Elin Olausson

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BIO
Elin Olausson is a fan of the weird and the unsettling. She has had stories featured in Curiouser Magazine, Luna Station Quarterly, Nightscript, and many other publications. Her debut short story collection Growth will be out in June 2022.
Elin’s rural childhood made her love and fear the woods, and she firmly believes that a cat is your best companion in life. She lives in Sweden.


WEBSITE LINKS
https://elinolausson.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/elin_writes
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elinolaussonwriter
Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/~/e/B08B5CRCGW


Could you tell the readers a little bit about yourself?
I’m a Swedish writer who lives in the countryside and writes about those remote and quiet places I love—the woods, the dirt roads leading nowhere, and the abandoned houses. I’m as introverted as they come but before I learnt how to write I talked all the time, because I had so many stories to tell. Since then, the stories have changed and so have I. One thing that will never change is that I’m a crazy cat lady, and many of my characters are just as fond of pets as I am.


Which one of your characters would you least like to meet in real life?
There are a few that come to mind immediately, but I want to keep this spoiler-free so I can’t mention them. One of my many weaknesses: characters whose rotten core doesn’t shine through until it’s too late. Or just rotten characters in general.


Other than the horror genre, what else has been a major influence on your writing?
Children’s books, actually. It sounds like a weird combination and it probably is, but many of my favorite books growing up were scary stories for kids, and I tend to write a lot of child protagonists. There are so many fantastic children’s books out there, and a lot of them are wonderfully dark and strange.


The term horror, especially when applied to fiction always carries such heavy connotations.  What’s your feeling on the term “horror” and what do you think we can do to break past these assumptions?
For a long time I felt that I didn’t belong in the horror genre, since my stories are not filled with ghosts or monsters, not scary in the traditional sense. It was only when I discovered the term psychological horror that I felt comfortable calling myself a horror writer. It’s frustrating that a lot of people look down on the genre or view horror fans as weirdos and/or lunatics. I hope horror can become more mainstream, and that the subgenres will get more visibility. It’s perfectly understandable that people avoid horror because they don’t like gore, for example, but plenty of horror is not the least bit gory. I believe there really is something for everyone in this genre.


A lot of good horror movements have arisen as a direct result of the socio/political climate, considering the current state of the world where do you see horror going in the next few years?
I think horror is the perfect genre for dealing with societal issues, and I’m especially fond of dystopic horror fiction. Horror about climate change and the environment will be a growing subgenre, I’d imagine.


Given the dark, violent and at times grotesque nature of the horror genre why do you think so many people enjoy reading it?
It depends on your personality, I think. Everyone is wired differently and for some of us reading/watching horror is a way to unwind and escape reality for a while. Other people feel the same about genres like romance or crime. I personally enjoy horror because I’m afraid of practically everything. So I spend a lot of my time worrying about scary things, but at the same time I’m intrigued by them. I guess I’ve got a love/hate relationship with horror.


What, if anything, is currently missing from the horror genre?
I can’t think of anything, really. I do wish there was more Swedish horror, though.



What new and upcoming authors do you think we should take notice off?
Recently, I’ve enjoyed stories by Matthew Chabin, Laramie Dean, and Joachim Heijndermans, to name just a few.



Are there any reviews of your work, positive or negative that have stayed with you?
A reader told me that they were very moved by my story Razor, Knife and that it made them cry. That’s the sort of thing you love to hear as a writer.



What aspects of writing to do you find the most difficult?
Finding the time to write. It’s frustrating to have tons of ideas and no time for them.


Is there one subject you would never write about as an author?
Excessive gore is not my thing.


Writing, is not a static process, how have you developed as a writer over the years?
As a child I wrote mostly romantic stories, then as I grew older my writing went darker. My writing style has developed quite a bit, and also I now write in two languages instead of one.

What is the best piece of advice you ever received with regards to your writing?
To write every day, even though it’s only for a short while.


Which of your characters is your favourite?
I love them all, honestly. My favorite type of character would definitely be the frail little girl who looks all innocent but could murder you in your sleep.   

Which of your books best represents you?
For now I’ve only got the one, my short story collection Growth. It contains twenty stories of psychological horror, each and every one highly representative of my writing.


Do you have a favorite line or passage from your work, and would you like to share it with us?
I like this passage from the story Howl:
“Something moved in the darkness, brushing against the bed. They’re watching me, she thought. They want something, and it’s bad.
Minutes later they were gone. They hadn’t touched her, but Eva felt covered in dirty fingerprints. Their smell was on her, rancid, old blood, and she wondered if it was hers now, too. If she was part of Greyling now and could never leave, because she smelled like insanity.”


Can you tell us about your last book, and can you tell us about what you are working on next?
I’ve just released Growth, a collection of short stories published by Dark Ink Books. My next project is an audio series in Swedish.
If you could erase one horror cliché what would be your choice?
That pets are introduced into the story only to be found killed later.


What was the last great book you read, and what was the last book that disappointed you?
Recently I loved Bora Chung’s Cursed Bunny and Triflers Need Not Apply by Camilla Bruce. The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr. disappointed me, sadly.

What's the one question you wish you would get asked but never do?  And what would be the answer?
Are any of your stories inspired by real places or characters?
Yes, some of my stories are very much inspired by places in the area where I grew up. The story The Courthouse is the best example—there is an old courthouse in my childhood village that looks exactly like the one in the story. Hopefully there are no other similarities.