Erin Hall
Erin Hall (she/her) is a reader, writer, bookseller, and vegan nacho enthusiast. She’s the author of the Detective Molly Malone series, which begins with her debut novel, Dear Sylvia, Love Jane.
Erin serves on the board of Gather Repertory Theatre, the Terroir Creative Writing Festival, and is an active member of The Oregon Historical Society and Willamette Writers.
Q: How did the idea for Dear Syliva, Love Jane come about? What drew you to the noir genre?
I’ve always loved the noir genre, specifically when it comes to film. I love old, weird, dramatic black and white movies, and detective/crime movies always drew me in the most.
This book is hugely influenced by the 1944 film Double Indemnity: the vibe, the visuals, the intrigue, and the twists. I wanted to see if I could capture the experience of watching an old noir film, and then queer it up to include characters I could relate to.
I wanted a story where the detective wasn’t the typical “love em and leave em” male detective, so I created Detective Molly Malone, a plucky Nancy Drew-ish lesbian.
I also wanted to subvert the standard femme fatale trope for the romantic interest of the hero. One reader’s review of Dear Sylvia, Love Jane called Sylvia, “a femme fatale who is really a victim.” I love that readers got that she was a stand-in for this trope. In many ways, Sylvia is a victim of some bad situations, but she’s not relegated to a passive character. She takes action and makes decisions and strives to overcome her circumstances.
But overall, the story still plays with the tropes we’re familiar with in the genre: the rogue detective with questionable morals who comes together with the femme fatale because of a crime.
These Sapphic Stories Book Club author profiles are compiled by founder Aliya Bree Hall. Aliya is a freelance journalist and author who founded the book club in 2021 to uplift sapphic stories and celebrate LGBTQ+ authors. This excerpt has been lifted from an interview Aliya conducted with our August 2024 author. You can read the full Q&A by joining the book club.
