Author Lauren Lee Smith joins The Dark Mind to discuss her debut novel, The Night Pool.

Set in Gold Rush-era Coloma, California, the novel follows three women confronting human brutality, supernatural forces, and the histories buried beneath the mythology of the American West.

Lauren discusses transforming the land itself into a source of possession horror and using monsters as vessels for grief, rage, and resistance.

She also examines the destruction of Nisenan communities, violence against Chinese immigrants, and the challenge of writing experiences that have been neglected by the historical record.

The conversation explores her severe postpartum depression and anxiety, the personal origins of The Playroom Ghost, her rural Northern California childhood, and the horror films that shaped her imagination.

Lauren also reveals that The Night Pool has been optioned, discusses the screenplay adaptation, previews her Mojave vampire novel, and explains why she believes human intention cannot be replicated by artificial intelligence.

The Night Pool will be published by Blackstone Publishing on August 25, 2026.

GUEST LINKS

Lauren Lee Smith

Website
http://laurenleesmith.net/

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/lololeereverie/

TikTok
https://www.tiktok.com/@lololeereverie

Threads
https://www.threads.com/@lololeereverie

X
https://x.com/lololeereverie

Substack
https://substack.com/@laurenleesmith

Goodreads
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/61062312.Lauren_Lee_Smith

THE NIGHT POOL

Blackstone Publishing
https://www.blackstonepublishing.com/products/book-jqoy

Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/dp/9798228350274

Barnes & Noble
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-night-pool-lauren-lee-smith/1148495489?ean=9798228350274

Barnes & Noble Audiobook
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-night-pool-lauren-lee-smith/1148495489?ean=2940201219772

Audible
https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Night-Pool-Audiobook/B0FW7LWFS8

Google Play Books
https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Lauren_Lee_Smith_The_Night_Pool?id=CCeOEQAAQBAJ

Target
https://www.target.com/p/the-night-pool-by-lauren-lee-smith/-/A-95269156

Indigo
https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/the-night-pool/9798228350274.html

OTHER WORK

Pretend You Don’t See Her: The Invisible Woman
Includes Lauren Lee Smith’s story Selkie’s Stew

Kandisha Press
https://kandishapress.com/pretend-you-dont-see-her/

Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H7G21ZDY

The Playroom Ghost

FOLIO Literary Journal
https://www.folioliteraryjournal.com/2023-horror

Support The Dark Mind Podcast
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