latest release?
DEVIL INSIDE
What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
A boy… meets a demon. Bloody sparks ensue! Poor Jordan gets in a bit of bike accident and dies for a few minutes, only to end up in Hell. When he’s there, he bumps into some… thing. What if our soulmate has no soul? Will you let the devil in?
How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
I grew up in Richmond, Virginia. It is still home in my heart. They say Virginia is for lovers, and well… when it came time to write a love story, my heart when home.
Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?
Lilith, our demon, is such an enabler. She loves to tip the scales toward our own dark side. She’s trouble in the best of ways and would be an absolute blast to hang out with, giving us all the night of our lives, drinking us under the table, closing the bar down, dancing the night away, so… no. Absolutely not. Too rich for my blood. I’m in bed by nine.
What are three words that describe your hero?
Soulless. Damned. Dark.
What’s something you learned while writing this book?
I really wanted to explore the romantic parameters of possession with this book… I know that sounds a little strange, but if you’re writing about love between a demon and a host, there’s questions about consent and bodily autonomy, along with notions of giving one’s self over to another, letting someone else into your heart, that all felt like an interesting lens in which to look at love. So… I guess I could say the thing I learned was… even demons want to be loved?
Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
My editor, Emma Cole, was extremely hands on with this book, which I’m eternally grateful for. She helped me develop this story, holding my hand every step of the way. When it came to that first draft of the manuscript, we essentially broke it into two halves… She worked on the first half while I wrote the second, then we tossed out the latter half, and I reworked it almost nearly from scratch. The first half felt like it was in a solid place, with the story beats coming together… but the second half was a bit persnickety and took a little bit longer to construct. There’s so much that got cut from the second half. Thank goodness for Emma’s help, because it would’ve had a completely different ending without her!
What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Ice cream. One day I will slip off this mortal coil, and it will be because I ate too much Ben & Jerry’s.
Describe your writing space/office!
I’m in the attic of our house. Sloped ceiling, so it’s like working in a pyramid. So much clutter. Books, comic books, scrapbooks, research, ephemera from events and posters. I’m basically a fourteen-year-old horror geek, surrounded by so much clutter.
Who is an author you admire?
It’s a bit of a deep cut… but I always talk about a particular poet by the name of Ai. Just one word, first name only—and not artificial intelligence—just simply Ai. Her poetry, her voice, her impact on me cannot be overstated. Her work brutalized me. That poetry could have that profound effect on me is just, I don’t know, mind-blowing. I’ve always aspired to write like her.
Is there a book that changed your life?
I always keep a candle lit for Katherine Dunn. Her novel GEEK LOVE changed my life. It’s one of the only books I’ll return to and reread, and every time I do, it’s like a different book nearly every time, because I’ve changed in the interim between reads, but that the book itself has the potential to hit differently depending on who you are and where you are in your life.
Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published). Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
Again… I owe it all to my editor Emma. She had reached out and asked if I might be interested in writing a romance novel. Having written a few novels where there was a strong thread of love running through the storyline, without necessarily being considered a “love story,” she saw the potential in me to tell a more direct story that focused on romance. We developed the idea together and I wrote a couple sample chapters… and then, lo and behold, her publisher went for it. To me, getting the privilege to tell a story, regardless of the format or medium, my first reaction is always something akin to asking… “Should I be allowed to do this?”
What’s your favorite genre to read?
I mean, I’m such a sucker for horror. It’s not even funny. That said, there’s a joy in searching for new ideas. I love nonfiction. I’ll read historical books that focus on particular eras, always uncovering tidbits of life that I’d love to tackle in stories…
What’s your favorite movie?
Dead Ringers by David Cronenberg… or Evil Dead II by Sam Raimi… or Barton Fink by the Coen Brothers.. or… or…
What is your favorite season?
Oh, autumn all the way.
How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
I try to hide my birthday at all costs. I get so blue on my birthday, I’d rather avoid it.
What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
MURDERLAND by Caroline Fraser. That book hits so haaaard, I loved it. Truly inspiring in its critical lens toward true crime.
What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Give me the spice! Give me the heat! Burn my palate, please! Spicy Thai! Spicy Indian! Spice! Spice! Spiiiice!
What do you do when you have free time?
Do I have free time? I’m always reading. For pleasure, research or blurbedy blurbing, I tend to have a book with me.
What can readers expect from you next?
I’m working on my next novel right now… MR. LONELYHEARTS, out in 2027. I want to tackle the loneliness epidemic we’ve recently found ourselves in, giving it a bit of a horrific spin. It’s gonna be a dooooozy…
DEVIL INSIDE by Clay McLeod Chapman
Narrator: Soneela Nankani, Tim Paige
A Novel
A man who’s back from the dead meets a woman who’s from somewhere even worse in Clay McLeod Chapman’s new horrormance about love, possession, and just a little murder.
After a traumatic accident that almost cost Jordan his life, he’s finally starting to feel normal again. Well, maybe not normal. Everything tastes like ash, and when he looks at the people around him, their faces start to melt. At least he’s not dead, right? His friends are doing their best to get him back on his feet, maybe find someone to talk to, perhaps even find someone to take his mind off his last failed relationship.
Then he meets Lilith. The two share an instant connection but after a wild and passionate night together, she ghosts him. Jordan searches the city for Lilith, desperate to see her again. But when a woman claiming to be Lilith shows up, wearing a different face but knowing intimate details about Jordan, he worries he’s losing his grip on reality. As he grows closer to this mysterious woman, he discovers that happily ever afters sometimes come at a cost. How far will Lilith take him, and how much darkness will he embrace to find love?
Fantasy Urban | Paranormal Romance | Horror [ MIRA, On Sale: August 11, 2026, Hardcover / e-Book / audiobook, ISBN: 9780778306214 / eISBN: 9780369775641 ]
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About Clay McLeod Chapman
Clay McLeod Chapman writes novels, comic books, and children’s books, as well as for film and TV. He is the author of the horror novels The Remaking, Whisper Down the Lane, Ghost Eaters, and What Kind of Mother. He also cowrote Quiet Part Loud, a horror podcast produced by Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw for Spotify.
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