BY G. CONNOR SALTER

Kat D. Coffin is a writer and editor who describes her interests as “music, writing, poetry, C.S. Lewis, Exvangelicalism, feminism, music.” Her work includes a viral Twitter thread on “the problem of Susan” in C.S. Lewis’ Narnia book The Last Battle, a review of two crucial books on Joy Davidman for Sehnsucht, and an interview on Pints with Jack on The Last Battle.[1] In October 2025, her first novel, Hell’s Heresies, will be released by Owl City Press.

The novel follows Emeries, a young woman who buys an old house in New England only to experience poltergeist activity… including the spirit leaving messages on her mirror to buy milk or watch for rainy weather. Her attempts to remove the spirit make him visible, but also open a portal into the spiritual world, unleashing a variety of demons. Halloween has arrived, so no one in town is surprised by a little strange activity, but Emeries knows the calm will not last forever. Her search to heal the portal reveals dark secrets about her house, and challenges her to rethink how she sees death and what comes afterward.

Coffin was kind enough to answer a few questions about the novel and about her Inklings scholarship.

Interview Questions:

How would you summarize your novel Hell’s Heresies?

I like to pitch it as a “Halloween beach read”—something spooky, yet cozy and fun. To paraphrase Madeleine L’Engle, it treats something deadly serious a little lightly.[2]

When did you start writing the novel?

I started writing the first draft in 2016. 2016 was a rough year for a lot of us, and I desperately needed to write something silly and fun that made me laugh.

Based on the summary, your novel sounds like it could be considered fantasy or a form of magical realism—fantastic things occurring but being treated as a part of life. What genre would you place it in?

It is absolutely fantasy! I’m leery of genres called “magical realism” (excepting the Latin American genre)—I think it’s just a branch of the beautiful wide tree that is fantasy. There is a lot of genre blend in Hell’s Heresies—paranormal fantasy, urban fantasy. I’m proud to declare it a fantasy novel, though.

You’ve combined two concepts that don’t initially seem like they mix, but make so much sense after you mention them together. We’ve all heard haunted house or possessed house stories, and it makes so much sense to think about the home renovation aspect (who’s going to fix that falling chandelier?), but someone had to mention it first. What led you to consider combining these ideas?

Growing up in my grandpa’s house, we had a friendly poltergeist we called Jonathan. Jonathan loved playing tricks on various people in my family—stealing things and then giving them back in odd places—finding your wallet in the fridge, a beloved teddy bear in the basement, the television remote in jar room. None of us were particularly scared by Jonathan—his tricks were just sort of funny. I love combining objectively scary things and turning them into laughter.

I believe you’ve alluded in the past to your religious upbringing informing the novel. Can you elaborate on that?

I would say my faith in Christianity flows throughout the themes of this book and my upbringing absolutely contributed to it. Everything I believe and everything I reject spiritually is in this story.

Your novel mixes theological content with a certain sense of humor. Did any particular authors inspire the humorous tone you employed—Terry Pratchett, for example?[3]

C.S. Lewis, George Macdonald, and Terry Pratchett were definitely the inspirations for that tone! Neil Gaiman was also an influence, to the point where my agent warned me about my “Gaiman voice”—though really, it should’ve been a warning about my “Lewis voice”![4]

Some people may be surprised at the idea of addressing topics like the afterlife with humor, but there is a long history of writers using humor to address theological topics. Do you find it’s important to use humor to talk about heavy topics?

I think that sometimes it’s the only way to talk about heavy topics. Hannah Gadsby’s incredible special Nanette expresses that tension really beautifully, the tension between real pain and real humor.[5] So while I’ll always describe Hell’s Heresies as a silly and light-hearted book, it does hold a very real tension on God, death, redemption, and the nature of evil.

Some readers know that you’ve studied C.S. Lewis extensively. One of Lewis’ more debated ideas is his view of salvation. For example, he wrote several times about believing in Purgatory, his novel The Great Divorce includes George MacDonald as a character discussing his inclusive attitude toward salvation, and The Last Battle features the righteous Calormene warrior Emeth learns his service to Tash will be treated as service to Aslan. Did his writings about hell and heaven inform your writing?

Very much so! I think C.S. Lewis was deeply attracted to the idea of universalism, especially the kind of universalism George Macdonald believed and taught.[6] And of course, his vision of Hell as a bureaucracy absolutely inspired my own interpretation of Hell. There’s a line in The Great Divorce that says, “No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. To those who knock it is opened.”[7] That’s very much a theme of Hell’s Heresies.

Many readers may not know that you’ve not only studied Lewis’ wife, Joy Davidman, but you’ve also written a master’s thesis on Davidman. How did that project develop?

When I first attended grad school, I was absolutely positive that I knew what I wanted to study. But the more I started studying Davidman’s writing, her life, and her family, the more she quickly crowded out anything else I wanted to research. She was so spiky and temperamental, fierce and utterly brilliant! I had some incredible and supportive professors alongside a fantastic interdisciplinary department at NYU that guided me into turning my research into a thesis. Every minute of it was a joy and an honor.

Any updates on your plans to adapt your thesis into a book?

Yes! I’ve been in that process for a while now, actually, but I’m hoping to finish some sample chapters for some interested publishers in the next few months. I’m hopeful this project will clear up some misconceptions about Joy, add some much-needed nuance to her circumstances, and encourage a delight towards her, rather than sniffy condemnation.[8]

Hell’s Heresies is available at all major book retailers. More information about the novel and other projects by Kat D. Coffin can be found on her website and on her Substack at Chasing Joy.

Interview Footnotes

[1] In case of hyperlinks being removed, these works are: @KatinOxford, “Many moons ago…” December 7, 2018, https://x.com/KatinOxford/status/1078416715904630784; Kat D. Coffin, “Review of Joy: Poet, Seeker, and the Woman Who Captivated C.S. Lewis, and of Yet One More Spring: A Critical Study of Joy Davidman,” Sehnsucht vol. 10, no. 1 (2016), 189–191, https://doi.org/10.55221/1940-5537.1373; “Half Pint with Kat Coffin (‘The Problem With Susan’),” Pints with Jack May, 8, 2024, https://www.pintswithjack.com/half-pint-kat-coffin-the-problem-of-susan/.

[2] The character Ms. Which gives this advice to Meg Murry in chapter four of A Wrinkle in Time; see A Wrinkle in Time Trilogy by Madeleine L’Engle, Farrar, Strauss & Giroux (for Barnes & Noble), 2015, 58.

[3] For example, Pratchett combines humor with theology in his novel Good Omens co-written with Neil Gaiman. This interviewer accessed a copy of Hell’s Heresies after this interview was written and found its tone resembled Pratchett’s Discworld novels Equal Rites and the entries featuring Tiffany Aching.

[4] It should perhaps go without saying, but mentioning Neil Gaiman’s influence and work does not equate to commenting on his life and recent controversies involving his activities with fans. For a recent F&F discussion about dealing with revelations about an influential author’s life, see Sørina Higgins interview on the legacy of Charles Williams: https://fellowdustmag.com/2024/10/12/inklings-scholar-interview-sorina-higgins/.

[5] Hannah Gasby: Nanette, written and starring Hannah Gadsby, directed by Madeleine Parry and John Olb, Netflix, 2018.

[6] Theologians continue to debate whether MacDonald’s teaching is better defined as universalism or as a highly inclusive form of salvation. See F&F interview with Kirstin Jeffrey Johnson for more details: https://fellowdustmag.com/2024/04/08/george-macdonald-scholar-kirstin-jeffrey-johnson/.

[7] A fictional version of George MacDonald makes this comment to the narrator (a fictional version of Lewis) in The Great Divorce; see The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis, Touchstone, 1996, 72.

[8] For another perspective on Davidman’s life, see Sophia Holcomb’s F&F article, “More Than a Thesis: Researching the Romance of Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis,” September 23, 2025, https://fellowdustmag.com/2025/09/23/more-than-a-thesis-joy-davidman-and-c-s-lewis/.