Interview: Claire Kann talks about Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places

For those who haven't read Claire Kann yet, what are you waiting for? She's written both YA and adult stories including her latest release: Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places.

Releasing from Berkley, this is her second adult romance and one that frankly has one of my favorite titles of the year. That's why when I had the chance to talk Claire, I knew I had to jump on it.

Whether the title was what drew you in or you loved her previous works such as The Romantic Agenda or Let's Talk About Love, Kann doesn't shy away from writing characters who feel so real like they're our friends. That's why it's so great to be able to share this interview with all of you.

No matter if you're picking up your first book from Claire Kann or have been keeping up with all her releases, our interview is sure to delight you.

See our interview with Claire Kann!

I'd like to thank both Claire Kann and Berkley for setting this up as I'm a huge fan of Claire so I was so excited to be able to send her questions and hear her thoughts. Without further ado, let's get to the interview.

Culturess: Can I just ask about how you came up with the title for Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places? It's such a fun one.

Claire Kann: I kind of have this gimmick going where a lot of my books are named after songs.

I’ve never heard the actual song “Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places” before. Many, many, many years ago on Saturday Night Live, Eddie Murphy performed a sketch as BuckWheat from The Little Rascals. He sang popular songs but with BuckWheat’s unique pronunciation and one of them was “Wookin Pa Nub”--a very funny take on the original song.

Eddie’s version and the base melody has always stuck for me for some reason. So when I was trying out different titles, I swapped in the word ‘haunted’ and here we are! It all just sort of fit together because the characters visit more locations besides the house. (If I could go back, I would definitely shorten it to Love in Haunted Places, though!)

Culturess: Lucky is such a fearless character and someone I was rooting for. Was there someone you shaped her character after?

Claire Kann: Two films that continually inspire me are Ghostbusters and Carrie for wildly different reasons. Lucky is definitely a mix of Ray Stantz and Carrie White.


I am obsessed with Carrie as a character as well as the overall themes of the story. I’m on a mission to give that character archetype as many happily ever afters as I possibly can because she deserved a chance to grow up and find herself. And there’s just something about Ray Stantz that speaks to me personally. He’s so, so intelligent but still retains this incredible childlike wonder, hope, and joy when it comes to understanding/exploring the supernatural.

Culturess: Are you a paranormal/horror movie fan?

Claire Kann: All my life! I have vivid memories of watching horror movies on TV at like 2am from as young as six years old. I used them as a way to manage my anxiety without even knowing what I was doing.

That’s also one of the reasons why I decided to anchor LFLIATHP with a reality TV show. My favorite genre is found footage which gets a pretty bad wrap these days. I love Blair Witch Project, V/H/S, Paranormal Activity, Troll Hunter–truly, truly devoted over here. I’ve just always wished there were more romance plotlines in those stories (like with Paranormal Activity and Cloverfield).

Culturess: Can you give a preview of your next project or a trope you'd like to write in the future?

Claire Kann: I’m keeping my next project a complete secret for as long as I can, but I would love to write another found footage-inspired romance with the rivals-to-lovers trope.

Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places by Claire Kann is out now where books are sold.