An Interview with Monique Müge

Monique Müge is an accomplished illustrator, self-confessed nerd and avid crochet-aholic. She has a collection of invisible medical conditions, such as Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and Fibromyalgia; her experiences living with these conditions fuel her desire to include disability awareness in her work and she refuses to let her health rule her life. The Asylum of Apostles is her first foray into the writing world – after helping to save her favourite TV show, Daredevil, Monique rediscovered her passion and love for the creative arts. She graduated with an MA in Children’s Book Illustration and Graphic Novels in 2023, during which time she started to regularly write. She continues to work on other projects, updates of which can be found across all of her socials.

Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?

As an illustrator, with a background of working on things like comics and children’s picture books, you start to forge ideas of your own. It got to a point in my creative process where drawing and designing characters was not enough. I wanted to elevate them and give them their own stories, to forge new worlds and universes even. At first, they became small comic strips, and slowly my confidence grew to the point that I was writing. Did I ever think I would become an author of novels? No way!

What inspired you to start writing this book?

This book was a tiny idea I came up with years ago. I never expected it to evolve into a full novella either, as I had pretty much benched it to work on other projects. When I was doing my master’s in illustration a year ago, I started to write more to still be creative but away from drawing (trust me, it gets tough at times), and this idea just kept coming back. I knew at that point I had to finish it; even if it was to be a shorter story than my other ideas, it needed to be told.

Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

The Asylum of Apostles really named itself by the time I had finished writing it. The story had several changes and rewrites, and actually was to be named ‘The Last Testament’ at the beginning of it all. But I really wanted to encapsulate the setting, the bold characters, and the overall bizarreness of the story, and so it got its new and final name. Overall, writing the story took as little as a few weeks, but the editing, rewriting, and refining the story, until I felt it was right, took months! My advice? Don’t stress about your title too much; wait until your story is finished and I think you’ll find your book names itself.

If your book had a soundtrack, what are some songs that would be on it?

I LOVE this question! As someone who must listen to music while she works, having the right soundtrack is essential. For every book I work on, I make a Spotify playlist, and this project had an amusing soundtrack. Imagine taking several characters who are in an asylum, with their quirks and erratic behaviour, and mashing that into a playlist – random! It ranges from classical songs from artists such as Barber to Nine Inch Nails and even M83. I always try my best to share these playlists on my social media, as I do feel it adds a certain energy to the book.

Describe your dream book cover.

Thankfully, I got my dream book cover. I am so blessed to be an illustrator as well as an author as the creativity never ends. When designing this book, I wanted to keep it simple and not give too much of the story and characters away, but for it to be enough for the reader to look back on and have an “Oh my God” realisation as to what it is.

What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?

I am an illustrator as well as an author, and most people may know me from back when I created art for the ‘Save Daredevil’ campaign. I draw anything from comics, children’s books, serious dark gritty art pieces, and even small merchandise like bookmarks and stickers. But what I try to do on the side of these jobs is to be an advocate, and voice, for disability awareness. As a woman with Hypermobile Ehler’s Danlos Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Autism, and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, I do my best to be honest about how it is to juggle those difficulties and independently work in the creative industry at the same time. I think it is so important, as an artist, to have a level of transparency in order to encourage and prepare others who want to work in the same field.

What books did you read (for research or comfort) throughout your writing process?

I am very guilty of working on several projects at once. I am halfway through another novel and have two others planned out! So, when it comes to reading, it can be a little all over the place, ranging from Japanese novellas to vampire novels and my new fascination with sci-fi. I think inspiration can come from anywhere, even genres that are completely unrelated to what we are writing at the time. For example, I read The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix as research for the next book I am writing, and was seriously inspired by how Hendrix writes about his female characters being treated by the men around them. That was a massive inspiration for this book, and I never expected I would have found that in a book about vampires!

What is one thing you hope readers take away from reading your book? How do you envision your perfect reader?

I think my book can truly be perceived in many ways. Some may find it weird, some may find it empowering and some may find it outright wrong. Anything that touches upon religion is tricky, and I knew from day one it may come off as a heavy read. The perfect response to my book would be if I can get someone to say ‘Wow.’ Whatever causes that reaction, I know I have done my job.

Are you a writer, too? Submit your manuscript to Atmosphere Press.