Violence towards women is a serious problem.
It’s also a rather disproportionate one; not just in real life, but in crime fiction, too.
Enter writer Julie Mae Cohen (or, as you may know her, Summer People author Julie Cohen), who is turning the tables in her new satirical serial killer rom-com novel Bad Men (hardcover, Kindle, audiobook).
In the following email interview, Cohen discusses what inspired and influenced this story, as well as why she made the name change.
Photo Credit: Nicole Engelmann at Hey Tuesday
To start, what is Bad Men about, and when and where is this story set?
Bad Men is mostly sent in the U.K. in the present day, mostly in London, though there are some scenes set in America, too.
It’s the story of Saffy Huntley-Oliver, a wealthy, beautiful socialite who is a serial killer in her spare time. She kills bad men — rapists, murderers, abusers — and she absolutely loves her little hobby, which she sees as making the world a better place.
However, when she gets a crush on a true-crime podcaster, Jonathan Desrosiers, she realizes that getting a boyfriend is much harder than committing murder.
Where did you get the idea for Bad Men?
In the U.S., while more men are murdered every year than women, almost all of those murders, whatever the gender of victim, are committed by men. And a shocking 76% of women are killed by a man they know. In crime fiction, women are often portrayed as victims. I wanted to do something to balance it out a little bit.
Is there a reason why you made Saffy a socialite as opposed to a housewife or an influencer or an actress?
In order to be an efficient serial killer, Saffy needs time and resources. Housewives have enough work to do without worrying about cleaning up after yet another man. Influencers and actresses — or at least the influencers and actresses I know — don’t have money to burn on stuff like untraceable weapons.
Of course, women can have many jobs other than the stereotypical ones of socialites, housewives, influencers, and actresses…
Touché.
…but if I’d made Saffy a CEO, a barrister, or a rocket scientist, for example, she just wouldn’t have the leisure time to commit so much murder. I had to be at least a little bit realistic.
Similarly, is there a reason why she hunts rapists, murderers, and domestic abusers as opposed to men who don’t follow society’s rules by wearing white after labor day or using the wrong fork to eat a salad?
You know, men hardly ever get bashed for wearing white after Labor Day or using the wrong fork. It’s normally the women who get shamed for doing something minor that breaches etiquette. Isn’t that funny?
Anyway, while Saffy cares about etiquette, of course — she went to exclusive boarding schools after all — but she cares more about freeing women from male violence.
It sounds like Bad Men is a satirical but romantic horror story…
I usually call it a serial killer rom-com, but it’s a satirical take on both of those genres. The happy ending is more than a little bit ironic, and the serial killers are not who you’d expect them to be.
Now, while Bad Men is being published under the name Julie Mae Cohen, you’ve also written books under the name Julie Cohen. What can someone infer about Bad Men from the fact that you’re using your middle name for it?
Julie Cohen writes emotional, issue-driven book club fiction about women and their relationships, secrets, and lives. Julie Mae Cohen writes feminist thrillers with way too many severed heads in them. I added “Mae” so that readers could easily tell the difference.
So, are there any writers who had a big influence on Bad Men but not on anything you’ve written as Julie Cohen? Because Bad Men is kind of giving me American Psycho vibes.
Bret Easton Ellis’s American Psycho for sure, and also Jeff Lindsay’s Dexter series, C.J. Skuse’s Sweetpea series, and Thomas Harris’ books about Hannibal Lecter.
How about such non-literary influences as movies, TV shows, or games?
Probably the biggest influence was the TV show Hannibal, based on Thomas Harris’s characters; I also loved You and Killing Eve.
And what about your dog, Meg? How did they influence Bad Men?
Meg has given me a huge appreciation of all dogs, who are better than human beings in almost every way except for doing math. The dog in the novel, who is called Girl, is one of my favorite characters in Bad Men.
Meg
Now, as we’ve been discussing, Bad Men is a bit of a feminist horror story. What do you think men will get out of reading Bad Men? Or rather, what do you hope men get out of it?
While Bad Men is a satirical book, at its heart it’s about male violence, particularly against women. I hope that male readers will take in that serious message. Sadly, as the most prevalent victims, it’s unlikely that women can do anything to eradicate gendered violence and abuse. But men can certainly address it with their friends, colleagues, relatives, and sons; believe female victims when they come forward; and help when they see women being abused.
Earlier I asked if Bad Men was influenced by any movies, TV shows, or games. But to flip things around, do you think Bad Men could work as a movie, show, or game?
I think it would be an awesome TV, series and I very much hope that one day it might be. Keep your fingers crossed. (And preferably, still attached to your body.)
And if crossing my fingers works, and someone decides to adapt Bad Men into a TV show, who would you want them to cast as Saffy, Jon, and the other main characters?
I’ll admit when I was writing I was thinking about real-life couple Clare Danes [Fleishman Is In Trouble] and Hugh Dancy [Law & Order] as Saffy and Jon, but the characters are a bit younger than Danes and Dancy are now, so I’ll have to do some research for fantasy casting.
I definitely have a large role for Mark Proksch [What We Do In The Shadows], though saying which one would be a spoiler.
So, is there anything else you think people need to know about Bad Men?
The dog comes out of all of this absolutely fine! Don’t worry!
Finally, if someone enjoys Bad Men, which of your other novels would you suggest they check out next?
My other novels, written as Julie Cohen, are quite different, but if you enjoy feminist novels about strong women, check out my Victorian historical novel Spirited, about a female amateur photographer who takes pictures of ghosts, and a devious spirit medium with a trunkful of secrets.
