WiHM Part Three

Hi, I’m Rebecca Besser, author of “Undead Drive-Thru, NurseBlood,” and, “Hall of Twelve.” Dale asked me to write about what it was like (for me) to be a horror writer. I guess, first off, I should make it clear that I don’t only write horror; it’s just what I’m best known for. I also write poetry, nonfiction, and other fiction for various age groups and genres. I kind of fell into horror – I say “fell” because once I tried writing horror I loved it. I literally fell in love with horror writing. The other genres close to my heart are Scifi and fantasy.

Honestly, being a female in the horror genre has never been an issue for me. The only instance I can remember anyone saying anything to me that was negative was when someone (a man) told me I should abbreviate my first name down to an initial so no one would know I was female. I instantly got pissed and told him that I would write whatever I wanted. If people didn’t like it, they didn’t have to read anything by me. I refuse to pander to people’s close-mindedness.

I write some very twisted stuff (I’ve been told so by friends/fans), and have the respect of many male writers in the horror genre. I’ve even had many want to collaborate on projects with me. I’ve never in any way felt like an outcast. The sad thing is though, other women have, and that needs to stop.

I’m not a person who likes to fit in with everyone else by being the same. I like to be me, unrestrained. This is why I think my favorite genres appeal to me the most. I love the freedom of no limits – they actually encourage you to go beyond what you know, and think: What if? Horror in particular blows limits out of the water in ways that can disturb you into thinking, not only of what drives the dark in us all, but what makes each of us human and binds us together despite our differences – fear. We all fear something, and we all know there are sick people in the world that would do things to others for reasons we don’t understand…

Sometimes that monster of twisted sickness lives inside a seemingly sane person, and it’s released when the prison the monster is kept in, in their head, cracks. Stress, trauma, and/or grief can do just enough damage to people to turn them into what we fear – uncontrolled, unleashed beasts of carnage and destruction. Those are the stories horror writers tell, among others. Anyone who writers horror has to be able to turn a mirror on themselves that can see the darkness of humanity as truth; it’s not for the weak. You have to be able to push beyond what is comfortable and expose the shocking in a way the reader can relate to, and this is no easy feat. Not everyone can write horror. Not everyone can go where they need to inside and still stay sane enough to come back to themselves. Horror doesn’t care if you’re male or female, because that doesn’t matter. You just have to be strong to write it, otherwise it will break you.

As a matter of fact, the bias idea that someone of a certain gender can’t write in any genre they want makes no sense at all whatsoever. (Men who write romance or erotica have the same stigma as women in horror.) What could possibly hinder creativity because of gender? Do people think that if the writer is a certain gender they don’t know anything about fear or love? The reality is that everyone knows about love and fear – and a great many other things – they just have different experiences and views of it than others.

To fight against the close-minded taboo of genre/gender bias, I challenge everyone to read something by an author you’ve never read before, and if you’ve never read something in a genre from a member of a certain gender, do so. Everyone has their own writing voice, style, and insight into people and situations – regardless of being male or female.

Lose your mind in stories, and loose the possibilities of discovery.

ON BEING A WEIRDO – CONFESSIONS OF A WOMAN HORROR WRITER

By Sara Jayne Townsend

 In my early 20s, I was taken along to a writing group meeting by a member of my amateur dramatic group.  She was an older lady, and indeed most of the group were older than me.  By about 30 years.  However, they were all friendly enough, at least until someone asked me what kind of writer I was.  “Horror, mostly”, I said cheerfully.  Everyone in the room fell silent, and turned to stare at me.  From the looks on their faces, I may as well have said I was a serial killer.  Eventually someone said, “Well.  We’ve never had one of those before.”  Needless to say, I did not go back to that group.

I’ve never really been into the ‘happy ever after’.  By age 12 I was reading Agatha Christie mysteries and by 14 I had discovered Stephen King and was a fully-fledged horror fan.  The teen romances that my classmates seemed to enjoy so much I found exceedingly dull.  They all seemed to be so formulaic – boy meets girl; boy eventually wins girl; everyone lives happily ever after.  “But life isn’t like that!” I’d shout at the page.  Of course, I was coming at this from the perspective of a girl that didn’t go out on dates.  As a teenager I was a somewhat overweight, intense swot who took life very seriously.  From my perspective, the boys went for the blonde bubbly cheerleader types who were full of fun.  They all thought I was a bit of a weirdo.

Since the age of 14, I’ve been a horror writer.  I loved writing stories with the shock twist ending.  I was particularly fond of decapitations.  Two of my earliest stories appear in my short story collection SOUL SCREAMS – they can be identified easily because they are the ones featuring decapitations!

 For me, there’s been something thrilling about the dark side of life, be it the darkness inside the human psyche, or the things that go bump in the night.  I relish throwing all sorts of horrible things at my characters.  As an angsty teenager, writing was a way of dealing with my own insecurities.  I wrote about loneliness; death; betrayal; isolation.  These were all things I feared and writing about them was a way of dealing with them.  It was a form of exorcism.  I did not want to write about ‘happy ever after’ and girls finding Mr Right.  Mostly this was because I wanted to hold onto the happy feelings, it was the bad stuff I wanted to exorcise.

I still prefer violence to romance.  I want to read – and write – about terrible things happening to ordinary people.  To me, horror is a safe way of exploring the darkness.  When you read about terrible things happening to characters in a horror novel, it can draw you in, make you feel genuinely scared.  But when you put the book down and return to your own life, it seems pretty good in comparison.  The population of the world has not been destroyed in the zombie apocalypse, and chances are there’s no unstoppable supernatural beastie out to eat you.  So maybe the washing machine is broken, you’re skint and it’s two weeks till payday, but these problems suddenly don’t seem insurmountable.

I am, by nature, not a very violent person.  I’m not about to crack and stab my colleagues from the day job with the paper knife for talking too loud on the phone when I’m trying to type my committee meeting minutes.  But I might write about someone who does that.  Yes, maybe that’s why they all think I’m weird, but they should be glad to know I keep my violent tendencies to my fiction.

As a horror writer, I aim to give you nightmares.  If I succeed, then remember that you will wake up from the nightmare, and in the warm light of day, perhaps your life will look brighter than it did in the dead of night.  I am a woman.  I am a horror writer.  And I am proud to be both.

BIO:

Sara Jayne Townsend is a UK-based writer and founder and Chair of the T Party Writers’ Group.  Her short story collection SOUL SCREAMS can be bought in paperback or e-book format from Amazon
UK link

US link 

Learn more about her writing from her website (http://sarajaynetownsend.weebly.com) or follow her blog (http://sayssara.wordpress.com). 

Marianne Halbert

“Are you sure? Because you really don’t look like a horror writer.”

That’s the response I get, verbally, or at minimum by the skeptical glance tossed my way when I tell people, “I’m a horror writer.” I’ve had dozens of short stories traditionally published by various magazines and in small press anthologies. Necrotic Tissue. Midnight Screaming. ThugLit. Evil Jester. Wicked East. The Four Horseman. Grinning Skull. Shall I go on? Because I could, and it would make me happy. Am I striking you as a horror writer yet? Is it my lack of tattoos? Piercings? Black lipstick? (I have been known to wear black nail polish on occasion, and I wear it well.) I just came out with my first collection, “Wake Up and Smell the Creepy”. New York Times best-selling author Rick Hautala said the stories in it “hit you like a punch you didn’t see coming,” and that I have “writing chops to spare”. But still, I get the doubtful shake of the head. I persist, “I’m working on my first horror novel. The Lady’s Pocket. It’s a ghost story.” And yet they repeat, ever so politely, “You just don’t look like a horror writer.” And that is one of the reasons we need a month to recognize “Women in Horror.”

Do women write differently than men? Perhaps. We think differently, we behave differently in some ways. I could claim we’ve got dibs on sexy, or vulnerable, but male authors convey those things quite well. Truth be told, when I’m reading a story, I’d just as soon not know who wrote it. Man, woman. Straight, gay. Race, age, hometown, sweet or dill. What does it matter? It doesn’t. What matters is the story, and getting lost in it. If the author is at the forefront of your mind as you’re reading a story, that’s a fail. Now, when I love it, and want more by the same pen, then I want to know who wrote it. Then I want to know all about them. Him. Her. Pinot Grigio or Pinot Noir. Savory or sweet. Tell me more.

I write horror because that’s what draws me. I shy away from gore, but feel the pull of sorrow. Of loss. Of fear. Give me a bent-eared copy of “Rebecca” or “Wuthering Heights”, or anything by Shirley Jackson over gore any day. I’ll see your gothic horror and I’ll raise you a spine-tingle. Anyone can bring a blade into a scene. It takes talent to bring a sense of dread. I like to think I’ve got my finger on the pulse of what makes people tick, what scares them, what rips their heart out, and the different ways they react. How that reaction, and inter-reaction between characters propels the plot. And when those images keep me awake, when they haunt me in the middle of the night, don’t I have just as much right to put them to paper, (or keyboard) and exorcise them from my thoughts and share them with you as any male writer would?

So yes, I’m a blue-eyed, Midwestern, strawberry-blonde. I don’t have a raven perpetually perched on my shoulder, or tentacles embracing my midriff (although a girl can dream). But I love heart-pounding, bump-in-the-night thrills. I love that even though men have cornered the market on horror writing for eons, and I’ve devoured their stories, we’ve come to a point of giving women an equal voice. Because I have a voice. My name is Marianne Halbert. I’m a horror writer. I have something to say. And I hope it creeps the hell out of you.

Dale Eldon on Patricia Cornwell, and ladies in horror

One of the first authors to really get me into reading (more specifically, horror) is Patricia Cornwell. My mother turned me onto her since at that point I was into crimnology, but the more I read, the more I fell in love with her ability to not only bring the characters alive, but the way she wrote the gruesome scenes. When I worked a steakhouse, I had one of her books with me, and as I was reading another told me that women can't write. I wanted to punch him in the throat. Cornwell is just a good of an author as any other professional author. Better than the crap that makes millions of dollars in the box office.

When I got into horror, it was horror authors, Rebecca Besser, and Rhiannon Mills that got me going. I remember that Rhiannon had mentioned something about women horror authors being frowned on, which surprised me. People get some strange bias opinions, especially towards genre and authors. Sure we like what we like, but sometimes it goes a bit too far.

Just my two-cents, I'm a fan of horror, period. And women write some of the best horror out there!

(WiHM) Author Jordyn Redwood, Part Two

For those of you who tuned in earlier last year when I posted Jordyn's interview for PROOF, I have reposted it as Part One. Today is Part Two, and about the sequel called POISON, and a deeper look at poision.

The Duality of Toxins, by Jordyn Redwood

I like book titles with double meaning. My first published book was titled, Proof. There were two types of proof the heroine needed. Proof to convict her assailant of his horrific crimes and proof of God in her life.

Poison, the second book in the Bloodline Trilogy, is releasing this month and in this instance—there is an actual nefarious agent (not giving away too much) and a side meaning as well.
What poisons your life? Is it a bad relationship? Is it believing a lie? Is it an actual toxin like dirking too much liquor, using illegal drugs or prescription drugs in ways they weren’t intended?

Writing suspense, particularly with a heavy medical edge, I think requires something unusual to be found. I’m a research hound. I love to learn about new things. And for Poison, I read a lot on different types of toxins. 

Aren’t toxins interesting? How minute substances can make a person ill or end up killing? This is the stuff suspense novels are made from and the lure for every author—finding that one poison—undetectable, fast-acting, easily transmittable or ingested without the victim knowing.

I remember as a youngster hearing the story of how a long-dead great uncle had passed. According to my grandfather, he’d served in the military during WWI and had died as the result of complications from mustard gas exposure.

So lately, in thinking about toxins, I began to wonder what exactly mustard gas was and how did it kill.

Interestingly, I discovered that term “gas” can mean more than just a vaporous substance and can be any chemical substance.

Lethal Gases: Lead to disablement or death.

Harassing agents: Disrupt enemy soldiers.

Accidental Gases: Gases encountered during war that are not related to a chemical agent like excessive gases from gunpowder during a fight.

Mustard gas falls into the first group—lethal gases. Tear gas, for instance, would fall into the second category.

But how does mustard gas kill?

Mustard gas is also called sulfur mustard and its name is derived from its foggy yellow appearance and mustard like smell. It’s a blistering agent/alkylating agent and comes in many forms: vapor, liquid or solid. When a person comes into contact with the agent, it damages the skin and mucous membranes inside. The chemical liquefies tissue.

Since it freezes at a high temperature, it’s not very effective when it’s cold. It doesn’t spread easily and would fall to the ground before soldiers could be exposed. This property also made it a good weapon because it could stay low on the ground for weeks depending on the temperature and expose unsuspecting troops going into the area. Another factor that made it a good weapon—people adjusted to the smell quickly.

Mustard gas was used first by the Germans in 1917 and was born out of the trench warfare era where new military strategies had to be devised to get men out of their bunkers. The agent was fitted onto artillery shells which were then shot to toward the enemy lines without the accompanying explosion which I’m sure seemed strange to the soldiers at the time.

Hey, why didn’t that thing blow up? What exactly is that yellow fog?

Unfortunately, mustard gas doesn’t often kill expediently. The first symptom was generally red blisters to the skin that developed within 2-24 hours. If the gas was inhaled, these blisters would slowly develop and seal off the airway.

Other symptoms:

Eyes: Irritation, redness, burning, inflammation and even blindness

Skin: Itchy redness that is replaced with yellow blisters
Respiratory system: Runny or bloody nose, sneezing, hoarse throat, shortness of breath, coughing, sinus pain.

Digestive system: abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever, nausea and vomiting
It was possible for the body to heal if there was a short, brief encounter. Longer, more frequent exposures proved to be more deadly.

By the end of WWI, chemical agents inured 1 million soldiers and civilians and killed 100,000 people.

Likely, mustard gas wouldn’t be considered favorable to use in chemical warfare these days because of its prolonged activity.

This LINK goes to a very powerful article on mustard gas and its effects and was used heavily in the writing of this piece—the italicized areas are from the article. It is definitely worth the read.

What about you? What interesting things have you researched that have ended up in a novel?


CHECK OUT THE TRAILER!

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.

Author Carmilla Voiez-WiHM (Women in Horror Month)

Today on The Eldon Blog, I have the lovely Carmilla Voiez. Tell us about the first book in your Starblood series.

The first book is called Starblood. It begins with Satori, a man whose girlfriend, Star, has recently left him. He is a magical practitioner who follows the left hand path and in his warped logic he believes the only way to get her back is to use a demon’s power. His magical ritual goes wrong and a far more powerful and uncontrollable demon, Lilith, steps into his room.

She plays games with him and each of his friends driving them to madness and despair as the story progresses Satori searches for ways to defeat Lilith.

It looks at the dark, controlling and obsessive sides of sex and love.

PICK UP A COPY

Tell us about PSYCHONAUT.

Psychonaut is the sequel to Starblood. It continues where Starblood finishes. To save the woman he loves Satori must cross dangerous lands which exist within his mind and outside accepted reality. He meets monsters and gods on his journey and finds that the most difficult barrier to overcome is his self.

It’s a story about growth, about becoming a man. His quest is to save Star from Lilith’s crutches, but can he save her when he seems unable to save himself?

PICK UP A COPY

Anything else you have planned for this series?

I am writing the third book in the trilogy. I have almost finished the first draft. It promises to be the darkest, most frightening and most exciting book I have written so far. It will be called Black Sun.

What is it that drew to horror?

I have always loved horror. Even as a child I always wanted to read stories about ghosts and monsters. My fondest childhood memories, apart from reading, are sitting with my father late into the evening watching Hammer Horror films on our television.

Any other works after, the Starblood series on the horizon?

I am working on a horror anthology, Broken Mirrors, Fractured Minds, taking the best that indie writers and artists have to offer. It should be released around the same time as Black Sun, Fall 2013.

Thank you for joining me, Carmilla.

Carmilla's Bio:

I was born in Bristol, South West England in the 1970's. Now I live by the sea in North East Scotland with a husband, two kids and three cats. I've studied English and Creative Writing with the Open University. I'm a Goth and used to run and design clothing for a Gothic company before I became a full-time writer.

The Starblood Trilogy is an erotic horror/dark fantasy/paranormal romance trilogy. The first two books have been published by Vamptasy. Starblood was the first book and has been critically acclaimed and nominated for the Commonwealth Book Prize. Psychonaut was released on Kindle December 2012 and will be out in paperback in January 2013. It is the second book in the trilogy and continues the stories of the Gothic characters and a demon. Psychonaut has been endorsed by horror writing maestro Graham Masterton.

The trilogy is about a group of friends, one of which accidently unleashes a demon who starts a murder spree. It's very much about how the characters and the story develop in interconnected ways. Although it is both comfortable in the horror and erotica genre, it's primarily a series of books about people. Flawed, beautiful, intelligent and highly sexed people.

I'm working on the third book at the moment. I'm also hoping to release a collection of spooky stories in 2013. I have a short story on Kindle called "A Christmas Carole" which is light-hearted lesbian erotica.

My favourite authors are Clive Barker, Storm Constantine and Graham Masterton (in the horror and fantasy genres). Outside the horror and fantasy genres I love Sarah Waters, Leo Tolstoy and Zadie Smith.

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/artattack/2012/12/psychonaut.php





WiHM-DEEP CUTS Anthology Spotlight

I meant to send a request a couple of days ago to WiHM (Women in Horror Month) for official status to showcase some of the amazing women authors out there during this event. But around this time I got sick. Though it wasn't anything life threatening, it wasn't even the flu, it still kept me down a lot. So today since I have recovered pretty good, I went ahead and did a little catching on tasks that should have been done over the pass few days, one of which getting official WiHM status as an Ambassador.

The information gave the warning that it might take a couple of weeks to approve the status, so I figured I could do a blog post for WiHM at the end of the month to show support, and that would be that. Then the WiHM ADMIN got back to me very quickly with the OK.

 

I want to take this month as a chance to show my support for horror women authors. If it wasn't for the ladies in this genre, I wouldn't even be writing horror.

 

So, since I have this entire month yet, I will be keeping my eye out for any female-horror-author related links and books to share and discuss. I'm only looking for excuses to showcase authors on here, sometimes I get a bit backlogged with things and I'm not able to do as much as I would like, but this month I'm good for launch. And since I found out about this special event via author Rebecca Besser, I had to join in to show my support.

For the first day of WiHM I want to spotlight the anthology, DEEP CUTS, brought to you by Evil Jester Press. Read on…

 

Deep Cuts…

Warning: cuts may be deeper than they appear. 19 short horror stories to give you shivers plus 60 recommendations for powerhouse tales written by women—those bloody stylings and chainsaw rhythms that have lain hidden like deadly gems among other great works.

 

"Deep Cuts smartly sidesteps the bloody 'women in horror' debate and puts its money where its mouth is. This fantastic collection, featuring both genders, pays tribute to the best dark tales told by women. A deeply cerebral experience that is at times honest and intimate, but always chilling." —Mercedes M. Yardley, author of Beautiful Sorrows

 

Cover art by Anja Millen. Contributors include Nancy Holder, Yvonne Navarro, Mehitobel Wilson, Lisa Morton, Sandra Odell, Samael Gyre, Sara Taylor, Michael Haynes, R.S. Belcher, Stephen Woodworth, C.W. Smith, Colleen Anderson, James Chambers, Ed Kurtz, Rachel Karyo, Kelly A. Harmon, Scathe meic Beorh, Patricia Lillie, Satyros Phil Brucato, and Rob M. Miller.

PICK UP A COPY!!!