Zoje Stage looks under the bed with debut kids’ book My UnderSlumberBumbleBeast

The first children’s book from horror author Zoje Stage took nearly seven years to publish.

The problem wasn’t the book’s potential; several industry professionals recognized the charm of My UnderSlumberBumbleBeast. It was that the local writer’s manuscript — bestselling author of the psychological thrillers Baby Teeth, Dear Hanna, and Getaway, and the psychological horror novels Wonderland and Mothered — struggled to fit into the rigidly defined categories of children’s commercial fiction.

My UnderSlumberBumbleBeast, released on Dec. 3, began as a short fiction piece Stage wrote years prior and was incorporated into the adult novel Baby Teeth as little Hanna’s favorite book.

“So it was never shopped to major publishers,” Stage tells Pittsburgh City Paper. “But so many people who read Baby Teeth asked me if it was a real book — and it was always my intention for it to become one.”

At the story’s heart is Pru, a nine-year-old girl who loves inventing, collecting, and learning new words. She is fascinated by the strange sounds from beneath her bed, suspecting a special creature. When asked to clean her room, a chain of events unfolds, changing her life forever.

She took matters into their own hands and reached out to Doug Murano of Bad Hand Books. He previously published a short story by Stage in an anthology and “was making his press something of a home for the wayward projects of established authors,” explains Stage.

Upon submitting to Murano, Zoje reverted My UnderSlumberBumbleBeast to a more concise version, preserving essential quotes from its inclusion in Baby Teeth.

Or, at least, she tried.

“When I first tried getting the book submission-ready for Big 5 publishers, I expanded the story a bit too far,” says Stage. “I pared it back down so it more aligned with my original concept. One of the challenges while doing revisions was to keep at least some of the wording for the quotes that are included in Baby Teeth, though I think I tweaked almost every sentence while polishing My UnderSlumberBumbleBeast.”

Stage drew from her own childhood experiences with stuffed animals and nighttime noises.

“I still hear weird sounds — but sometimes it’s just a raccoon in the wall,” she says. “I also remembered being so emotionally attached to my stuffed animals as a child— they felt like real, living creatures to me. So when I created Pru I gave her that kind of compassion, where she sees the heart and potential in everything around her. Pru is an incredibly open-minded person, able to accept anyone for their differences, and I think that makes her very special.”

This nurturing spirit of imagination and acceptance leads Pru to cherish her differences with those around her. The tale delves into the nature of friendship and seeing potential in others.

Adding to this intricate tapestry are illustrations by J.E. Larson, whose art beautifies the pages and enriches the storytelling experience. In collaborating closely with Larson, Stage aimed for a timeless feel reminiscent of classics like Alice in Wonderland and Coraline, texts still widely enjoyed by kids and adults. She also took note of conversations with children’s librarians, citing a demand for visually rich literature for grade school readers.

“J.E.’s illustration style was a perfect fit for the feel we all wanted — and he was meticulous in researching toys and unifying the creation of the BumbleBeasts,” Stage says. One of my favorite illustrations is the one of Springy — she looks exactly how I hoped she would look, with a spring for a body and an eraser with a Viking ship drawn on it for her head. I’m seriously thinking of getting this image as a tattoo.”

Transitioning from writing adult thrillers to crafting a children’s book presented its own unique set of hurdles for Stage — for example, the intensity of the themes had to shift — yet her voice remains a thread throughout the work.

“I try to write stories where the characters feel like real people — this reflects the films that most influenced me as a would-be filmmaker — and human realism was my goal here too,” Stage says. “The one element of writing for children that I struggled with was simplifying my vocabulary. In the end, I decided to make Pru a girl who loves big and unusual words — and then I really leaned into including them.”

The back of the book also features a playful glossary, penned as if by Pru herself, with definitions and pronunciations crafted in a child-like manner. “I’m secretly hoping Pru writes an entire dictionary someday,” says Stage.

My UnderSlumberBumbleBeast follows the 2024 summer release of Baby Teeth’s sequel, Dear Hanna, continuing an intertwining of creative, insightful protagonists who tackle the complexities of their imaginations. Each character exhibits a sensitivity that serves as a strength and a vulnerability in their respective narratives.

“2024 has been a strange and wonderful year in multiple ways, personal and professional,” says Stage. “The publishing industry is never the smoothest path, and I’m grateful for every year that I can keep doing this! But to publish two books from the same ‘universe’ is really something … I never thought I’d create a ‘universe’!”

This article appears in Nov 27 – Dec 3, 2024.