When May Cobb wrote her 2021 book “The Hunting Wives,” a fictional story about some rowdy East Texas women getting into serious trouble, she named the town where it takes place “Mapleton.”

“I still don’t really know why I did that because everyone knows this is Longview,” she said.

Four years later, the scandalous story of what happened in Mapleton is coming to a television set (or other device) near you. And although the town will be called “Maple Brook,” Longview is still the basis for the debauchery.

“The Hunting Wives,” written by Longview native Cobb, has been adapted into an eight-episode Netflix series of the same name that premieres July 21.

“The Hunting Wives” follows Sophie O’Neil, portrayed by Brittany Snow, as she and her family move from the East Coast to East Texas following a traumatic event. Sophie initially sees East Texas as a wholesome place filled with southern charm and other idyllic attributes. But underneath it all is “a world of temptation and dangerous liaisons,” the season overview reads.

She gets caught up with a group of affluent housewives who influence her to take “a treacherous path lined with jealousy, deadly suspicion, and murder.”

The series is rated for mature audiences.

Cobb, who now lives in Austin but is still proud of her Longview roots, spoke with the News-Journal ahead of the Netflix premiere. Her responses have been edited for length and clarity.

Q: So, what’s in store for viewers?

A: It really is like escapist fun, but it’s also grounded with a small-town murder mystery, which gives it some more gravity. So, it’s not just like rich people behaving badly. There’s some other serious elements brought in. I think that makes it a very gripping and riveting show to watch. There’s a cliffhanger at every turn. There’s secrets, lies, betrayal. It’s just kind of got it all.

And I think it’s interesting that people are going to see a very regionally specific part of Texas that they’re not familiar with. Most people don’t think of the deep pine forest. When they think of Texas, they think of “Landman” and Houston, Dallas. So I always have such a soft spot. I’m working on my seventh novel, and it’s set in East Texas, too.

Q: What degree of similarity will people see between the book and the series?

A: It is very similar. The book is a good blueprint for what the creators of the show went and did.  I feel like they took the spirit of the book, and they really made it into this very juicy, binge-worthy, eight-episode series that’s just beyond my wildest dreams, to be perfectly honest. Even though there’s differences, I applaud all the differences, and I’m so excited about it because it all still just really does feel like it celebrates the book and that spirit of rowdy Texas women behaving badly in the pine forest.

Q: Where was the series filmed?

A: It was filmed in Charlotte, North Carolina, which really doubled very well for East Texas, in my opinion. I flew out for pilot week, and when we landed, I felt like I was in Tatum. It looked almost like it does when you fly into the Gregg County airport. I was like, “OK, this definitely looks like home.”

Q:  Are there scenes in the series that people in East Texas might recognize?

A: There are some scenes that are on a lake, and in Charlotte, that’s Lake Norman. In East Texas, it’s Lake Cherokee. My family still has a log cabin there, and it doesn’t look like the fancy log cabin in the series, but it was definitely the inspiration when I was writing the book. And it’s where I brought the show runner and writer Rebecca Cutter when she came to do her tour of East Texas when everything was just getting kicked off. There’s a bar scene where there’s line dancing, and you might say, “That could be Leon’s (Steakhouse Saloon in Longview.)” It just all feels very authentic to me.

Q: What are some of the traits of your main characters that you think really resemble East Texas? You’ve said they’re rowdy Texas women. What is it that makes these women East Texan to you?

A: The Hunting Wives are able to just quickly embrace Sophie as a newcomer. Because that’s how it would be. They’d be like, “Oh, there’s a new girl. Let’s take her in.” Texas in general is kind of known as a party state. And Longview in particular, I think people like to have fun there.

Q: Tell us more about yourself. How did you become the author you are today?

A: When I was about 25 years old, I started writing a nonfiction book about a jazz musician because he so affected my life that I wanted to retrace his footsteps. His name was Rahsaan Roland Kirk, and he was blind, and he played three saxophones at the same time. So, that was my sort of start. It was a real passion thing for me, and I still need to finish that book. I did work in Hollywood as a personal assistant to an actor and director, and so I would read screenplays for them and write up coverage and notes. And so I’ve always wanted to be a writer, but I’ve had a very meandering path.

When we saw books like “Gone Girl” and “The Girl on the Train” kind of explode onto the scene, I was very drawn to those because it just really resonated with me. That’s when I started to draft my debut book, “Big Woods.” I love crime fiction. I love thrillers. I love that sort of genre of storytelling where the characters’ moral compass is skewed. You’re trying to not just figure out who’s done the murder, but maybe why – what’s driving these people, the human behavior of it all. My first novel was published in 2018.

Q: After people watch the series, what else would you want people to know about Longview?

A: I would just say in a word, it’s kind of unforgettable. You’re not going to forget meeting someone from there, and you’re not going to forget your visit there.

To learn more about Cobb’s other works, visit maycobb.com/.