This week, I talk with Erin Crosby Eckstine about her debut Southern Gothic, Junie. She shares how the book developed across years of writing, the importance of portraying enslaved characters with full humanity rather than stereotypes, and why she crafted Junie as a flawed, emotionally real teenager navigating a world she can’t yet fully understand. Erin also explains Gothic and Southern Gothic traditions, the role of ghostly elements like Minnie, the influence of literature within the story, and how intergenerational family history shaped both the novel and her own life.

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Other Co-hosts On Instagram:

Gare Billings @gareindeedreads

Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland

Halley Sutton @halleysutton25

Brian Watson @readingwithbrian

MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba