Travel to somewhere midway between Nathanael West’s The Day of the Locust and Todd Grimson’s Brand New Cherry Flavor and you’ll find yourself in the realm of CJ Leede’s new novel Maeve Fly. The novel’s title character is a young woman living and working in Los Angeles — all the while growing increasingly alienated from the world around her. If you suspect that sounds like a recipe for something violent and transgressive, you’re completely correct; one of the many compelling features of Leede’s novel is the way it immerses you in Maeve’s world and worldview, until you’re firmly ensconced in a nightmarish place. I spoke with Leede about her work, the role of LA in her fiction, and much more.