The Honeycut: Author Holly Knightley on Her Novel Eye of Athena

I first met author Holly Knightley when we both took part in the Bookstagram Beyond-a-Thon event earlier this year. Not only is she a talented author, but I consider her a good friend. The first of her books I read was “Giggles,” a story of a demonic clown. 

Recently, I read another one of her novels, “Eye of Athena.” The Edgar Allan Poe-inspired story follows Kenneth Dahl, a young man who returns home to his family’s estate after being sent away to an insane asylum at a young age. There, he falls in love with one of the servants named Athena. From there, a series of strange and unfortunate events plague Athena, Kenneth, and his family. It’s like a gothic, psychological, tragic romance tale. 

Holly took time to answer some of my questions about “Eye of Athena.” 

R. Jacob Honeybrook: The full title of this book is “Eye of Athena: An Edgar Allan Poe Supernatural Suspense Thriller.” What is your relationship with Poe’s work, and how did that factor into creating this story?

Holly Knightley: I am a Poe fanatic. I’ve read his complete works multiple times and am part of a monthly Poe book club (Poe Unplugged). Thanks to my solid foundation in all things Poe, “Eye of Athena” practically wrote itself.

RJH: Poe is a recurring character in “Eye of Athena.” As fiction authors, we usually make up the characters we write. Did you have any hesitation portraying a historical figure in your work? 

HK: Not in this case. Edgar Allan Poe is only 18 years old in “Eye of Athena.” When we normally think of Poe, we think of him toward the end of his life with his defining mustachio. My story gives a fictional account of Poe before he was ‘Poe’ and gives readers insight into what may have inspired his later horror stories.

RJH: Speaking of history, “Eye of Athena” is set in 1826 Richmond, Virginia. Did you have to do a lot of research to ensure everything felt authentic to that time?

HK: Luckily, very little. I had recently read “A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe” by Mark Dawidziak and the date stood out to me. Poe had just returned from England at that time, thus giving my story a sense of possibility.

RJH: Insanity, paranoia, and delusions are prevalent in this book. It reminded me of “Joker” and “American Psycho,” where even after I finished it, I wasn’t sure what was real and what Kenneth convinced himself was real. How did you go about crafting such a mind-bending story? 

HK: Throughout the story, everyone keeps trying to tell Ken what was real. I found Ken’s truth and went from there. Reality is just perception after all.  

RJH: Even though it was brief, I was fully invested in the love story between Kenneth and Athena. As a horror author, what do you think goes into writing a compelling romance? 

HK: For me romance is always about connecting with someone on a deeper level. It wasn’t just about sex; there was a spiritual mingling of souls between Ken and Athena. They saw each other for who they really were — a rare thing indeed. 

RJH: Kenneth adores his sister, Sissy. In fact, he’s pretty obsessed with her. He wants to be her and despises his own masculine features. I felt there was a theme of identity or self-discovery running throughout. Is that what you were going for, or am I way off base?  

HK: Totally. Fueled by Ken’s need to feel connected to someone, he suffers an identity crisis, first taking pride in resembling his mother, and then his sister. He thought looking like them brought them closer together.

RJH: In both “Giggles” and “Eye of Athena,” you write from the POV of a male protagonist. Do you ever find it challenging to write from the perspective of the opposite gender? 

HK:  I actually prefer to write from the male perspective. As it sits now, about half of my books are from the male POV and the other half are from the female POV. I worry when I write from the female perspective that too much of ‘Holly’ slips in.

RJH: You’ve published so many books! I think you’ve put out at least two or three just this year. How do you keep that pace? Also, after all of these releases, what is the biggest thing you’ve learned? 

HK: I have slowed down, but I try to write something every day. I make sure to give myself a break if I’m not feeling it. Burnout is real and nothing will get an author there more quickly than putting down ‘bad’ words. I’ve learned to believe in myself. If I don’t believe in my worth as an author no one else will.

RJH: What are you working on next?

HK: I am currently wrapping up my next haunted house mystery thriller, “Cadbury House,” set to be released in June. This story was born out of a writing challenge from our mutual author friend, Chris Harrison. “Cadbury House” is one chaotic ride readers are not going to want to miss!

Thank you to Holly for taking the time to answer my questions. Check out her website for her books and social media accounts!