Welcome to this week’s edition of my author interview series! Today I’d like to present Caitlin Marceau. Caitlin is a horror fiction writer from Montreal. Her work has appeared in Saturday Night Reader, Morpheus Tales, and Sanitarium Magazine among other outlets. This fall, she will work with co-producer Dan Foytik on the horror podcast, The Lift.

Recently, Caitlin spoke with me about how her childhood fears and her devotion to feminism play into the creation of her macabre fiction.

When did you first decide to become a writer, and who are some of your favorite authors?

I knew I wanted to be a writer since I was a little girl. My grandpa used to tell me “made-to-order” stories—which is when I’d tell him how many goblins, witches, castles, etc. I wanted in a story, and he’d come up with a tale that fit the specifications — and that really got me into storytelling. My parents also stressed the importance of literacy from a young age with my brother and me, and they pushed us to get the most out of our education. I really think it made all the difference for me.

As for my favourite authors, I was a huge J. K. Rowling and Tamora Pierce fan when I was growing up. As I grew up I also fell in love with Bentley Little and Stephen King’s works, and I adore everything by Kelley Armstrong. It’s great to see a successful Canadian author who writes strong female leads in horror. She’s definitely an inspiration.

Your writing often touches upon or delves headfirst into the horror genre. What initially drew you to horror, and for how long have you been a fan?

I used to hate everything to do with horror. I scared really easily as a kid and avoided anything that was even remotely freaky. Like, I saw The Ring and FeardotCom when I was younger and had nightmares for months (to this day I still refuse to rewatch them). I was really prone to sleepwalking and sleep terrors, so I avoided horror with my life.

But as I got older I developed this “if you can’t beat them, join them” mentality. I ended up delving headfirst into horror films, books, you name it, and I became totally obsessed. I started experimenting with special effects makeup, I’d have Romero marathons, and my writing drastically shifted from fantasy to the macabre come high school.

Recently, you’ve presented your talk “Bikinis, Brains, and Boogeymen: How To Write Realistic Women In Horror” at several conventions. What inspired you to get involved at this level, and what research did you do to prepare yourself for a presentation on such an important and varied topic?

I think I started giving workshops and panels because I felt conflicted over my interests. My mom’s a feminist, my friends are feminists, and I’m a feminist. But there’s this idea that you can’t be a feminist and someone who works within the confines of the horror genre. Misogyny is so intertwined with classic horror, and even some modern horror, that the idea of feminism in the genre can seem ridiculous.

After I was published a few times through Sanitarium Magazine I decided to create a workshop that would help people write stronger, more realistic, female characters in horror while breaking down some of the stereotypes. I wanted to show people that you can create amazing women in the genre while still leaving them their agency and brain. I hoped that by deconstructing some of these tropes people would take a more humanistic and feminist approach to writing women in horror, as opposed to the archaic gendered one.

The workshop premiered at the 2014 Montreal Comiccon and was also featured in this year’s Ottawa Comiccon. It had a really great reception and inspired me to come out with another workshop, “Witches, Werewolves, and Wraiths: A Writer’s Guide to Monster Making,” which I had the chance to present at this year’s Montreal Comiccon.

As for the research and preparation, it can be a bit overwhelming. I’ve watched a lot of horror films growing up, have gone through tomes of horror literature, and I think that’s all helped in terms of research, but there’s also a lot of academic research that’s involved with it. Lots of feminist theory, theory on how to craft compelling fiction, not to mention I do a lot of independent critiquing and analyzing of the materials. So I try and get as much info from as many perspectives as I can before I come up with my own approach to things.

Name the horror trope you think is most overused.

The half-naked woman running through the woods from the slow, lumbering, monster… only for the creature to somehow get ahead and kill her. So frustrating.

What projects are you currently working on?

I have a few short horror pieces that I’m working on, as well as my first novel (which I could not be more excited about). I also have a play in the works and I’m going to be collaborating with Dan Foytik, of The 9th Story and The Wicked Library, on a project in the near future.

Out of your published pieces so far, do you have a personal favorite?

Up until June of this year it was my short story entitled “Hunger,” which is about men in the Canadian north during a whiteout (who are simultaneously being hunted by a wendigo). But The Wicked Library actually turned my short story, “Stuck,” into the third episode of their sixth season, and it’s fast become my favourite. The artwork, which was done by Jon Towers, paired with Dan Foytik’s incredible voice acting has definitely made it a standout piece for me.

Thanks to Caitlin Marceau for being part of this week’s author spotlight. Be sure to check out her website, and find her on Facebook and Twitter.

Happy reading!

Another week, another interview with a fantastic up-and-coming writer! Julia Benally is an author of cool and unusual speculative fiction. Her work has been featured in Sanitarium Magazine and Snapping Twig Magazine. And since I’m the editor, I can also reveal she has a story in the forthcoming fall anthology, A Shadow of Autumn. Below, Julia shares her refreshing perspective on the topic of writing.

A few icebreakers to start: when did you first decide to become a writer, and who are some of your favorite authors?

I decided to become a writer when I was eight years old. My teacher said that we were going to make books in class and suddenly I saw a gold leaf, leather bound volume of exquisite work. Of course, that day I got sick, so I couldn’t go and I missed it. My mom said we would make a book of our own so I wasn’t so sad. I really wanted to see the books my classmates made, but then they were just wads of paper folded into gray blue construction paper and I was so turned off. Ever since I’ve dreamed of that leather bound book and my fingers itched to write. Some of my favorite authors are C.S. Lewis, Jane Austen, Bram Stoker, Michael Crichton, Timothy Zahn and Harold Bell Wright.

You often write in the horror genre. What inspires you to create darker fiction, and what advice do you have for other aspiring horror writers out there?

What inspires me is the reservation. It’s a place full of superstitions and ghosts. Many times what I write doesn’t come from ghosts, but people. They can be monsters too. For the aspiring horror writer, I’d suggest to leave out the raunchy sex scenes and the blood and guts. That isn’t horror, it’s just gross and depraved. Personally I think the perfect horror is Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula. It’s just creepy, especially when  it comes to the Captain’s log, a scene foolishly taken out in all the movies.

If forced to choose, which is your favorite part of the writing process: brainstorming story ideas, writing the first draft, or polishing a piece before submitting it to an editor?

That’s a hard question for me. I can say though that my least favorite is the first draft. It’s shabby, it’s all over the place, it’s downright ugly. So I suppose polishing it would be my favorite part. That’s when I can make it beautiful and play with the words, I can add and drop things, I can find holes, I can tighten it up. For me, it’s in the polishing that the characters come to life.

Out of your published pieces, do you have a personal favorite?

My favorite would probably be my very first one because the first is always special. It’s call “The Bridges” and came out in the Sanitarium Magazine issue 5.

In what directions would you like to take your writing career? Are there more short stories in your future or possibly a novel?

Oh, I want to write for life. I can’t do without it. I have several short stories I’m going over, I have several more out finding a home and I’ve recently had one accepted. Not all of them are in the horror genre–for one thing I can’t stay scared all the time, that’s not healthy. I’ve just finished my first novel, a dark fantasy called Pariahs. That one is searching for a home now and it’s part of a series I’ve had in my head since I was 12.

Big thanks to Julia Benally for being part of this week’s author series. Be sure to check out her site, The Sparrow’s Nest. You can also find her on Facebook and Google-Plus.

Happy reading!

For this week’s author interview, I’m pleased to introduce Swedish speculative fiction author Rayne Kaa Hedberg. Though just beginning, Rayne’s career is off to an auspicious start with a horror story in Sanitarium Magazine, one of my personal favorite publications out there. Below, Rayne and I talk secrets of the writing process and what’s in store for this up-and-comer.

A few icebreakers to start: when did you first decide to become a writer, and who are some of your favorite authors?

 That’s a tough one. I’m not sure exactly when I decided upon having it as a goal, but I know I have always wanted to write in some shape or form. Already as a small child I composed stories, though up until seventh grade I primarily used it for creating stories I would use in my manga. Somewhere around that time there was a break and I became more inclined to writing only. I left the drawings and began to paint with words to compensate for the lack of visual images. Some of my favourite authors naturally include Stephen King, but also Joe Hill, Clive Barker and Neil Gaiman. They all have a way of showing instead of telling, and I enjoy reading their work.

Your short story, “Donor,” appeared last year in Sanitarium Magazine. Can you share a little bit about your process when writing that piece?

Right, so initially I wanted to submit another piece I had written, but as I didn’t become satisfied with it, I had to start over with a completely different idea. I wanted to have a story about a medical error where you left a great deal unsaid. I did my research, as it’s always a big part of the process, and found out some horrifying things about rules regarding organ donors. “Donor” was originally meant to be my finishing project for writing class. I decided it was worth a try to send it in to Sanitarium Magazine as I had been following their process since the very first issue. I thought I could try my luck since the story was the right genre. Later on I could tell my teacher my story got published, which was a pleasant surprise.

Is horror your favorite genre to write, or are you looking to expand into other genres as well?

I don’t think I have a favourite genre to write in. When I write it doesn’t start in that end. I don’t think about writing a horror story and move on from there. A spark of an idea lights up and as I begin to explore it then I see what type of genre it fits into. I do often write about some type of supernatural element present, however. Often I see how I do end up in horror, but I enjoy working in the various genres as long as it’s an interesting idea. I don’t want to get niched on the one genre. I simply wish to tell the stories.

What monsters or general tropes do you feel are most overused in horror?

I would say the hype on zombies is rather big at this time. I don’t necessarily mind that since many of the writers manage to pull it off well, but at times I lose interest when there’s no element of surprise left. With that said, I am an avid fan of “The Walking Dead”, for example, but when it’s the same old thing with the virus, the survival, the struggle without a twist to it, the stories tend to get predicable. One of my pet peeves in horror has to be the vampire struggling with not wanting to be a vampire and refusing to drink human blood. Vampires now aren’t what they used to be. Although I’m glad they don’t all look like Count Dracula, I wish it wouldn’t be romanticised the way it often is now, in different aspects of the word. Their horrifying factor has been diminished over the years.

What projects are you currently working on?

I am working on a surrealistic novella written in Swedish, for once. After that is finished, I have to go through the pile of unfinished novels and try to see some of them through, but I try to stay focused by taking it one at a time.

Big thanks to Rayne Kaa Hedberg for being part of this week’s author spotlight. Be on the lookout for new fiction from this budding author!

Happy reading!