WiHM-From the Authors-Part Two

Hi, my name is Mandy DeGeit and I have a vagina. While this may seem abrupt, it’s true; and I’m also a horror writer. Writing horror coupled with the fact I have a vagina allows me to fall under the title of female horror writer.

In the past year, I’ve never once stopped to think, “Holy crap, I’m a girl and I’m writing horror.” I just write whatever comes to mind, edit it, submit and hope for the best. I personally think being a female horror author is the same as being a male author, except for the obvious genital differences. Maybe I’m still too new to the scene to have experienced any form of sexism, but I’ve had nothing but good experiences so far. I have friends in the industry, who like me, are also female. I’ve never heard them complaining they didn’t get accepted for an anthology because of their sex. I’ve never questioned the fact that I write horror, I’ve never wondered why, I just write.

I do have an assumption that some people might think women have to write more “flowery” or “mushy” compared to male authors. While this might be the case for some, it’s not for everyone. I’m largely influenced by whom I’m reading at the time. Some of my favorite authors are (but not limited to) Edward Lee, J.F. Gonzalez, Jack Ketchum and Wrath James White. I enjoy reading their novels because of how extreme they are. I want to be shocked and they pull it off. While most of my writing has been on the subtle side, my writing as of late is definitely stepping into new sub-genres of horror, extreme horror being one of them.

*Off topic: I’ve also started to dabble in Bizarro, or as my pre-reader calls my stories “Bizarro-lite”. I was really surprised to hear there were only a handful of female Bizarro authors. Is it because women have a harder time wrapping their creativity around the fantastical and implausible? I find that hard to believe, since I think romance novels fall into the fantastical and implausible zone, but women still eat them up.

In closing, I personally don’t see a difference between male and female horror authors. Yes, there are fewer women than men in the industry, but while I don’t have actual numbers, I feel this is changing. I wish I had more insight on the female horror perspective, but I don’t. If women are making more of a stand in the horror genre, then I’m really glad to be part of the change.

My name is Mandy and I’m a female horror writer.

Upcoming stuff:

February 2013: “Dead Things Don’t Rise” in the 50 Shades of Decay Anthology by Angelic Knight Press

March 2013: “Morning Sickness” in the Mistresses of the Macabre Anthology by Dark Moon Books
You can find more about Mandy at http://mandydegeit.com

Kat Yares

When I first started out writing horror and hoping to get it published. I lived in a small, overly religious town in Missouri. My mail carrier lived three or four houses down on the same street. As a single mother with two young kids, I was already looked at with suspicion. But when word got out that I was sending packages to places such as Cemetery Dance, Gore Zone and Grue magazines (yes, short story submissions were all done by snail mail then - in large manilla envelopes) that's when people started to whisper. Or tack notes on my door that I was surely going to hell. Or phone calls with the same message (no caller-id back then either).

It reached the point, where I changed to a pen name (very male sounding) and took my submissions to a town about 30 miles away to mail them. Also opened a P.O. Box there for the rejections that would surely come (and hopefully an acceptance or two also). I hoped the anonymity would stop the harassment. It did. The neighbors still looked at me strangely, but the notes and phone calls finally ended. I also noticed that my submissions were getting read more and my rejection slips were more than just the usual form letter, usually having a few editor notes on the manuscript. Did that relate to the male sounding pen name? I always thought so.

During this time I was writing confessions for magazine such as True Love and True Confessions. Don't know if they publish either any more, but at the time it was good money and they bought all rights so my name was never associated with them. But like my horror stories - every submission went through that 'other' post office. After all, didn't want my neighbors to think I did any of what I wrote, but since I was single, they probably would have done that.

Move ahead in time, the kids got older, started school and after a few moves, I ended up in Arkansas. My writing pretty much on hold. I was too busy working full time and being 'mom' to just sit down and write. But stories were always in my head. For the most part, the best I could do was jot down ideas and notes for when I had time.

Zoom forward a few more years - the kids are teenagers (and needing Mom less), I've remarried and got time I my hands. I started dusting off some of those old stories, writing new ones and began submitting again. This time I had the Internet and email. Sweet.

My first year back saw a dozen acceptances to small print and online ezines. This time around, I did it all in my "Real" name. I had grown not only as a writer, but also in how I really didn't care what anyone else thought of me or what I wrote. As long as publishers were accepting my works, I was good to go. In 2001, I had sold enough short stories to qualify for membership in the Horror Writers Association and after a brief membership break, I'm back to being a member again. I will not drop the ball on membership renewal again.

While now, I self-publish for the most part, I do so in my real name. And although not everything I write is horror, my name graces the cover.I'm proud of every word.

At the same time, I get 'irked' when I see the inevitable lists of influential horror writers. It appears to still be the same 'good old boys' network. Although I would never consider myself to be one, very often these lists are either all men or a single female name or two thrown in as a bone for women writers. When you question these lists, chances are you'll get a responses like "Well, Shelly (Frankenstein) was a one hit wonder" Anne Rice doesn't write horror, she writes paranormal romance and most of the list builders have never heard of Shirley Jackson.

I find it very sad, that so many men are threatened by the thought of women writing horror. As many women write it so much better than many men. (Again, I'm not saying I'm one of them - not by a long shot, but I can think of a few that are). It is just simply time we throw out gender in any genre of writing and judge the words on the page and not whose name is on the cover. Will this happen in my lifetime? Probably not, as the good old boys seem to want to push women back fifty years every single day - at least in the political climate of the U.S.

Yet, I'll keep writing my stories. Surprisingly, (or not) much of what I write concerns the male suppression of women. I'll continue to read more Women who write horror than men. It's my own silent protest, funded by the dollars in my purse.

Links:

Webpage (blog)
FB Author Page
Twitter
Amazon Author Page
Ganxy
Barnes and Noble
Kobo
Goodreads Author Page

The Perception of Women in Horror: Written by Me, a Woman
By Julianne Snow

When I saw the call put out by Dale Eldon, I must admit that I was intrigued. Granted, while Dale and I are acquaintances on Facebook, we haven’t had much of a chance to get to know one another, author to author yet. I have read a few of his shorts and admire his style and I’m eagerly awaiting his novella. But that’s not what this post is about.

I’m a woman and I write horror.

Often times when I share what I do with friends and family I get a reaction that positively chills me to the depths of my moral fibre – you write what? Like writing horror is something reserved only for the truly sick and twisted; like I’m harbouring deep seated fantasies of dismemberment and carnage; like there’s something wrong with me.

Reactions of course can vary, but for the most part I have found they are generally negative. You notice the subtle change of the face, the look that makes you wonder if they are indeed trying to figure you out, the imperceptible step back and obvious brace for potential attack. I may be adding a little bit of emphasis from my bag of literary tricks, but I think many of you understand where I’m coming from. There is a stigma attached to a woman who writes about dead things, killing things, demons, murder – you catch my drift.

Is it because women are seen as nurturing and motherly that makes it so taboo, odd, downright scary? Have we been subjugated by an assigned gender role from the dawn on humankind? I hope to hell not!

I love what I do. I love that I get to kill people, bring the dead to life, and evoke intense responses to situations that none of us want to be in. I love that my words have scared, sickened, and made people want to reach out to thank me. I love that I can close my eyes at the end of the day and dream up more ways to terrify audiences. I’m proud to be a woman and I’m proud to write horror.

I do think that perception needs to change. Absolutely. Take a look at any of the lists that celebrate the ‘best’ horror writers. Now take a moment to count how many of them are female. Sadly, you will find the number of bestselling authors who are women is greatly overshadowed by their male counterparts.

Women write horror. Fantastic horror. The kind of horror that you should be reading. Many of these women are whom the publishing world refers to as ‘Indies’, simply those who choose to write what they want, who make it available to the masses, and who succeed at doing it their way. The fact of the matter is we have to start somewhere. History has taught us that change is possible and change is coming.

So I urge you to pick up a book by a horror author today. Only this time, make sure the author is a woman. Then, when you turn the lights off to go to bed tonight, huddled deep inside the safe sanctity of your covers, ask yourself if what you read doesn’t make you wish you still had a nightlight.

Better yet, when you buy the book, pick the nightlight up as well. You’ll thank me.

It’s a journal of survival. Five people set out to escape the Undead who have risen too close to home. Join the emotional and physical struggle as they began on the third day after the awakening of Brooks VanReit, as they are recorded from the point of view of Julie, a former pathologist and part-time survivalist. Each entry is geared toward helping those who want to help themselves and maybe give a few that don’t a swift kick in the ass. Join our group of survivors on their journey through these Days with the Undead.

BUY A COPY HERE!!!



A little more about Julianne:

As the only girl growing up in a family with four children in the Canadian countryside, Julianne Snow needed some form of escape. Her choice was the imaginations of others which only fostered the vibrancy of her own. A voracious reader by the age of 7, she tackled the classics along with many others while her friends were reading Pascal's Sweet Valley High series or Stine's Goosebumps books. She devoured King, Koontz, Christopher Pike, Robin Cook, and Marion Zimmer Bradley along with many more.

Her literary loves have expanded to include the works of Ariana Franklin, James Rollins, Gregoire Maguire, Jonathan Mayberry, Jeffrey Deaver, Diana Gabaldon, and Kathy Reichs along with the myriad of talented independently published authors she has discovered and in some cases, befriended. The horror and forensic/crime thriller genres top her list of favorites, but she can never turn down a good science fiction, fantasy or mystery read. Julianne's first full-length foray into the publishing realm follows a group of friends as they attempt to survive their Days with the Undead.