Category Archives: Interviews

Criminal Mind: Interview with Calvin Demmer

Welcome back! For this week’s author interview, I’m excited to spotlight Calvin Demmer. Calvin is a mystery, crime, and horror writer whose fiction has appeared in multiple publications including Sanitarium Magazine, The Sirens Call, and Pilcrow and Dagger.

Recently, Calvin and I discussed writing rituals, favorite stories, and finding inspiration in creepy medical procedures.

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

Though recollections of my youth are vague, I do recall making up many stories, but more importantly always having a lingering desire to write them down. My clearest memories of this was when I was around twelve or thirteen and actually typed a few stories out on the PC just for the joy of it (one was about zombies breaking into a research facility and another was about a possessed guitar). That probably truly lit the flame, but it wasn’t until about mid-2014 that I actually rekindled that fire and started to sit, write, edit, and then submit completed work. Once again, I found that I enjoyed creating my own characters, and sending them on arduous journeys through the worlds and situations my mind could think up. So I’ve stuck with it ever since.

My favorite authors list grows by the day and seems to be ever changing. However, looking at some authors/writers who heavily influenced the first phase of my writing, I’d say: Dan Simmons, Philip K. Dick, Richard Matheson, Stephen King, Joe Hill, Alan Moore, Brian K. Vaughan and Dean Koontz.

Do you have any rituals as a writer? Also, do you subscribe to the “write every day” philosophy, or do you simply write when inspiration strikes?

Finding the perfect conditions to write everyday can be difficult, but I’m sure I will develop some habits as I go along. I do tend to grab an energy drink and put on the headphones (usually hard rock/metal). I’ve heard a couple of writers talking about this “wall of sound” when writing, and after trying it, I have found it can work for me at times.

I try to write everyday, but some days are just more productive than others. I do find myself editing most days though. I seem to blaze through a first draft of anything, and then end up spending ten times the amount of time going through it and making it better. But there is joy in that process as well, being able to get the story tight and clear.

Much of your work is in the speculative and mystery/crime genres. What in particular draws you to this type of fiction?

It’s what I’ve always read, so I guess it just came naturally.

My first few stories were either all fast-paced pulp-style mysteries or horror stories with a twist, some with a bit of a Twilight Zone feel. Of late, I have written more science fiction and fantasy stories, but once again it all falls under the umbrella of the type of stories I enjoy reading.

I don’t doubt I will eventually try other genres, I find it interesting to push myself and try things that are different, but speculative and mystery/crime genres will always be home.

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

If I had to pick one on the spot, I’d say “Heartless” which was my first published story (Sanitarium Magazine issue #29). I was reading a book on medical procedures, can’t even recall why now, and when I came to the section on heart surgery, I thought, that’s cool, but how can I make this into a dark, creepy tale? . . . And through that, my character James Vandersson was born.

Where would you like to see your writing career in five years?

Having the time to construct longer and more complex worlds and plots for my characters is definitely a goal. So, hopefully in five years I would have written a novel or two.

Also, I want to venture down the other paths writing can take you. This includes things like comics and graphic novels. I enjoy the whole writing process, and am eager to see and try the different ways stories can be presented.

Big thanks to Calvin Demmer for being part of this week’s author interview series! Find him online at his website and on Twitter.

Happy reading!

Paranormal Legacy: Interview with Lloyd Green

Welcome back once again! For this week’s interview, I’m thrilled to present the awesome Lloyd Green. Lloyd is a writer with quite an impressive resume. He’s penned numerous short stories and novels, and he has an impeccable eye for research in his historical genre-blending fiction.

Recently, Lloyd and I discussed ghosts, horror, and how his incredible writing career came to be.

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

Lloyd Green First of all, Gwendolyn, I’d like to thank you so much for the opportunity to be interviewed.

I’ve been writing short stories since I was a teenager and I’ve always been interested in reading science fiction and horror novels. I didn’t seriously think about being a writer until seven years ago. A high school friend, who now lives in another country, located me through Facebook. I proceeded to email her pages and pages of narrative in an attempt to bring her up to date about decades of relationships, jobs and family. She repeatedly commented that what I was sending her seemed more like a fascinating book and asked if I had ever considered writing. Some of the material in those letters, I eventually used in my first book Reflections of EL: In Search of Self. So my need to seriously write science fiction and fantasy really began with this first fan and it expanded from there.

Without a doubt, Stephen King is my all time favorite writer. I’ve been reading his work since Carrie first called out to me from the retail bookshelf. The man writes his characters and plots as if he were standing there watching the action. Second is Frank Herbert because of his effective world and history building as shown in his Dune series and finally there’s Orson Scott Card beginning with his book Ender’s Game. I admire the plot twists and secrets in this book and also the following ones in the series.

You and I share a bit of educational background: we both hold psychology degrees. Has your education ever worked its way into your writing in surprising ways, and do you have any advice to newer writers out there about how to get inside the heads of their characters?

If I’ve learned anything, I recognize not to compartmentalize a character. When writing about a criminal, don’t just figure that he must have had a dark past and he has to be evil to the core. His course might have begun with the purest of intentions. The real core of the character is the reasons for the decisions he makes. The more his reasoning feels similar to the reader, the more a reader will identify with the criminal and understand the path that he takes in an attempt to accomplish his goals. Understanding the criminal’s motivations also means the reader understands that there are layers of good and evil in all of us. We are all complicated beings but above all else, we yearn to be noticed and heard.

The same holds true for the intellectually disabled individuals who I worked with for decades. Recently, I wrote a short story, “Poor Interfaces,” which describes the relationship between a staff person and the one that he cares for. Being able to relate to the disabled as people who have something in common with you instead of people who are different, moves the relationship from administrator or direct caregiver to one of friendship. There will always be the professional side that has to be maintained but in the long run we are more drawn to help our friends because we feel that we are also helping ourselves.

Your work often touches upon a variety of paranormal elements. Have you always been a fan of the horror and fantasy genres?

As far back as I can remember. As a child, I was scared to death of horror movies. When I finally understood that my imagination and what I thought might happen was scaring me worse than the actual event, everything changed. After this realization, I began to look forward to the presentation of the rush of fear that the writers and/or directors were serving up.

I’ve always believed in otherworldly life. We usually become afraid of whatever cannot be concretely explained. I’ve only had one paranormal experience and to this day, I’m not certain if it was real. One morning in 1994, I woke up to find an elderly woman standing a few feet away from my bed. From behind her, sunlight softly bled through the sheer window curtains. Her entire form was shimmering as if she were glowing. Her stringy hair was bleached white and her outstretched gnarly hands reached out towards me. She did not say a word and for this I was thankful because I feared what message she might present to me. I shut my eyes in terror, praying that this horror was not real. When I was brave enough to open one eye, she was not there. I’ve never been able to determine whether the entity was real or a dream.

In my writing, I use mystical and/or frightening characters that are just a bit too human. I get the reader to identify with the seemingly odd character by writing about them as if they were a close friend or family member. This would slowly get the new acquaintance crawling under the reader’s skin because they feel they understand the character. In spite of the character being frightening, this finally leads to the reader caring when the creature is not making appropriate decisions. A successful writer has learned to realistically portray the monster, which lives in all of us.

In some of your work, including The Green Legacy, which takes place in the nineteenth century, you interweave elements of historical fiction. What is your research process when writing a time period piece?

I love historical fiction because there is a frame of reference that the reader might already be familiar with. After I decide on the time period, I dig into finding as much information on the town and its people as possible. There will always be fact-finders who will stop what they are reading in order to look up the background circumstances that the writer is describing. Since I’m going through the trouble of documenting and presenting, it only makes sense that I deal with information that can be proven. It cuts down on arguments and it’s a lot less embarrassing when others begin to pick apart facts.

While putting together my book, The Green Legacy, I started with a search of my own family tree. I came across a branch that held two different names for the same distant relative. That made it difficult to verify who this person was and her true place within the family. In this case, I collected as much history as I could from relatives and again explored Ancestry.com in an attempt to verify her place in the Green family lineage. Only after all of this did I begin to include this person as part of what I call factual family history. After this foundation was set, I then moved into the fictional story that I really wanted to tell, which is about a sixteen-year old with psychic abilities who is sold into slavery and her secret agenda.

You’ve written both novels and short stories. How is your process different (or similar) depending on the length of the work?

Not really different. I write out my general ideas but I eventually turn it all into a chart. How extensive the chart becomes will sometimes determine the length of the story. The chart is necessary to ensure consistency between plot twists and secrets. As most writers know, you can never say, “I’m going to write a 350-page speculative fictional story today.” Stories take on a life of their own and they will be as long as they need to be. My outline simply helps with consistency because it drives me nuts to proofread and find facts out of place or secrets mistakenly revealed too early.

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

That’s easy. “Halloween – 1979.” It was published through Sanitarium Magazine. It’s a short story about two couples that decide to visit a well-know haunted house on Halloween night. One participant discovered that the creeping fear was not contained within the established house of horrors. The basis for this disturbing story is based on a factual personal event.

Huge thanks to Lloyd Green for being our featured author this week! Find him online at EndlessPerceptions.com and at LloydGreen.org. You can also follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Happy reading!

Mysterious and Horrific: Interview with Sarah E. Glenn

Welcome back to our final Women in Horror spotlight of 2016! My, how February went too fast!

Today, I am super excited to present editor and writer Sarah E. Glenn. With her wife, Gwen Mayo, Sarah is the purveyor of Mystery and Horror LLC, a fantastic small press that recently received two nominations for the Agatha Award! In addition to her editing, Sarah is also an accomplished author in her own right with stories in State of Horror: Louisiana and Fish Tales: The Guppy Anthology.

Sarah and I recently discussed the genesis of Mystery and Horror, LLC as well as the trajectory of Sarah’s fantastic fiction writing career.

A couple icebreakers to start: 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 when I was still in elementary school. I loved to read, and couldn’t imagine anything nobler than creating stories like the ones I enjoyed. Now that I’m older, I have a greater appreciation for the other people who helped bring those wonderful books into being.

Favorite authors: I know this sounds corny, but I enjoy Stephen King. I started with Carrie when I was eleven. Anne Perry and Louise Penny are also favorites due to the depth of their characters and plots. I loved the Chris Claremont era of the X-Men, and, later, the Neil Gaiman Sandman tales; as a teen, I had a burning desire to work for Marvel Comics.

Then, there’s Robin Cook. His best books explore current issues in medicine, like the impact of genetic research on who may and may not be able to buy health insurance. Lately, he’s taken on nanomedicine. Very technical stuff, but he presents it so it makes sense.

What inspired you and Gwen Mayo to start your own small press? What’s been the most surprising part so far about running Mystery and Horror, LLC?

I’ll take ‘Indie Press Folds’ for $300, Alex. Our first novels were published by Pill Hill Press, a great small press that frequently published stories that were nontraditional even by speculative fiction standards. The owners’ family expanded, and they decided to close the press for the time being. I hope Pill Hill resurfaces – they had a good crew of authors on their forums and took suggestions for anthologies.

Gwen and I were sorry to see it go, and we decided to open our own press. We could have taken the self-publishing route, I suppose, but we really wanted to work with other writers, too. Some of the Pill Hill authors came over and submitted stories to us; Monstermatt Patterson, who had published Monstermatt’s Bad Monster Jokes with Pill Hill, has done two collections with us.

What surprises me the most is how genuinely nice most writers are. There’s a stereotype of the author who takes herself too seriously, and some of those do exist, but most of the people I’ve encountered are friendly, generous, and funny. I think I’ve found my people at last.

When you’re reading through submissions, is there something specific you’re looking for in a story? Also, do you have a preference for character-driven stories or plot-driven stories?

A good idea is what snags my interest. The idea can simply be an interesting situation (a toothless vampire, e.g.), but I also love a whodunit where the reader gets a chance to identify the killer. If you want me to follow a series, though, you need to have good characters.

How do you balance your work as an editor with your work as a writer? Is it ever difficult to make time for both?

I work full time, plus I have a long commute. Yes, it is difficult to make time. I come home during the week and just want to crash. Some people stand on their feet all day; I stand on my brain. I try to be constructive, though, and right now, editing is winning.

Out of your published fiction as a writer, do you have a personal favorite work?

I’d have to say I’m especially pleased with the short story “Caldera of Trouble”. I’ve been to the island of Santorini, and I worked hard to capture its beauty and eeriness in words. I also drew my information on the vrykolakas from scholarly works, rather than pop culture. It was a pleasure to write. It’s still available on Amazon under my name.

Where would you like to see your writing and editing career in five years?

Gwen and I have been working on a novel featuring two retired nurses from World War I. It’s called Murder on the Mullet Express, and it should come out later this year. I hope, in five years, that we’ll have a sequel published or in the works. I plan to reissue my first novel, All This and Family, Too, with revisions. I also have a separate novel I’d like to finish and publish, one that is darker than my usual material, but I’ve already entered Fantasyland in this paragraph.

As an editor: I want to publish more anthologies with interesting themes, including a Best of Strangely Funny book. I’m dealing with the fourth collection now; I don’t think that’s unreasonable. Gwen and I want to grow the press and publish more award-winning books; we’ve been fortunate with the authors we’ve chosen so far.

Big thanks to Sarah E. Glenn for being part of this week’s author interview series! Find out more about Mystery and Horror, LLC on its official site, and pick up a copy of Sarah’s story, Caldera of Trouble, on Amazon.

Happy reading!

Horror Luminary: Interview with Sumiko Saulson

Welcome back! For our third interview for Women in Horror Month, I’m thrilled to present Sumiko Saulson! Sumiko is the scribe of Solitude, Happiness and Other Diseases, The Moon Cried Blood saga, and many other fantastic titles. In addition to being an incredibly accomplished author in her own right, Sumiko is also a huge supporter of her fellow writers. In 2014, she compiled 60 Black Women in Horror Fiction, an invaluable nonfiction resource that features interviews, short stories, and biographies spotlighting some of the very best names in horror.

Recently, Sumiko and I discussed her lifelong love of speculative fiction as well as her plans this February to celebrate both Women in Horror and Black History Month.

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

I decided I wanted to write when I was very young. I was an early reader – I was three when I started to read. When I was five, my father asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, and I said a writer, an artist, or a veterinarian. I was writing poetry for money by the time I was in third grade. They were short poems for the inside of custom greeting cards and wedding invitations. I was on my high school newspaper. I got my first job as a writer when I was nineteen, writing for a computer magazine called The Node and its sister music publication, RockHEAD. They were local free newspapers in San Francisco.

Some of my favorite writers are Anne Rice, Christopher Rice, Stephen King., Toni Morrison, Frank Herbert, L.A. Banks, Susan Cooper, Dean Koontz, C.S. Lewis, Peter Straub, and Edgar Allan Poe.

What in particular drew you into the speculative fiction world? Have you always been a fan, or did your love for horror, science fiction, and fantasy develop later?

I’ve always been a fan. My parents were fans, so I started reading and watching sci-fi, horror, and fantasy at an early age – and particularly, horror and science fiction. My father subscribed to Issac Asimov’s Science Fiction magazine and I read the short stories when I was ten years old. The first novel I read was my mom’s copy of Peter Straub’s Ghost Story. I was in fifth grade. By the time I was twelve, I was reading things like Frank Herbert’s Dune and Stephen King’s The Stand…

You’ve been an ambassador for Women in Horror Month in the past. Do you have anything special planned for the 2016 event?

I don’t have anything special planned for WiHM yet this year, but I am doing something special for February: I am hosting a month of African American horror blogs over at HorrorAddicts.net in honor of Black History Month. Many of the writers are black female writers I met when I was putting together 60 Black Women in Horror for WiHM back in 2012 and 2013, but the bloggers are not exclusively women. We have a lot of male speculative fiction writers involved as well.

You’ve written both novels and short fiction. How is your process similar (or different) depending on the length of the work?

I write character sketches and plot notes for novels. I never find that necessary for short fiction. I can outline the plot for a short story from beginning to end in my mind, and don’t have to spend much time making sure that the details don’t get away from me, or become convoluted. Sometimes I can get so confused when writing a novel that it seems almost impossible to finish it. I’m there over and over again with the sequel to Solitude, my first novel. It is called Disillusionment. I get so confused about details pertaining to timelines (since this deals with alternate timelines) that I have to go back and re-write things. I hate to re-write in the middle of a first draft. That’s almost never necessary with a short story.

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

Happiness and Other Diseases is my favorite. It’s the first romance I ever wrote. I didn’t think I would want to write anything remotely resembling a love story – not even one that takes place in a dark fantasy world, like Happiness does. I really fell in love with the characters. It’s also the first book I wrote a sequel to. I became very inspired when writing that book. It’s also one of the fan favorites, along with “Warmth.”

Where would you like to see your writing career in five years?

I would like to make a lot more money as a writer. It would be ideal to be able to support myself through writing within the next five years. I have that as a goal.

Big thanks to Sumiko Saulson for being part of this week’s Women in Horror author interview series! Find her online at her author website!

Happy reading!

Arachnophobia: Interview with Betty Rocksteady

Welcome to our first interview of February! As you might already know, it’s Women in Horror Month! That means for the next four weeks, I’ll be featuring some awesome spotlights on those morbid females like me who like our genre blood and guts-filled.

For our kickoff interview for Women in Horror Month, I’m pleased to present author and artist Betty Rocksteady. I first discovered Betty’s work through her illustrations at Theme of Absence. She created an incredible black and white image for my story, “One Wish for the Wishing Well.” That’s when I went down the rabbit hole and learned about her other illustration work as well as her illustrious career as a fiction writer.

Recently, she and I discussed favorite authors and artists as well as her recently released novella, Arachnophile.

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

I decided to be a writer when I was about 6 or 7 years old. I was an avid reader and I wanted to be the youngest published author, but I could never seem to finish anything. I had quite a few stops and starts with writing over the years since then but never really took it seriously. When I started approaching 30, I realized it was up to me to make it happen. For a long time I believed I wasn’t a writer because it didn’t come as naturally as I wanted it to, but then I realized it was a skill like anything else and if I was willing to be bad at it for a while, I could end up being pretty good at it. So I wrote a story a week for a year or so, and read a ton of books on writing, and took some workshops, and things are starting to come together for me! I’m really proud of how far I’ve already come.

I read a lot of horror, and Stephen King has been my favorite since I was around 12. I still read everything he writes. I also like the usuals – Clive Barker, Joe Hill, Jack Ketchum, John Wyndham, Richard Matheson. Ira Levin, Nick Cutter. Mo Hayder writes some really really weird crime fiction. Lately I’m into Kealan Patrick Burke, Max Booth, C.V. Hunt… Oh god, this is a huge list.

My favorite artists are Edward Gorey, Virgil Finlay, Sam Keith. I like pen and ink illustrations and weird comic book art.

You are both a visual artist and a fiction writer. Is your approach different when creating a story versus creating a sketch or a visual piece? Do you often illustrate your own stories?

I’ve illustrated a couple of my own stories, and I also do illustrations for other people’s fiction monthly on Theme of Absence. Drawing and writing are actually more similar in process than I realized until you asked! Usually they both start with a seed of an idea that I chew on for a few days, turning it over in my mind. Eventually I progress to sketching/brainstorming on paper. When I’m writing, I like to know where I’m going and how I’m getting there. I always know beginning middle and end when I start, but sometimes it goes differently than I expected once I start pounding the rough draft out. Drawings start rough and loose and get tightened up with each stage of drawing.

Your sideshow poster art is incredible! A fantastic combination of the vintage and the macabre! Have you ever daydreamed of joining a sideshow, and if so, what would your special performance talent be?

Thanks! I love sideshow lore and I used to read a lot about it. If I were in a sideshow I would be some sort of cat trainer. Or a fortune teller. Or I would combine the two and train cats to help me tell fortunes.

Your recent novella, Arachnophile, involves a man who becomes romantically entangled with a spider. Tell me a little about the inception of this story.

I was invited to submit something for the New Bizarro Author Series, and my editor, Garrett Cook helped me brainstorm some pitches and we tossed ideas back and forth. The one he liked best was one that I wasn’t all that sold on, but he encouraged it into fruition and a lot of strange and unexpected things happened. I’ve always been really creeped out by spiders, much like the protagonist of this book. Things sort of changed as I researched and wrote it though… also like my protagonist, although not quite to the same extent! The whole book has a warped Eraserhead vibe to it, and it plays on a lot of my personal fears and disgusts, and I’m really happy with how personal and strange it ended up being.

You’ve written short fiction and now novella-length fiction. Any plans for writing a novel in the near future?

I would love to write a novel some day. I have another novella I’m finishing edits on now, and it’s really terrifying. I’m also working on some more short fiction. A novel is definitely going to happen, but I’m not sure whether it will be sooner or later. Once an idea comes that needs a novel to breathe in, that’s when it will happen.

Out of your published works, visual or fiction, do you have a favorite?

I’m really proud of Arachnophile. I have a brand new story called These New Appetites in F*cked up Fairy Tales Volume 1 that has some of my favorite characters I’ve ever worked with. It’s an unsettling story of when girl meets wolf.

Big thanks to Betty Rocksteady for being part of this week’s author interview series. Find her online, and be sure to check out the official Women in Horror page for ways you can get involved this wonderfully bloody February!

Happy reading!

Clay Warrior: Interview with Melissa Ciccocioppo

For our final January spotlight, I’m pleased to introduce artist Melissa Ciccocioppo. Melissa and I met a few years back at–you guessed it–a coffee shop (AKA my natural habitat and the only place I manage any socializing at all). Soon after meeting Melissa, I noticed all her rad jewelry and, of course, inquired about the artist. Turns out she designs it all herself. From a cache of Krampuses to Nightmare Before Christmas goodies, this is one designer who knows her way around polymer.

Recently, she and I discussed her evolution as an artist and where she plans to go from here.

A couple icebreakers to start: when did you first decide to become an artist, and who are some of your favorite artists?

I never really “decided” to become an artist. I’ve been drawing since I could lift a pencil, though I wouldn’t really consider myself a fantastic illustrator. Art was the only subject in school I liked and excelled in. My older brother has always been my biggest influence. He’s an amazing artist, one of those people where everything he touches, whatever the medium, is instant gold. He’s 12 years older than me so I grew up watching him and wanting my skills to be just as good as his. He’s also part of the reason I decided to pursue a degree in graphic design (he’s been in the graphic design business for years). I do have an Associate’s Degree from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, but unfortunately it’s not a career path that I see myself embracing. Computer work bores the crap out of me and is, at times, incredibly frustrating. Since I started sculpting, I’ve discovered some really amazing artists. Two of my favorites are Emily Coleman and Ellen Jewett. Emily sculpts incredibly lifelike animals and fantasy creatures. Ellen sculpts the same, though her style is more surreal and whimsical and she works in ridiculously tiny detail. Through Instagram, I’ve also discovered that Russians in general have it in their blood to be polymer clay wizards. I follow way too many to name them all, but Evgeny Hontor is probably my favorite. She too creates ultra stylized animals and fantasy creatures. I highly recommend checking out all of their work!

My husband is an artist, and he comments over and over about how difficult polymer is to manipulate. What inspired you to get involved with such an unusual (and at times temperamental) medium?

As I said before, I’ve got this graphic design degree but I don’t use it. After graduation I was freaking out because I didn’t know where my career was headed and had lost my motivation to create art. I thought, “man, if I have to sit at a desk and do art on the computer for 40 plus hours a week and have to quit my job at the coffee shop I might as well just kill myself now.” Then one day (sometime in September, 2009), a customer came in wearing these really wild gauged earrings. I asked her where she got them, and she said she made them out of polymer clay. I had never heard of the stuff, and remembered the one time I sculpted anything, it was in 7th grade and it was a pink and black dragon and I LOVED making it. Unfortunately, it didn’t survive for more than a week because one of my idiot classmates knocked over the display table it was sitting on and it shattered into a million pieces. Anyways, I needed a fun new way to fuel my creativity and also liked the idea of having customized gauged earrings for myself, so I went out and bought a sample pack with like, 12 colors. I was instantly hooked. I certainly didn’t have the skills and techniques then as I do today, but I loved doing it, and that’s all that really mattered.

Many of your designs lean toward the fantastical side of life. Have you always been a fan of fantasy and horror, and what was your earliest experience with these genres?

Always! Oh man, I remember loving the show Are You Afraid of the Dark? on Nickelodeon when I was like 7 until I started having nightmares; then my parents banned me from watching it. In fact, they did a pretty good job at hiding the horror genre from me (they’re ultra Catholic and conservative). When I was 10, they went on vacation for a couple weeks and I stayed at my cousin’s house down the street who was 3 years older than me and allowed to watch all the horror she wanted. That was when I watched my first R-rated movie, Halloween H20. Oh my god I had nightmares all week! Every time I looked at the doorway, I saw Michael Myers standing there. He’s still my favorite slasher, and I still have this weird phobia of like, looking out a window or something and seeing a stranger in a mask staring at me from afar. I’ve always loved Halloween, and while I did go through a goth phase in my teens, I still hold the same interests; I just don’t dress in all black anymore. My jewelry designs wouldn’t be as fun if they weren’t so colorful. As far as my interest in fantasy, that has also always been a huge part of my life. My older sisters have always been my inspiration for all things geekery, the older of the two being more heavily involved in fantasy stuff than the other. She still plays D+D, was involved in larping for a few years, and introduced me to anime when I was 10. My earliest documented record of my love for fantasy creatures has to be this homework assignment from like, 1st grade. I had to draw what I wanted to be when I grew up and I had a ridiculously hard time deciding between my two favorite things so I drew them both: a McDonald’s employee and a dragon. I loved me some chicken McNuggets!

You were selected as a featured Pittsburgh artist for the RAW showcase in 2013. How did you get involved with RAW, and what was the experience like?

I can’t actually remember who it was that asked me to join the RAW community. At the time, RAW was fairly new to the Pittsburgh area and it was getting a lot of hype. The rules were simple: sell 20 tickets for $10 each to the event you’re featured in and get the table for free. Any tickets I didn’t sell I had to pay as my entry fee. I think it was March 2013 that I had my showcase at CAVO. That place is the swankiest venue I’ve ever sold my stuff at. So swanky, I felt a bit silly selling my creations there since my work is cute, colorful, low-priced, and… I dunno… generally, unswank? And all the people filling the place seemed like upper class snobbery. It took a few hours for people to really notice me. I definitely blame the fact that I was next to a bar for the hoards of drunk ladies swooning over my jewelry by the end of the night. It turned out to be my most successful event to date! And then I went on to win the Accessories Designer of the Year award at the end of the year, which was a huge shock.

Out of your creations, do you have a favorite piece?

My squid design is probably my favorite single piece because that’s the design that got me selling my work. About a month into my new sculpting hobby, I started having a series of random wacky ass nightmares about giant squids eating me or my family members. It made no sense. I’m an animal nerd but at the time I knew nothing about squids or cephalopods in general. So then I started researching them and found them to be both terrifying and fascinating. It inspired me to branch out from gauged earrings and start making other things, like squid pendants. Pretty soon people were asking to buy them and the rest is history. My favorite series of sculptures are definitely the Spazimon. I think it was sometime in 2012 when I was looking through [my partner] Spaz’s artwork that I found this adorable bunny rabbit/bee creature drawing and asked him if I could sculpt it. It turned out really great and he suggested that we keep going with the collaboration. He drew about 150 silly looking creatures and I sculpted 23 of them. We even came up with little bios for them describing what they ate, what environment they lived in, how they mated etc. We even created a description for the world they live in, Spazciopia. We had a gallery showing at The Irma Freeman Center for Imagination in Garfield in February 2013 and people really loved it! In the beginning of February I’m actually planning to get 4 of my favorites tattooed on my leg! Currently, Spaz and I are working on a new series of creatures called the Lippy’s and hope to have another gallery show sooner than later.

Big thanks to Melissa Ciccocioppo for being part of this week’s spotlight. Find her on Etsy and on Facebook!

Happy reading!

Apex Author: Interview with S.A. Mckernan

For this week’s author interview, I’m thrilled to introduce S.A. Mckernan. This dark fantasy author crafts incredibly beautiful and terrifying worlds while doing some real beauty work in front and behind the camera as a makeup artist.

We talked recently about her work as a writer and artist as well as her future plans in the publishing and beauty industries.

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

I began creative writing in high school when I needed extra credit for my English class. I wrote a short story based off a dream I had, so in a way I was stricken by sudden inspiration and necessity, which are two amazing motivators. After boosting my grade I decided to continue writing. I eased into it because I enjoyed the creative process as well as the creative outlet. One of my biggest inspirations is Anne Rice. Not just because of her stories, but because of her writing style, especially in her earlier works. Of course, there’s J.K. Rowling. Growing up I read a lot of Harry Potter. Mary Stanton is amazing. I adore her Unicorns of Balinor novels. Then there’s Walter Farley, who wrote the Black Stallion. Then there’s Abigail Tartellin who wrote the Golden Boy.

Your novel, The Apex Predator: The Chain, debuted last year. What was the best part about your experience writing the book, and are you currently working on the follow-up?

The best part was when the story/novel finally came together. I loved stitching up the seams of that monster and finally seeing the end result. Apart from the editing (which I did plenty of) I drew the cover artwork and designed the cover as well as the interior formatting.

A sequel is in the works. I don’t have a specific due date, but I’m shooting for completion in mid-late 2016.

Your work leans toward horror and the darker side of life. Have you always been a fan of horror, and what was your earliest experience with the genre?

No, I haven’t always been a fan of horror. My first love was fantasy. It was through video games that I began liking and appreciating horror, especially psychological horror. The first truly frightening video game I ever played, and which still remains a big influence is Silent Hill 2. The protagonist receives a letter from his dead wife who is claiming to be waiting for him in a haunted town called Silent Hill so, of course, he goes in search of her. Along the way he encounters monsters, a handful of people, and most disturbingly various levels of the town. The town transforms into hellish states. Silent Hill is a manifestation of the individual’s psychological state. The monsters that he fights are symbols of various aspects of his torment and personality as are the people that he encounters. The disturbing levels the town transforms into are levels of his emotions, from foggy and empty to bloody and decaying. It’s frightening and fascinating. Since this game I’ve always enjoyed horror. It’s that type of visceral horror I enjoy. But horror has to have a purpose. I don’t write horror for shock value. There’s always a reason for it.

In addition to your writing, you’re also an accomplished makeup artist. Your designs are incredible! How did you get started with makeup art?

Thank you! I started studying makeup because I wanted to apply better makeup on myself. During my studies I developed an obsession with the transformative powers of makeup and beauty. My goal with makeup/beauty is to do more with less. Most of the time the biggest transformations can be made with the smallest touch.

Where would like to see your writing career in five years?

Ideally, I would like to be publishing with traditional publishers. Hopefully I’ll have more novels out as well. I have such minimal expectations it’s really hard to say what I want for the future without sounding arrogant. Right now I’d like to have more novels published and an increase in book sales. That would be super.

Big thanks to S.A. Mckernan for being part of this week’s author interview series. Find her online at Facebook and Twitter, and pick up The Apex Predator: The Chain on Amazon!

Happy reading!

Mangled and Macabre: Interview with Justin Hamelin

Welcome back for another author interview! This week, it’s all about author Justin Hamelin. I first became acquainted with Justin’s incredible horror fiction through his story, “Sick Love Potion,” in Issue 32 of Sanitarium Magazine. Since then, I’ve enjoyed reading his interviews at his site, Mangled Matters, where he was kind enough to spotlight yours truly a few months back.

Recently, Justin and I discussed his inspiration growing up in Ray Bradbury’s hometown along with the future directions of his very promising horror career.

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

I fell in love with reading and writing at a very young age. I was fortunate to be raised in a household that really encouraged creativity, reading, writing and just about anything that stimulated the mind, so I was pretty young when I realized I wanted to do something that involved excessive creativity at a young age. Some of my favorite authors include R.L Stine, Stephen King, Joe Lansdale, Poe, Shirley Jackson, Richard Matheson and Ray Bradbury. Stine and King were huge inspirations for me growing up.

You and I have talked about this so much already, but it bears repeating: you live in Waukegan, Illinois, hometown of the inimitable Ray Bradbury. How has growing up surrounded by Bradbury lore affected you as a horror writer? Any great Bradbury-related trivia you can share with those of us unfamiliar with Waukegan?

Bradbury still is, rightfully so, a huge part of the Waukegan scene. I actually only started reading Bradbury late in high school. I would tell people I wanted to be an author, and a few teachers of mine suggested I do some research and learn about Mr. Bradbury. My first experience in the world of Bradbury was Something Wicked This Way Comes, and I immediately fell in love. I’ve also done a few Bradbury tours, both official and unofficial, around town and it’s really simply inspiring. As far as Bradbury in Waukegan today, the most exciting info is that the city is really working on opening a Ray Bradbury museum at the city’s old library location. The old library is actually a Carnegie building and it’s just the coolest little spot on a corner in downtown Waukegan that I think would be absolutely amazing to hold a Bradbury museum in!

You’re also a blogger at your site, Mangled Matters. How do you balance your nonfiction writing, such as your regular interviews, with your fiction work? Does one frequently influence the other?

It can be quite a juggling act! I love my blog and sometimes I do get sidetracked by one or the other, either the fiction or the nonfiction. Sometimes whichever one I’m working on less often does get put on the back burner inadvertently. I make a conscious effort to try and keep a pretty fair balance, though, between things like interviews and taking time out to write fiction.

I’ve been blessed to speak with so many amazing people, whether they be authors, filmmakers, actors and actresses, or simply horror fanatics like myself. Sometimes the conversations do lead to some inspiration for stories and such, but usually when I’m speaking with somebody for the blog, it’s almost solely on their work and celebrating their awesome achievements!

Your horror collection, The Darkest Corner, earned some fantastic reviews. The book is currently out of print; any plans for a second edition?

Oh man, I cannot wait to get that collection back in print! It was an amazing learning experience to get that first book published, and I was blessed to have a incredible group of friends, family, and horror fans from around the world really support me and that book.

I’d like to think that The Darkest Corner will be available again sometime very soon.

On the personal side of things, I’d like to say congratulations on your recent wedding! Just from Facebook and our previous conversations, I know what a major influence your wife, Krystina, is on your writing. Is she a first reader on your work? Since writing is at times such a solitary pursuit, do you have certain ways that the two of you work together when you’re writing a story, such as brainstorming in the early stages or editorial suggestions in the later drafts? Also, is she a writer or artist in her own right?

Thank you very much! It may be a cliché, but it’s absolutely true for me—Krystina is my world. She is my muse, my biggest fan, my most honest critic and I love the heck out of her for putting up with hours and hours of brainstorming, reading ideas, and really just supporting me in anyway possible.

She knows and completely respects that I usually write alone; however she is always there to provide feedback or whatever I may need to keep a story idea going. Once the story is complete, she is always the first to read it and usually offer insight, suggestions or questions that tend to make the story 100 times better!

While she is not a published writer, she is one of the most creative people I know and dabbles in just about every artistic angle you could think of!

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

My favorite would have to be the one that was featured in Sanitarium Magazine alongside your awesome work! “Sick Love Potion” was a blast to write. It practically wrote itself but I absolutely love it.

I also have a fairly personal one from The Darkest Corner, titled ‘The Man Next Door’. There is a lot of emotional weight in that story, for me personally.

Where would you like to see your writing career in five years?

Simply put, I just want to continue to write and have a great time doing it! A career as an author certainly would be awesome, but I don’t write for the paychecks. I’d be awfully broke if I did!

I’m challenging myself to submit as many stories as possible this upcoming year, and I have a few half-baked ideas that deserve to be finished and put out there.

Big thanks to Justin Hamelin for being part of this week’s author interview series! You can find him at his Facebook author page as well as his site, Mangled Matters. This writer of weird fiction is definitely one to watch.

Happy reading!

Drabble Master: Interview with Thomas Kleaton

Welcome back to my author interview series! For the first spotlight of 2016, I’m pleased to present Thomas Kleaton. Thomas is an accomplished writer of short fiction, and his work has appeared at The Horror Zine, Riding Light Review, and Sanitarium Magazine among other outlets.

Recently, he and I discussed his influences and his long-term plans in the publishing world, along with his recommendations on how to write a great drabble.

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

I started writing two years ago. I could say that it’s something I just started on a whim, but that wouldn’t be the case. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for years, but thinking about it doesn’t work and it all comes down to sitting in a chair and typing words on the screen. It’s important to write on a daily basis, but I have no Bad Thoughts (sorry, I can’t help referencing “It’s a Good Life,” one of my favorite Twilight Zone episodes) for someone who doesn’t write every day. Writers need a break now and then as well.

As for my favorite authors? I won’t deny it; I was heavily influenced by Stephen King, and am definitely a Constant Reader. Dean Koontz is another; his Sole Survivor and Intensity really bowled me over. Peter Straub’s Ghost Story is a personal favorite. I also have newer favorites, writers like Rose Blackthorn, Richard Schiver, and Aaron Gudmunson.

As a writer, do you have a particular genre that’s your favorite?

Horror, horror, and more horror. Actually, although I like horror best and it seems to be the most flexible genre, I do enjoy a good science fiction story here and there. Stories like Harlan Ellison’s “I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream.”

In addition to short stories, you’re a prolific drabble writer. Because the medium permits only 100 words, is your approach to crafting a drabble different than crafting a short story? Do you have any pointers for other drabble writers out there?

A drabble is all about the core idea. For instance, in my drabble, “Whistling Past the Graveyard,” found in Spooky Halloween Drabbles 2015, I kept seeing this little girl playing Patty Cake with her mother. Then playing Patty Cake with her dead mother. The situation came next, which was of a father bringing his little girl to visit her mother’s grave. Only her father is a killer, and his mother is buried in a shallow grave. Shallow enough for hands to stick out and…

Brrr!

But I think you get the picture. It’s all in the details. Once you have the story worked out, it’s time to condense it down to 100 words. Easy, right? I’ve spent hours on one drabble! But it’s worth it when you see the final product.

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

I do. A short story titled “Birds and the Bees,” found in Sanitarium Magazine issue #31. I saw a photo in a magazine in which a woman’s seed-filled hands were outstretched near a bird feeder. Chickadees sat on her palms eating the seed, and I imagined a little girl seeing her grandmother doing this, and wanting to impress her grandmother by imitating her. Only she can’t find any birdseed in her grandmother’s garden shed. Not one to give up, the little girl finds a substitute. That puts a sting into things.

Where would you like your writing career to be in five years?

To a point where I can write full-time. This may not happen, but I will not give up on it, and at the very least I’d like to have a good following by then. After all, the first reason a writer should be writing is because he or she enjoys telling yarns to entertain others. Being told by someone that his/her story really resonated with them can put a writer on the moon.

Big thanks to Thomas Kleaton for being part of this week’s author interview series. Find him online at his website and his Amazon Author Page.

Happy reading!

Dark Verse: Interview with Benjamin Blake

For this week’s author interview, I’m pleased to introduce Benjamin Blake. Benjamin is a fiction writer and poet as well as a photographer of all things strange. His collection, Southpaw Nights, appears on the Horror Writers Association’s 2015 Reading List, and Benjamin has received tons of great reviews on his fantastic dark verse and fiction.

Recently, he and I discussed his inspiration as a writer as well as how weird places and ghosts influence his work.

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

I have written most of my life in one form or another, but it wasn’t until a stormy autumn night about six years ago, in the basement room I was living in at the time, that I started to pen the first short story I had written since I was a kid. That was when I knew that writing was what I wanted to do for good.

As far as favorite authors go, I absolutely love Ray Bradbury; his prose is so utterly poetic and he fires words at the page like bottle rockets. There is such a fervency in his writing. That really gets me. Also, Charles Bukowski – he never fails to entertain, and hits home truths that most people are afraid to think about, yet alone say. I could go on all day about authors, but others include: Stephen King, J.D. Salinger, Joe Hill and Neil Gaiman.

You work in a variety of artistic mediums, including writing (both fiction and poetry) as well as photography. How is your approach to each different (or similar)?

There’s definitely an undercurrent that runs through them all, which is mood, or feeling, or whatever you want to call it. And that is the genesis for anything that I create. The search for that particular poignancy. I also tend to think very visually, so that naturally crosses over from photography to writing. Fiction is certainly the hardest; poetry and photography can be fleeting snapshots of feeling, and while that can apply to flash fiction, or short stories, the longer prose pieces take a lot more structural precision. I recently finished writing my first novel, and while it shares many creative attributes with poetry and photography, there is definitely a huge side of novel-writing that is not inherent in the other two mediums.

Much of your work leans toward horror and the darker side of life. Have you always been a fan of horror, and what was your earliest experience with the genre?

I have always been deeply in love with horror and the supernatural. It started with Scooby Doo (although I was always angry that the spooks weren’t actually real in the end), and went on to illustrated books about ghosts, and R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps. Though, my first introduction to the ‘adult’ side of the genre, was through the late night horror movies my mother would tape for me on VHS. Children of the Corn led to borrowing Stephen King’s Night Shift from the local public library, to seek out the short story that the movie was based on. I must have been about twelve years old at the time, maybe younger.

I love that on your website, your bio includes the detail that you were born in a hospital that has since been demolished. The hospital where I was born hasn’t been demolished yet, but it is now abandoned (and supposedly very haunted). What do you think it is about abandoned and demolished buildings that keeps writers and readers fascinated?

See, that got me excited just reading that question! [Concerning the supposed haunted hospital], that’s a testament to how true that statement really is. I think it’s a combination of things; the obvious history of an old place, the aesthetics, the excitement of exploration and the unknown, the possibility of seeing something otherworldly, and the classic horror movie setting – you’ve seen it a hundred times before on the screen (or read about it in books), and you get to experience it firsthand. There’s something immensely alluring in all that.

You also mention in your bio that you believe in ghosts. Does the spirit realm often find its way into your work? Any otherworldly personal experiences you care to share?

The spirit realm definitely finds its way into my work on a regular basis. There’s something so beautiful and tragic in the idea of ghosts. It really is a timeless subject, too. Humans have been telling ghost stories since the dawn of time, and will continue to tell them until our end.

When I was a small child, my father worked at a pioneer village. The site was mostly made up of historical buildings that had been moved there. Among these was an old jailhouse (which was originally just a regular house). And I wanted to go see it so bad. After weeks of nagging, my father finally gave in, and took me along. I burst into the building, ran along the hall which led to the cell (pushing past an elderly couple in my excitement), and into the small incarceration room. Where, by all accounts, I screamed my little three year old lungs out, and tore back the way in which I came. My dad let the scenario sit a little while, before eventually asking what it was that had freaked me out so badly. I replied, ‘I saw a man hanging.’

When next at the village, he mentioned the incident to a guy he worked with, who told him that back when the jailhouse was still functioning as a home, a man had hung himself out back from a plum tree.

Out of your published works, do you have a favorite?

I definitely have a soft spot for my first poetry collection, A Prayer for Late October. But I’d say my second published work, Southpaw Nights, a collection of prose and poetry, is my actual favorite. It’s my largest published work to date, and I’m immensely proud that it was able to come out in paperback. There are also a couple of stories in there that are among the pieces of mine that I am most happy with.

Big thanks to Benjamin for being part of this week’s author interview series! Find him online at his website and his Facebook page.

Happy reading!