The decision to write her first children’s book did not actually come as a decision, Cuthbert said, but rather a thought in the middle of the night.

“I sometimes have insomnia and one night I thought of this line about puddlers,” Cuthbert said. “I didn’t know what a puddler was, but I woke up in the morning and remembered it, wrote it down, and thought of a few more lines until I said, ‘I think this is a children’s book’.”

Cuthbert posted her idea to Facebook, and soon received a message from interested publishers, including the publisher of the book, Malediction. Cuthbert said there will potentially be five other children’s books to follow this one, with the second one to focus on witches. “High Up On Witch Mountain” is set to be released next year.

“Down in the Dark Deep Where the Puddlers Dwell” focuses on a monster that Cuthbert invented and is told through second person narration, allowing the reader to go on a scary adventure as if they were the main character of the book.

“Hopefully it’s fun and not too scary,” Cuthbert said.

“It’s meant to be spooky, not fun or cute like the monsters in ‘Monsters Inc.’ I know not all parents will probably go for it.”

Even though it is a children’s book, Cuthbert said she thinks it can appeal to people of all ages. She described the artwork as “a treat” for adults who remember or grew up with “Scooby Doo”. The illustrations were done by Dakota Marquardt, a former student of hers at the State University at Fredonia.

“Rebecca approached me with a fantastically worded question: how do I feel about messed up children’s books?” Marquardt said. “As someone that grew up reading everything written by Stine and Schwartz, I told her that I loved them. She presented me with the opportunity to create a creepy creature from one of her stories and it just branched off from there. It is always a terrifyingly great time working with Rebecca, so of course I agreed.”

Marquardt said this project was something that she wanted to do because of having worked with Cuthbert before, and also because they thought the project proposal sounded like fun, saying that it ” pulled me in right from the start.”

“I was given tons of creative freedom to interpret the story visuals and the direction that was given was always enthusiastic and constructive,” Marquardt said. “I knew that it was going to be a good experience but it ended up being even better than expected.”

Marquardt has illustrated works for Cuthbert in the past, specifically “Hello Little Seed”, and has done other smaller illustration projects throughout the years. Additionally, Marquardt illustrated a published book back in middle school, though it was only a couple of illustrations scattered through chapters, saying that this was the first more intensive project that they have done, and that they hope everyone enjoys the book as much as them.

Cuthbert said there is not a big market for darker, horror, children’s books, but it is not something that is brand new. For Cuthbert herself it is a newer type of writing to try, having focused mostly on horror adult fiction and dark poetry in the past. She currently has two books that have been published, with a third set for Oct 4. Her first book was “In Memory of Exoskeletons”, published in January 2023, with her second “How To Become A Horror Writer” published this year. “Self Made Monsters” is set for release in October and “Down in the Dark Deep Where the Puddlers Dwell” will be her fourth.

“It’s special for me because it is my first time in a new genre and I originally had no plans to do it,” Cuthbert said. “The best part for me was working with an old student of mine and having them do the artwork. It was fun to work with them and the publisher to work to create this book.”

Cuthbert said the artwork is “fantastic” and that the group had a lot of fun, adding that she is excited to do more in the future. This book is also dedicated to her nieces, and Cuthbert said it was fun to give them a book meant for kids.

“I have one book coming in October but I will have more next year,” Cuthbert said. “I look forward to a hopefully long career in publishing and encourage everyone to look out for my future titles. I’m also happy to come and visit any children’s story hours at libraries.”