Podcast Summary: Cameron Sullivan on "The Red Winter"

Podcast: New Books Network – New Books in Fantasy
Host: Angela E. Lanier
Guest: Cameron Sullivan
Date: April 3, 2026
Book Featured: The Red Winter (Tor Books, 2026)

Overview

This episode features an in-depth conversation between host Angela E. Lanier and debut Australian novelist Cameron Sullivan about his historical dark fantasy, The Red Winter. Sullivan’s novel reimagines the infamous legend of the Beast of Gévaudan through the eyes of Sebastian Grave, an immortal, queer monster hunter permanently bonded to a demon named Sarmadel. The conversation explores the book’s weaving of horror, romance, class commentary, and historical realism, while also reflecting on the process of writing queer narratives and managing the balance between research and story.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Beast of Gévaudan as Inspiration

• Origin of Interest: Sullivan has been fascinated by the legend since childhood; its atmosphere of official records, church edicts, and mass hysteria inspired the book’s horror-fantasy tone.

  "It kind of reads like a horror movie already... from there, it was not too much work on my part to turn it into a kind of monster hunter narrative." (Cameron Sullivan, 03:05)

2. Protagonist and Core Relationships

• Sebastian & Sarmadel:

  • Sebastian’s centuries-old perspective and abilities come from his forced partnership with Sarmadel, a sardonic demon.
  • The relationship is both a source of power and a key source of angst and dark humor.
  • Sullivan sees this bond—not the human romance—as the "main love story" of the book.

  "...the central kind of relationship with the book is Sebastian and Sarmadale, because they're stuck together. That's the relationship that's going to be there when the dust settles." (Cameron Sullivan, 05:10)

  • Sarmadel is written to be "the absolute worst person you could have living in your head... I would think of the worst thing you could say in any situation and then just put that in his mouth." (05:47)

3. Narrative Structure and the Use of Time

• Temporal Layers:

  • The book spans centuries—three main periods in the 18th century, plus a modern framing in 2013.
  • Narration is colored by Sebastian’s immortality, unreliable memory, and use of footnotes, blending present-day snark with period authenticity.

  “…he should be by now incredibly wise... and yet he still falls in love like a teenager and has this wild summer winter of love in the mountains of France.” (Cameron Sullivan, 08:10)

  • His vulnerability and world-weariness surface as defensive humor and sardonic commentary (especially in footnotes).

4. Violence, Gore, and Tone

• Balancing Horror and Heart:

  • The grim scenes derive both from historical events and the book’s dark fantasy roots.
  • Violence is linked to folklore and the visceral traditions of ancient worship.
  • Sullivan weaves in romance and humor as a counterbalance, crafting "gallows humor" as a survival strategy.

  "...if you were to live through all of this trauma... black humor would be the only way to keep yourself sane in a lot of ways." (Cameron Sullivan, 12:41)

5. Class, Wealth, and the Politics of Revolutionary France

• Aristocracy vs. Poverty:

  • The sumptuous trappings of aristocratic France are contrasted with the suffering of the lower classes.
  • The historical monster hunt itself was a showcase for these class tensions; the poor were most at risk from the beast; the rich organized expensive but often futile hunts.

  "Having to kind of turn that around a little bit on the reader and say, this was absolutely lovely, but to have these things, everyone else was in sort of abject misery and they came for blood." (Cameron Sullivan, 15:10)

6. Magic System—Grounded Yet Arcane

• Design Principles:

  • Magic is powerful but constrained by historical plausibility.
  • Strict rules prevent "world-breaking" events; magic can’t alter key historical outcomes.

  “I had to make very strict rules around it. And also in the sense that Sebastian does have a lot of power, but not all the time... It's a little dance I had to do so that he was never all powerful at the wrong moment.” (Cameron Sullivan, 18:08)

7. Engaging With History: Research & Realism

• Depth and Limitations:

  • Sullivan emphasizes how much about the past is unknowable—especially for everyday lives.
  • Research (e.g., peasant diets, weapons operation) enriches the setting, while the footnote device provides flexibility for humor, explanations, or insights without bogging down the prose.

  "...people in the past are essentially aliens... The Romans were not like us. You can't put any of our... paradigms onto them." (Cameron Sullivan, 26:22)
  “The footnotes are a bit of a pressure valve for me as well. I can just put something in a footnote and then move on.” (Cameron Sullivan, 30:50)

8. The Monster Hunt as Metaphor and Spectacle

• Historical Event & Personal Journey:

  • The well-documented hunt for the beast provided rich material.
  • Sullivan blends public spectacle with Sebastian’s private, supernatural quest; public violence and personal stakes become intertwined.

  “The hunt itself in the book almost becomes two layered... The monster hunter narrative kind of superimposed on history in a way that's still consistent with how we understand that history...” (Cameron Sullivan, 34:52)

9. Romance Amid Monsters and Mortality

• Sebastian & Antoine:

  • Their affair is ill-fated; Antoine, as a “messy rich boy,” shakes Sebastian’s defenses despite his immortal caution.
  • The relationship is set against a background of fleeting time and incompatible futures, balancing lust, longing, and looming tragedy.

  “He still falls madly in love with the wrong person at the wrong time and then will make terrible decisions based on that feeling…” (Cameron Sullivan, 37:01)

• Queerness in Historical Context:

  • Sullivan wanted a queer protagonist and romance, handled within the social realities of 18th-century France—private, coded, and unspoken, rather than anachronistically politicized.

  “They wouldn't have thought about queer or gay or bisexual or pansexual in any of those terms. So I wanted to convey the real emotional and, you know, the lust and... relationship without making the fact that it was a queer relationship a big flag that they were waving around...” (Cameron Sullivan, 42:37)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On the importance of history's sweep:

  "Our history informs us, informs who we are now in ways that we don't really understand without a long view... I wanted that feeling in the spiritual, magical sphere.” (Cameron Sullivan, 23:16)

• On the challenge of writing violence:

  "There's a real visceral nature to how we experience the divine or the otherworldly. So that part of it actually came quite naturally with the events of what was happening in the book.” (Cameron Sullivan, 11:05)

• On queerness and authenticity:

  "I just think from what I've read, it was unthinkable at the time... They wouldn't have thought about queer or gay or bisexual or pansexual in any of those terms." (Cameron Sullivan, 43:40)

Important Timestamps

• [02:30]: Introduction to guest and novel
• [03:05]: Legend of the Beast of Gévaudan and its allure
• [04:26]: Origins of Sebastian and his bond with Sarmadel
• [06:24]: Layered narrative structure and the use of time
• [09:37]: Balancing gore and empathy
• [12:53]: The theme of class and the looming Revolution
• [17:24]: Principles behind the magic system
• [21:37]: Influence of Rome, Christianity, and continuity in history and magic
• [25:48]: The historical research process and the use of footnotes
• [31:48]: The monster hunt as spectacle and social metaphor
• [36:44]: Developing the core romance and “messy rich boy” allure
• [39:58]: Writing queerness within its historical and speculative context
• [44:47]: Teasing the next book—Renaissance witch hunts and the Spanish conquest

Tone & Style

Throughout, Sullivan is thoughtful, dryly witty, and self-aware—mirroring the novel's tone. Lanier is enthusiastic, incisive, and deeply engaged with both the book and issues of craft, queerness, and historical representation.

Final Thoughts

The Red Winter emerges as a historically immersive, darkly funny, queer reimagining of both myth and romance, caught between personal longing, societal upheaval, and centuries of monsters—both literal and metaphorical. Sullivan’s approach to trauma, love, and identity roots the fantasy in keenly observed, lived-in reality, making it as much a meditation on history as it is a thrilling supernatural hunt.

For listeners intrigued by history’s shadows, monsters, and human longing, this conversation (and this book) delivers both depth and delight.