Author Spotlight: Suzanne Robb

Dale Eldon

Today I get to interview another friend of mine, and another EJP (Evil Jester Press) member. Suzanne is a wonderful scribe, even with three jobs she still manages to write story after story, and get accepted into a wide range of anthologies. She is one of the most interesting authors that I have met online, she has a fresh take on telling stories. Not only do I love the way she thinks, but I am sure many of you will as well. Ladies and gents, I give you Suzanne Robb...

Suzanne Robb

Suzanne Robb's debut novel Z-Boat will be released by Twisted Library Press. Her stories are in current and upcoming anthologies with various publishers. She is currently working on a sequel to her first book as well as another top secret one, editing two anthologies. In her free time she reads, watches movies, plays with her dog, and enjoys chocolate and Legos.

Suzanne's Blog

The wonderful collections below are anthologies that include Suzanne's stories. Enjoy!

Dead Souls Anthology by Post Mortem Press – The story is titled ”A New Breed”. The idea for this story struck me when I was thinking about all the things that could happen if a pregnant woman was bitten by a zombie. In movies we have seen hybrids of all kids and I thought to myself, ‘have I ever seen a zombie hybrid” and realized, no, I hadn’t. So in this story, we see what life is like for a boy who is ostracized form the group of survivors he lives in because of his differences. Half human/half zombie, he is their savior when convenient, but ignored after he fulfills his use.

Attack of the Fifty Foot book, Library of Fantasy Press, through Twisted Library Press – The story is titled “Chubby Cheeks”. When I first saw the submission call for this I had an idea about giant squirrels and stashing people, which my characters soon changed into a chipmunk science experiment gone horribly wrong. As the giant chipmunk goes on his rampage, stuffing people in his cheeks as he goes, an unlikely support group is formed for those inside. One of the more fun quirky stories I have written.

Monk Punk, Static Movement – Story is titled “Citipati”. At first I had no intention writing for this as they wanted to put a new edge on both Monks and the type of stories they would be involved with. After some prodding and a supportive friend I looked up some Tibetan myth and came across the legend of a pretty horrific murder in which the spirits of two brothers killed haunt the cemetery, thus was born my story. The spirits come back and through a mystical scroll one of them is able to possess a body, and then begin a search for his brother.

Live and Let Undead – Library of the Living Dead Imprint, Twisted Library Press. Story is titled “Dentist’s, autopsies, and Nutritionist’s, OH My!” The moment this anthology opened I knew what to write. The premise was what to do with the bodies of the zombies after the apocalypse, so I took a risk. I wrote a story, mockumentary style. My main character takes his cameraman on a tour through the hospital in which zombies are brought to in order to make it safe for them to mainstream back into society. Needless to say, much gore, horror, and humor are involved.

Suzanne on Amazon

The interview:

When did you first want to write for a living?

I first wanted to write when I was about five years old. When friends would come over I thought it was fun to create out own read your own adventure books which were popular at the time. We would each scribble down a paragraph and then throw it together. I never thought of it as something to make a living by, more as a way to express myself. However, I would not say no to one day making a living doing what I love.


What made you decide on horror/Sci-Fi/Thriller?

A friend pushed me in the direction of horror. Up until that point I had been writing non-ficiton in my free time and doing the occasional magazine article. Then one day a friend found an anthology call and pointed me there, I’ve never looked back.


How long have you been writing?

I’ve been writing since I was able to hold a crayon, but writing seriously for about ten months. Before that it was online content, and jotting things down for fun. If I were to include that, then we are looking at ten years on and off (with long periods of OFF)


What kind of inspirations do you have? 

The media, people in general, and humor. A lot of my writing has an element of quirk to it, whether in the title, one of the characters, or plot itself. I look all around me and see all sorts of things that I like the challenge of combining with horror.


Favorite authors/or books? 

Christopher Moore, his books Fool, Fluke, and A Dirty Job are my favorites. Jasper Fforde and his Thursday next series. David Sedaris, Me Talk Pretty one day is too funny. Chelsea Handler, Chuck Klosterman, C.S.Lewis, Early Dean Koontz, and so many others.


What can we expect to see from you in the near future?

Well, my first book will be out with the Twisted Library Press, it is called Z-Boat, and is a zombie story with a twist. It is most definitely not your average zombies people are dealing with. I am also co-editing an anthology called Read the end First with my friend Adrian Chamberlin, and it has 24 authors representing 24 time zones, each one ending the world in a unique way.

In April another anthology I am editing will be out called Anxiety Disorders, Hidden Thoughts Press is the publisher.

I also hope to work on other collaborations with Adrian, one is called O.A.Z, (Old Age Zombies). And hopefully if he has time something with Stephen North.