Exclusive Interview
‘Helpless’ Author Jessica Knoll Takes Us Inside Her Twisted & Steamy New Novel
What To Know
- Jessica Knoll’s new novel, Helpless, is an erotic thriller centered on the toxic, power-driven relationship between Faye Heron and her ex-boyfriend Henry Spalding.
- The book was released on July 7.
- A TV adaptation of Helpless is already in development.
Jessica Knoll isn’t afraid of a little chaos when it comes to her main character. In fact, she leans into it.
In her latest novel, Helpless, Knoll has crafted an erotic thriller that will have you audibly gasping because of shock and steam. Oh, and gird your loins now. A TV adaptation of Helpless is already in development.
Faye Heron broke her college boyfriend Henry Spalding’s heart over a decade ago. Their relationship was messy and all-consuming. Now, Faye is married and produces Hollywood projects with her husband, but she feels something (or someone) is missing.
When Faye and Henry’s college professor dies and they see each other again, they can’t escape one another — and they ultimately don’t want to, even after Henry kidnaps Faye and brings her to his remote cabin. Faye and Henry gravitate back to their old ways and embrace their darkest desires. Talk about down bad.
Knoll, who made her literary debut with the sensational Luckiest Girl Alive in 2015, has been fully aware of the booming dark romance trend. She dove right into the ACOTAR book series, which Knoll pointed out is a romantasy with dark romance elements. She ate up In the Cut by Susanna Moore and called it a “nasty little piece of work.” She kept searching for the perfect literary erotic thriller and realized she could just write it herself.
“I really think that was the driving motivation behind this idea, and it didn’t come out right away. I had to really work at it, but the thing that I knew I wanted to land was this ending where there’s the rep being ripped out from underneath you moment,” Knoll told Swooon. “The whole time Faye’s in captivity, she is asking, ‘What am I doing here?’ But then I wanted the ending to also ask a broader question to the reader, which was like, ‘What are we doing here? Why are we drawn to these types of stories? Why do we have these taboo sexual fantasies?’ I wanted to end on that question.”
The author is an expert at creating complex female characters, but building out Henry was an essential part of making Helpless work. “It took a lot of work to flesh him out, probably more work than I’ve ever done on a male character, and to consider his perspective and what his participation was in the relationship,” Knoll explained.
The first chapter of Faye and Henry’s relationship became rooted in toxicity. “Their relationship, when they were together, was predicated on Henry having the power and status and control,” Knoll said. After their initial breakup, Faye took the reins of her own life.
But in meeting again years later, Knoll poured gasoline on that dynamic and lit a match. “Faye is seemingly on even footing with him now, and what does that mean for them? That was a really, really interesting dynamic for me to explore in their sex lives because the power play is a big part of their attraction to one another.”
Power is the lifeblood of Faye and Henry’s connection, inside and outside of the bedroom. But while Faye prefers to be submissive in her sex life, that doesn’t mean she’s not in control.
“The title Helpless is a little bit tongue in cheek,” Knoll noted. “Is Faye really helpless? Or does she have more agency than either she lets on, or we’re led to believe?” There’s an immense power in crafting the truth, whether it’s authentic or a carefully executed narrative. Because once one version of the story begins to dominate over all the others, that’s often the truth that lives on.
Helpless is available in bookstores now
