Interview with M. Rebecca Wildsmith, Author of Evelina Fontana

What's the story behind the story? What inspired you to write this book?

I’ve always been fascinated by the darker corners of history, particularly the things people were willing to do when they believed the ends justified the means. World War II provided a rather alarming abundance of material. The initial inspiration, however, came from a dream involving two characters and an insane asylum. I wanted to explore the intersection of espionage, psychological horror, and the supernatural, where the line between scientific ambition and outright monstrosity becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish. Add a British spy working undercover in an Italian asylum, a few murders, and a few thoroughly inconvenient romantic entanglements, and Evelina Fontana was born.

If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of your book, what would they be?

Evelina—“Hush” by Muse: Secrecy, tension, and the burden of things left unsaid. Evelina is a woman navigating a world of conflicting loyalties, where revealing too much could be disastrous. Silence isn’t merely a virtue in her profession...it’s a matter of survival.

Stefan—“Bottom of the Deep Blue Sea” by MISSIO: Dark, seductive, and hauntingly melancholic. There’s a sense of longing and emotional turmoil beneath the surface that suits Stefan rather beautifully. Some connections are as irresistible as they are inexplicable.

Ola—“Run Rabbit” by Mollie Elizabeth: Beneath her childish defiance and mischievous antics is a woman desperate for freedom, trapped in circumstances she finds profoundly unfair. The song’s playful menace captures her restless spirit and the unsettling feeling that she’s running out of places to hide.

Dr. Voigt—“Blood Hands” by Royal Blood: The driving intensity, aggression, and undercurrent of guilt make this an excellent fit for a man whose scientific ambitions have rather questionable moral boundaries. There’s something particularly unsettling about a person who can rationalize almost anything.

What's your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?

I have a particular weakness for classic mysteries, gothic fiction, and anything that suggests a perfectly respectable household is concealing something dreadful. Agatha Christie, Daphne du Maurier, and Arthur Conan Doyle are perennial favorites. Naturally, these influences find their way into my writing, although I tend to introduce a supernatural element and occasionally allow my characters to behave rather badly.

What books are on your TBR pile right now?

Although I’ve read Dracula several times, Jonathan Bailey’s Audible narration is calling to me for reasons that are...not entirely literary.

And while I weave a good deal of levity into my novels, they seem to be getting progressively darker. I’m planning to revisit some P. G. Wodehouse, the undisputed king of lighthearted wit, in hopes of coaxing a little more humor into my next book before things get completely out of hand.

What scene in your book was your favorite to write?

Probably the spicy scenes! They were uncharted territory for me, but after readers repeatedly requested a little more heat at nearly every book signing, I decided it was time to oblige. I had a delightful time exploring this new dimension of my writing, although I was careful to keep the language and sensibilities appropriate to the period. After all, even scandal ought to be historically accurate.

Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)

I can write almost anywhere, which is fortunate, because I have a habit of taking my writing on little excursions. Cafés are particularly appealing. There’s something rather satisfying about inventing fictional catastrophes while everyone around you is peacefully enjoying their coffee. I also have an alarming search history. Researching historical murder methods, obscure medical practices, and supernatural folklore tends to make one look rather suspicious to anyone unfamiliar with the writing process.

Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?

"There is no exquisite beauty without some strangeness in the proportion." — Edgar Allan Poe.

I’ve always loved that sentiment. The unusual, the imperfect, and the inexplicable are often what make life, art, and literature so interesting.

If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?

That a good story needn’t fit neatly into a single genre, any more than its characters need to fit neatly into categories of good and evil. I hope readers come away entertained, a little unsettled, and perhaps questioning why they found certain characters quite so appealing.