In her first novella, Bem Mal Me Quer, author Hache Pueyo conjured a fable-like story that has “elements of different genres, like fantasy, mystery, and romance, and a light touch of horror.”
With Bem now being released in English as But Not Too Bold (hardcover, Kindle), I spoke to Pueyo about what inspired and influenced this story, including why the main character is the way she is.
To begin, what is But Not Too Bold about, and when and where does it take place?
But Not Too Bold takes place in the Capricious House, an extravagant (and fictional) mansion owned by a wealthy and isolated humanoid spider known as Anatema, whose taste for human women leads to a sequence of brides that don’t last very long in her presence.
Her array of employees includes Dália, the new keeper of the keys, appointed after her predecessor was accused of stealing something from Anatema and was summarily eaten. Dália must discover what happened to the former keeper and prove her own innocence, which proves to be a dangerous task as Anatema becomes more and more infatuated with her.
Where did you get the idea for But Not Too Bold, and how different is the finished story from what you originally conceived?
There was a limited submission call for novellas in this Brazilian indie press I really like called Dame Blanche, but I had nothing to send them, so I decided I would write something that same week. I knew I wanted the story to have a monster, and to incorporate elements that I like from fairy tales, and the rest started to appear pretty fast. The idea is pretty much identical to the finished product.
So, is there a reason why Anatema is an enormous humanoid spider as opposed to an enormous humanoid grasshopper or an enormous humanoid bee? Or, for that matter, an enormous humanoid beaver or some other kind of non-insect animal?
The reason is very simple: I love spiders. Since I’m partial to bugs, it could have been a grasshopper or a bee too, I guess, I just prefer spiders.
Also, how enormous is Anatema? Are we talking Godzilla, is she like Shelob in The Lord Of The Rings…?
She’s extremely tall when her limbs are folded, in some rooms her head is next to the ceiling, but she can expand depending on her mood.
Now, it sounds like But Not Too Bold is a fantasy novel, but in more of a fable vein than an epic fantasy or urban one.
Yes, I absolutely agree with you. I wanted this particular story to feel a little bit like a fairy tale, rather than a fantasy. It was really hard to describe this novella when I submitted it because it has elements of different genres, like fantasy, mystery, and romance, and a light touch of horror. [But] if you’re expecting a very structured speculative story, that’s not what you’re going to find.
But Not Too Bold is your first novella, but it’s obviously not the only thing you’ve written; you’ve also published a bilingual collection of your stories called A Study In Ugliness / Outras Histórias. Are there any other authors, or specific stories, that had a big influence on Bold but not on anything else you’ve written?
I think other types of art have more of an influence on my writing than books or other writers (even the ones I love), but there are definitely elements of Bluebeard in its many variations here.
How about such non-literary influences as movies, TV shows, or games? Was But Not Too Bold influenced by any of those things?
Definitely! I can see a lot of my love for animation in it. Studio Ghibli comes to mind. And I used to love Detective Conan as a child, I can see the influence of this more ludic sort of mystery.
Now, But Not Too Bold was originally published in 2022 as Bem Mal Me Quer, and in Portuguese. You did the English translation for Bold. In doing so, did you change anything?
I didn’t rewrite or change it at all.
It sounds like But Not Too Bold is a stand-alone story….
Yes, it’s a stand-alone. I feel like I could play again with this universe again, maybe for a short story, but probably not with the same characters.
So then, are any of the stories in A Study In Ugliness / Outras Histórias connected to But Not Too Bold?
None of them are, but if I write some short story connected to it, it will probably focus on another creature.
Earlier I asked if But Not Too Bold had been influenced by any movies, TV shows, or games. But to flip things around, do you think Bold could work as a movie, TV show, or game?
I think it would probably make a good animation or stop motion, maybe even a game. A movie or a TV show would be way harder to make, and I think would lose some of its visual identity.
Finally, if someone enjoys But Not Too Bold, what novella of someone else’s would you suggest they check out?
The Haunting Of Tram Car 015 by P. Djèlí Clark if you’re looking for a mystery; The Butcher Of The Forest by Premee Mohamed if you’re after that fairy tale feeling; In The Vanishers’ Palace by Aliette de Bodard if you want a monster woman; and Loving Safoa by Liza Wemakor if you want another speculative sapphic romance.
