"I don't want characters to be 'goals', I don't want them to be 'strong' or 'role models' or 'inspirational'—I want them to just be great characters. I don't want to bend over backward trying to find redeemable aspects or excuses for their actions. It's not a question of perception but of permission. The pleasure of watching unlikeable female characters is watching them make choices, following their intentions, and using their agency. Even when they don't get away with it, they have an intention; they're not passive. We might not always get what we want, but we always want something. And while women are mostly taught to temper their desires, curb their hunger, stop wanting quite so much, watching these characters unleash their wants is such a joy...
When I was pitching this book, I was asked a question: What do you want the readers to take away from this? Simple as it sounds, it's empathy. I'd like us to allow our female characters the same amount of empathy and grace that we allow all other characters. With all the talk around representation, we have not yet allowed our fictional women much leeway to be as messy, flawed, or downright evil as fictional men without making it into a headline or a joke."