Be sure to check out the end of the interview for chance to win a copy of the first two volumes of The Malus Domestica series 

BIO
S. A. Hunt (she/her) is the author of the Malus Domestica horror-action series from Tor Books, which begins with Burn the Dark. In 2014, she won Reddit's /r/Fantasy "Independent Novel of the Year" Stabby Award for her Outlaw King fantasy gunslinger series. She is an Afghanistan veteran (OEF 2010), a coffee enthusiast, a fervent bicyclist, and she currently lives in Petoskey, Michigan.

WEBSITE LINKS
www.sahuntbooks.com
https://www.facebook.com/authorsahunt
https://twitter.com/authorsahunt
https://www.amazon.com/S-A-Hunt/e/B00BJODGKW

Could you tell the readers a little bit about yourself?

I’m a bestselling horror author, a transgender woman, and an Afghanistan veteran. I grew up in the mountains of Georgia but I moved to Michigan and so far it’s been the best decision I’ve ever made.

I am a hot mess, but I’m good at it. I love dogs so very much, they’re the best people I know. I’m 80% Irish. I love to eat, probably too much. I’m 39 this year and I only started taking my writing career seriously in 2013, so it’s never too late to chase your dreams. Just don’t chase someone else’s dreams. That’s creepy.

Which one of your characters would you least like to meet in real life?

Probably Rhetor Logos—or any of the Sileni from the Outlaw King series, to be honest. If there is one creative bone in your body, he can use his powers as a muse to convince you to do anything he wants.

Other than the horror genre, what else has been a major influence on your writing?

The fantasy genre, for sure, and especially the sword-and-sorcery genre. My reading pedigree started with Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz, and continued on through Mercedes Lackey’s The Black Gryphon, Madeline L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time (which heavily influenced my Outlaw King series), Marion Zimmer Bradley, Julian May, and Andre Norton’s Trillium books, Patricia C. Wrede’s Dealing With Dragons, Stephen King’s Dark Tower series, and T. H. White’s The Sword in the Stone.

Fantasy and horror go hand in hand, you know—magic has been a part of horror ever since the fairytale days, and so many of our darkest myths and legends hail from medieval times. Magic is an invisible thread through so many of our modern, supposedly realistic, gritty, or otherwise pragmatic horror stories--Nightmare on Elm Street, what do you think brought Freddy back and gave him a doorway into people’s dreams? It wasn’t quantum physics. What gave the protagonist in Jon Watts’ Clown the ability to shrug off bullets and blades? Definitely not greasepaint.
 
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?

I feel like maybe I have a too-pure perspective on this matter because while I’ve hit my fair share of roadblocks when it comes to writing horror—such as an agent telling me that “horror doesn’t sell,” nobody’s really ever explained to me what’s wrong with horror. And so I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it, personally. So I’m honestly not sure what you mean by connotations, and I don’t know what to tell you.

I legitimately don’t understand why anyone would look down on it as a genre, or look down on genre writing in general. Some of the best stories ever told have been horror fiction, like Bram Stoker’s Dracula. That book was way ahead of its time.

Between you and me, I think real-life is horror, and so horror is the most emotionally authentic fiction experience you can have. See my answer below about why people enjoy horror so much—people’s lives are so horror-iffic, that they need a less abstractly horrible piece of fiction in order to cope. Look at the news. Look at a video of a bloodworm shooting a web across somebody’s hand. Look at someone whose loved one is deteriorating in the hospital from cancer, or coronavirus. Look at the dark space between the stairs in your real-life basement. Look at your own aging face in the mirror. That’s horror. Existential horror, body-horror, psychological horror.

Life is horror. Horror is life. Any industry wonk that tells you otherwise either doesn’t understand horror, or doesn’t understand life. And giving people a way to overcome the latter by giving them the former sounds like one hell of a dignified career to me.

A lot of good horror movements have arisen as a direct result of the sociopolitical climate. Considering the current state of the world, where do you see horror going in the next few years?

After having so much inspiration lately, there will probably be more stories revolving around red-state antagonists—white supremacists, Nazis, racists. Chuck Wendig’s Wanderers is already one of those, and my series has a couple of them. I think we’re going to keep seeing sharper, more subtle, more complex horror like Haunting of Hill House and The Invisible Man, with more diverse characters and more biting social angles like Get Out.

But y’know, honestly? I can’t say with any certainty where I think horror is going. I feel like that’s the good thing about horror, my favorite aspect: it’s so unpredictable and powerful, and commanded by so many unique new voices, that it’s liable to go in any direction at any moment. I mean, nobody saw Jordan Peele, Ari Aster, Leigh Whannell, or Mike Flanagan coming. There’s always something breathtaking around the next corner.

Given the dark, violent and at times grotesque nature of the horror genre why do you think so many people enjoy reading it?

At the risk of stirring a lot of shit, I think horror is sort of like self-harm.

When you self-harm, you’re trying to confine your pain. Self-harm is emotional Tylenol. You’re trying to take an abstract pain like depression or anxiety, and focus it into a physical pain that you can define and thus defeat.

Define and defeat, that’s horror for you—define the threat and defeat it. Find the vampire, find the serial killer, feel their menace, and then kill them. Find or create something you know is true and you can fight it. Horror does that for us, it gives us something specific and defined to focus our mental energy on. Instead of some cloud of general anxiety and dread, we know what to be anxious about, we know what to dread: that monster, that ghost, that axe murderer under the stairs. And when you know what’s bothering you, you can get closure on it.

What, if anything, is currently missing from the horror genre?

Older main characters that aren’t starring in an update to a legacy franchise, like Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween.

Transgender main characters, played by transgender actors. We’re not caricatures, we’re not y’all’s supporting casts, sacrificial lambs for the masked maniac to kill, or titty-squeezing, mirror-dancing Buffalo Bills. Every human being on Earth is the protagonist of their own private story, cisgender or transgender, and that is true for fiction as well.

More strong, well-written horror comedy. Less gross-out humor, less slapstick, more subtle and paced humor. Slip that comedy stiletto between my ribs, don’t clobber me over the head with a comedy hammer.

What new and upcoming authors do you think we should take notice of?

Frankly there are so many new horror authors cropping up, most of them I haven’t even gotten around to reading yet, I can’t really name anybody specific right now.

Are there any reviews of your work, positive or negative that have stayed with you?

I once got a real kick in the guts on Amazon that said some of the words I used were too obscure. They had to look them up in the dictionary. Personally I’m a fan of learning new words and new concepts, but in the end, momentum is the most important thing about storytelling to me, so I started using a simpler vocabulary, and reserving the obscure stuff for proper noun names, like “the Chiral,” and “the Brontide.” With contextual worldbuilding, you know what those words mean.

Every time your reader has an opportunity to put your book down, that’s another opportunity to walk away from it. And that’s book death right there. Momentum is key. Momentum is the secret truth. Keep the story moving, keep the heart beating, keep the reader reading.

What aspects of writing do you find the most difficult?

FINDING ALL THE TYPOS. AAAAAAHHH. Heavens to Murgatroyd, every time I read a manuscript, at whatever stage, I find fistfuls of errors. I just had a book release in July where I found a glaring error during a video reading for a bookstore, and I wanted to just close my laptop and take a shower.

Is there one subject you would never write about as an author?

I may incorporate Black people, gay folks, indigenous peoples, and other marginalized groups into my stories as part of an ensemble cast, because that’s how the world works and every normal social circle or band of survivors has some level of diversity, and to tell me my entire cast has to be white because I’m white is one hundred percent silly and I’m not going to do it. That’s not realistic. I’ll also do my best to show their specific struggles, because I refuse to ignore the humanity and perspective of an entire human being just because reasons.

But I’m also not going to write a whole-ass story in that voice and culture. I’m not going to write an indigenous story about indigenous events starring an all-indigenous cast. I’m not going to write a Black story about Black events starring an all-Black cast. That’s not my place. Indigenous authors can do that. Black authors can do that. Tag me on the tweet about that book and I will RT the hell out of it.

I’m also not going to write about rape, or at least depict it in a graphic fashion. Some of y’all might dig that shit, and I might even get perilously close sometimes like a certain scene in The Hellion, but it hurts a majority of people to read things like sexual assault and I’m not going to subject anyone to that.
 
Writing is not a static process. How have you developed as a writer over the years?

I’ve definitely developed more of an eye for sensitive subjects like race and sexual assault. I’ve learned to put more of my trust into my editor’s judgement and, literarily speaking, not be such a fan of the smell of my own farts. I’ve learned that trying to outline a novel doesn’t work because that’s not my process—I’m a pantser and that’s the only way I produce quality work.

What is the best piece of advice you ever received with regards to your writing?

                                                           “Write what you know.”
Writers will hear that saying and stand there all day saying things like,
“Don't write what you know! Make up something new!”
“If I write what I know, does that mean I can't write about things I don't know, like space travel or being a woman?”
“But what if I don't know anything?”
“What do you mean? I can’t write about cannibal Martians if I’ve never tasted human flesh?”

That’s not what “write what you know” means. WWYK means to use your sensory or emotional memories to inform your writing with visceral authenticity.

Maybe you don’t know what it’s like to stab an alien in the chest with a vibro-blade sword. That’s true. But you know what it’s like to jam a knife into a pumpkin and feel the punch and give as the blade penetrates the rind into the gourd’s mushy interior. You know what it’s like to push a running lawnmower that’s shaking your hands numb, or hold a pair of electric clippers humming in anticipation of shearing off your hair. You know what it’s like to be so completely fucking angry at somebody you just want to kill the shit out of them and watch them bleed out on the sidewalk!!!!!!

And most importantly, maybe you know what it’s like to purposefully hurt somebody only to realize that now you’ve hurt somebody, possibly fatally, and all your nerve has fled you at the thought of someone dying because of something you did to them, because maybe you’re not a killer after all. Your bowels turned to concrete and your knees turned to water and briny saliva pooled in your mouth at the realization of what you did. That’s a terrible feeling.

Great. Take all of that and feed that into the Imagination Machine until your alien swordfight comes out. Start writing.
 
Which of your characters is your favourite?

I have to say it might be Anders Gendreau from I Come With Knives and The Hellion, although my real favorite character, I’m saving for a future installment of this series. I think Gendreau mentions “the Jötunn” at one point in The Hellion, and I have a really cool idea for that guy I can’t wait to use.

Which of your books best represents you?

Probably I Come With Knives. There’s so much internalized grief and trauma and feminine rock-chick rage. I am a mess, and so is that book.

Do you have a favorite line or passage from your work, and would you like to share it with us?

“Tall grass listed in sideways air.”  From The Whirlwind in the Thorn Tree. This may sound like I’m up my own ass, but it’s so evocative. I feel like it perfectly describes how gentle the wind from the protagonist’s perspective—a soft, subtle breeze that’s only touching the wheatgrass enough to make it lean to one side.
 
Can you tell us about your last book, and can you tell us about what you are working on next?

The last book I completed was The Hellion, whose working title was King of the Road. Now I’m working on a John Carpenter tribute, a retro scifi adventure set in a nuclear winter where the apocalypse happened in 1987. A woman with robot arms and legs has to lead a convoy into the rotten heart of post-fall Paris to rescue a man who knows about a giant shelter somewhere in eastern Europe.

I’m also working on Deadname, a time-travel thriller about private detective Torres, a transgender woman that’s pulled through a wormhole into the past, where she has to team up with her former male self and take down a mysterious serial killer that calls himself The Hundred-Handed One.

And of course, I’m working on Malus Domestica Part 4 and 5, and the fourth installment of The Outlaw King.


If you could erase one horror cliché what would be your choice?

In film: killing off Black or gay characters in the first act.

In books: filler masquerading as suspense, character development, or subtlety. I’ve read so many boring-as-hell horror novels in the past few years that just drone on about bullshit and leave the real horror for the third act. There’s setting up a scare by making you care about the protagonists and building up the villain with hints and clues, and then there’s a man having a snide phone conversation with his ex-wife for an entire chapter and a whole 15 pages devoted to talking about who he slept with in college or what bands he listened to. Too many authors put together a character, and forget while they’re doing so that the character is in a horror novel.

What was the last great book you read, and what was the last book that disappointed you?

Great: at the risk of sounding like a broken record, Chuck Wendig’s Wanderers. It just did everything right. Before that, it was Rhett & Link’s Lost Causes of Bleak Creek. Before that was Edgar Cantero’s Meddling Kids.

Disappointment: Universal Harvester, by John Darnielle. Everything interesting happens “off-camera” during time-jumps from chapter to chapter, and we only ever see the after-effects. I saw so much online buzz for this book, and by the time I finished it I was infuriated. It felt like the editor had gone into it with a pair of kitchen shears and cut out all the good parts.

What's the one question you wish you would get asked but never do? And what would be the answer?

Are you happy?
And the answer, after all is said and done, is yes.
Sometimes that’s a maybe . . . .
But mostly, it’s a yes.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina meets Joe Hill in S. A. Hunt's I Come with Knives, a horror-tinged action-adventure about a punk YouTuber on a mission to hunt witches, one vid at a time Robin - now armed with new knowledge about mysterious demon terrorizing her around town, the support of her friends, and the assistance of her old witch-hunter mentor - plots to confront the Lazenbury coven and destroy them once and for all. Meanwhile, a dangerous serial killer only known as The Serpent is abducting and killing Blackfield residents. An elusive order of magicians known as the Dogs of Odysseus also show up with Robin in their sights. Robin must handle these new threats on top of the menace from the Lazenbury coven, but a secret about Robin's past may throw all of her plans into jeopardy. The Malus Domestica series #1: Burn the Dark #2: I Come with Knives

For a chance to win a copy of the first two volumes of The Malus Domestica series simply like and retweet this tweet 

Could you tell the readers a little bit about yourself?

I’m 46 years old and a master of cringe-worthy dad jokes. I’m at an age where I’ve stopped caring what people think about me, and it’s particularly freeing. My day job is an advertising manager, but I would sell my soul to the devil, or anyone buying if it meant I could write full-time. I love red wine, hanging with my family, and all things horror.

Which one of your characters would you least like to meet in real life and have them complain at you about they way you treated them in your work.

Jeez, there are many, but if push came to shove, it would have to be Rachel from my story, ‘Happy Returns’ (featured in Hellfire Crossroads: Introducing by Midnight Street Press). That woman sends shivers down my spine—sickly sweet until you cross her.

Other than the horror genre, what else has been a major influence on your writing?
 
My life. A cheesy answer, but I draw on the hurt and write what I know.
 
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?
 
When I mention to people that I write horror, you can tell they take two steps back in their minds. They look at me and think, how can somebody so clean-cut conjure such devilry? They imagine gorefests—flesh ripping, blood spilling, and all sorts of horrific nightmares, so convincing them that horror can be psychological is the first battle. A lot of people that were adamant they were against horror ending up reading my work and loving it. Of course, you have to throw some fleshy bits in from time to time to catch them off guard!

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?
 
Wow, that’s a tough one. I certainly think writers are somewhat influenced, if even subconsciously, by events in the world, but I certainly try to be different. Inevitably, there will be a big draw to virus and technology-related themes, but I still prefer old school horror themes that don’t always necessarily have an outside influence. Horror, in general, does have to adapt, and I guess I will come along kicking and screaming.


Given the dark, violent and at times grotesque nature of the horror genre why do you think so many people enjoy reading it?
 
Pure escapism. It’s not for everyone, but I think for a lot of people, the worlds created are safer than their own. I don’t there are many outright human sadists out there, and the majority of people just enjoy it because it’s fantasy—something different.


What, if anything, is currently missing from the horror genre?

I’m a big fan of M Night Shyamalan because he tells a tale without overloading on gore, and usually delivers an exceptional twist. The plot seems to have become secondary to special effects and CGI these days, so any film that can sucker-punch is a big plus for me.
 

In the past authors were able to write about almost anything with a far lesser degree of the fear of backlash, but this has all changed in recent years.  These days authors must be more aware of representation an the depiction of things such as race and gender in their works, how aware are you of these things and what steps have you taken to ensure that your writing can’t be viewed as being offensive to a minority group? 
 
It is tough. I remember some of the books I used to read that would now be frowned upon. Just because it isn’t written, doesn’t mean it’s not happening, and speaking as a creator, it can often interrupt the flow of a story if you have to somehow step around such powerful emotionally-charged moments in time.


Does horror fiction perpetuate it’s own ghettoization?
 
I think it can, yes. A lot of my readers have suggested I should publish under a more generic category, but at the end of the day, some of my pieces will crossover to very dark themes. I would say 70% of my stories are psychological and could probably be classified as mystery/suspense/thriller, but then there are the others that contain sentences of outright horror.

What new and upcoming authors do you think we should take notice off?
 
I’m immediately going to become unpopular here. I’ve only been writing for two years, and in all that time, I’ve only attempted one novel (couldn’t finish it). I’ve tried to stay away from any other influences and develop my own style. It has worked well for me and allowed me to write all the bile that leaks from my mind without over-analysing or judging myself. I’m incredibly proud of how far I’ve come in this short space of time, and I don’t think I’d be saying that if I did it any other way.

What are the books and films that helped to define you as an author?
 
So many, but to pick a couple …
 
The Talisman – Stephen King and Peter Straub. An epic journey that left me awestruck as a kid.
The Ballad of Lee Cotton – Christopher Wilson – Totally off genre but incredibly funny and the narrator throughout made you feel as though you were in Mississippi.
Misery — a psychological masterclass. And Kathy Bates – Jeez!

Are there any reviews of your work, positive or negative that have stayed with you?

They all stay with me. I think the worst negative one I had was regarding one of the stories I did for The No Sleep Podcast called ‘A Sense of Dread’. I regretted that one ever going live as it works well on paper but just wasn’t podcast material. It was also a very English character being narrated by an American. Somebody called it ‘boring’.

What aspects of writing to do you find the most difficult?
 
The ideas. I’ve written 83 stories to date, and each one becomes more difficult to give birth to. I find the process easy from beginning to end, but coming up with the idea that is going to transfix readers is the bane of my life.

Is there one subject you would never write about as an author?
 
No. There are areas I would dull down, but I don’t think anything should be off-limits.

How important are names to you in your books? Do you choose the names based on liking the way it sounds or the meaning?

I’m a bit pants at choosing names to be honest. I think I’ve used similar names in my stories just because they sounded like strong English names. Tom is a go-to for me. I have to stop doing that. I’ve started using the names of our neighbours.
 
Writing, is not a static process, how have you developed as a writer over the years?

I don’t have a degree in English or a master’s in creative writing. I got a degree in mathematics in 1991 and somehow drifted into a career in sales. Looking back to some of my earlier work, technically, it is below par, and this is an area I am constantly improving on.

What is the best piece of advice you ever received with regards to your writing?

I rarely ask for advice. I think that is because I am defensive rather than arrogant. There is lots of work to do still. Somebody once said to me, “Just get your head down and do it, and stop talking about it”. That’s probably the best piece of advice I’ve had.

To many writers, the characters they write become like children, who is your favorite child, and who is your least favorite to write for and why?

It doesn’t really apply. I write short stories and go through a lot of characters. Sometimes I feel for them and get reasonably close to them, but I never want to adopt then.

For those who haven’t read any of your books, which of your books do you think best represents your work and why?

My debut ‘Face The Music’ is perfect for this. It’s a great mixture of stories that explore fear in many different forms and situations. There are 22 shorts here, each one very different, but each providing a unique and unsettling ride.

Do you have a favorite line or passage from your work, and would you like to share it with us?
 
There are many. Sorry, I couldn’t possibly pick one.
 
Can you tell us about your last book, and can you tell us about what you are working on next?
 
Face The Music is my debut collection. I already have more than enough material for my second collection and already very excited about bringing those to light. The readers are in for a real treat.

If you could erase one horror cliché what would be your choice?
 
The happy ending.

What was the last great book you read, and what was the last book that disappointed you?
 
The book I mentioned above—the one I couldn’t finish. I found it very slow and hard-going, and it probably could have been a hundred pages shorter. I hate to say it as I used to be a huge fan, but it was ‘The Institute’ by Stephen King.

What's the one question you wish you would get asked but never do?  And what would be the answer?
 
Q: Why do you write?
A: Because I have to.

In this collection of old-school style horror stories, Mark Towse takes readers on a wild ride with unexpected twists and turns. Once read, these tales will not be easily forgotten.

Seeing bad things happen to good people lends some stories a tragic, chilling atmosphere, especially when they involve circumstances beyond the character's control. Some are more straightforward morality plays, with people who are too greedy, too curious or too rotten to live being tracked down by various sinister forces. Most of the time this ends in blood, or the suggestion of blood to come, and it's those stories, teetering precariously on the verge of revealing someone's fate, that cut me the deepest. - Ben Walker, Ginger Nuts of Horror 

WEBSITE LINKS 
​
Website:
https://www.jenniferlsoucy.com/
Amazon Author Page: 
https://www.amazon.com/Jennifer-Soucy/e/B085BW9RRC?ref_=pe_1724030_132998060
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bansheetales/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bansheetales 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealjenwah/ ​

With time, we forget even the worst parts of our past. Unfortunately, the past doesn't always forget us . . .

Layla survived years of addiction and trauma, burying the most brutal recollections of her past. She escaped Hell, slapped a tourniquet on her toxic memories, and found a measure of peace as a drummer in Las Vegas. Ten years later, she's finally moved on . . . until she’s called home to Connecticut, a last plea from her dying mother.

Back to Blackpool, where her estranged family awaits alongside her old enemies. The trip awakens her inner demons, voices who warn that history may repeat itself. A new cycle of violence begins, echoing events Layla barely escaped once. The voices urge her to fight, reminding her of wrongs that were never made right. If she gives in, she may lose both her sanity and her soul . . . a steep price to save a family who'd given up on her once.

Layla's reached a crossroads, a choice between an insatiable thirst for vengeance or forgiveness for those who harmed her. But some crimes are unforgivable, and some wounds refuse to be forgotten.

If you want something done right, you’ve got to do it yourself.
​
That’s the conventional wisdom, isn’t it? It could also be seen as a credo for author Sean M. Thompson, who recently kicked off the founding of his news publishing enterprise Nictitating Books with his own first full-length collection, Screaming Creatures.

Something of a small press veteran, Thompson’s work has been published by Eraserhead Press, Nightscape Press, Planet X Publications, Muzzleland Press, Grimscribe Press, Unnerving Magazine, and more. Now he’s taking everything he’s learned as the person being published and flipping the script to become the one doing the publishing. And with upcoming books by Paula D. Ashe and Maxwell Bauman already in the pipeline, Nictitating Books plans to push the boundaries of genre fiction with fresh voices.

Below, Sean M. Thompson fills The Ginger Nuts of Horror in on how Screaming Creatures compares to his earlier works, his reasons for starting a new publishing house, and what the heck “Nictitating” even means.

So, Screaming Features is your first full-length collection and the first release from your new press, Nictitating Books. Could you tell me a little why you decided to launch the press with this book?

Sean: Well, there’s the diplomatic answer, and then there’s the raw unfiltered answer. I will give you both.

The diplomatic answer is I’ve wanted to start a press for a long time. A number of years. I had self-published my short chapbook Too Late and my first novel TH3 D3M0N, so I knew I could put out my own material. I knew which artists to talk to, cover pricing, layout pricing, I had a friend who could do the interior formatting, things like that. So, I had this collection, my own material, and I figured if I’m going to do this press, I’d rather have the first book be something of mine, so if there are any issues, I’m not making another writer look bad.  I don’t mean this like I’m some spaceshot who has entirely fucked up his previous releases. I mean it like, there are a ton of things you don’t even think about when you release a book, right down to design aesthetic and reception of the material, so it also gives me a way of sort of seeing how people take my own work, and then I can apply that to releases going forward.

The raw answer is I attempted to sell this collection for 2 years, and no one was biting. And I would get rejection after rejection, and I’m aware writing is mostly rejection, but I’d be sitting around like I have this thing ready to go, it’s one of my best books to date, and for whatever reason I cannot get another press to put this out. I’ve heard collections are hard to sell, and man, after trying to shop Screaming Creatures, I totally believe it.

Now, full disclosure, I don’t cut myself off at the knees with my work. That is to say, there’s stuff in Screaming that is transgressive, that is hard to stomach. There’s drug addiction, abuse, murder, and many other elements that I can understand a horror press going “well, this isn’t really the type of horror we are looking for.” And I get that. Screaming isn’t like dark fantasy, or the sort of weird that’s been making the rounds. There’s definitely influences like Jack Ketchum, Irvine Welsh, and Chuck Palahniuk in the book. We’re not talking like Ed Lee or something, it doesn’t go that hard, but it does sort of go up to the line of good taste, and it sort of dangles a foot just over the line. So, that’s the raw answer: I couldn’t sell the collection, because it’s maybe a bit too over the top for some of the other horror presses. And so I thought screw it, why not have this be the one to start Nictitating Books with. It will set the tone.

As you mentioned, you did put out a chapbook-sized story collection a few years back, Too Late. Is there any reason you wanted to wait to put out a full-length collection?

The truth is Too Late, was originally supposed to be about 10 stories. But, I was never happy with 5 of them. And since I had decided to put out Too Late myself through McManbeast Books (essentially an in joke, it used to be my AOL instant messenger screenname) I knew I could make it only 5 stories, and I had the freedom to try doing a book that short. And people seemed to like Too Late even though yes, there were some people complaining it was too short. The thing to understand about Too Late is in a way, it’s like an early works book. “Stranded in the Storm,” the second story in the book, is 1 of I think the first 10 stories I ever wrote. And, yes, is that a totally backwards way to do things, having your “early works,” be your first book, of course. But, the plan was always to keep going, so now you can read Screaming then go back and read Too Late and see how I started, and the early stuff, and the themes that survived from then to now.

I push myself to put out the best material I can. I’m sure in the eyes of some I don’t always succeed. But, I listen to my gut. And my gut usually feels right when it comes to which stories to use, and which not to use. So Screaming is a full length, because it allowed me many years of writing stories, so I could go okay, using this, and this, but this one I’m very iffy on, so it won’t go in. And again, doing this all myself, it gives me that freedom. Putting out your own material has its issues, I’m not trying to say self-publishing or starting a press is this magical process so far above traditional publishing. Putting out your own work has issues just like more traditional publishing has its issues. One of those issues is not creative freedom.

In terms of style and where are you now as an author, how would you describe the material included in Screaming Creatures in comparison to the material from Too Late?

Better? No, but seriously, let’s see, how would I compare the two? Well, for one the stories in Screaming are informed by who I have become as a writer. That means I’m stretching my style a bit, experimenting way more. I’m not afraid to try things now, whereas with the stuff in “Too Late,” it is at times a bit more reserved. I’m also dealing with things that aren’t always the more classic horror inspired fare found in Too Late. Too Late was very much an earlier writer going “what would my take on a werewolf story be?” or “what would my take on demons be?” I’m still doing that to an extent in Screaming but the approach is much more on the style and structure of the story.

You write a wide variety of material, both in terms of style and length. There's the bizarro novella Hate from the Sky, the intense psychology and supernaturalism of Farmington Correctional, the sleek techno-horror of TH3 D3M0N, and short stories ranging from Thomas Ligotti-esque weird fiction to slasher-esque splatterpunk. Is this diversity of styles something you've strived for intentionally or a natural consequence of your own interests?

Oh, it’s all the ghost writers, they can never keep everything straight.

No, God, I’m sorry, bad joke. No, the diversity is very much intentional. And it’s also not intentional. Let me explain, I have ADHD, so to keep myself writing and engaged often I do have to try new things. But it is more than just the desire to keep myself entertained. The writers I really admire, Gwendolyn Kiste, Stephen Graham Jones, Clive Barker, Jeremy Robert Johnson, Laird Barron, Brian Evenson, writers like that, they also try a lot of new things. And I’m really drawn to writers who are pushing themselves not only in style and form but in themes and even genre.

Genre is a great classification tool, but for a writer it can be stifling. There are times when even though I consider myself a “horror,” writer, I’m not writing horror. I’ve written westerns, and sci-fi stuff, what you might call weird, and then supernatural horror, psychological horror, bizarro. The only real through line is it’s a Sean M. Thompson story. And I like that. It might not be the best direction to try to gain an audience and get my career going, but I’d rather be on my death bed knowing I tried as much as I could, and have the career go slower.

On a related note, having written novels, novellas, and short stories, is there any one format that appeals to you above the others? What do you find are the advantages and disadvantages of each? And specifically talking about short stories, how do you think their advantages are reflected in the content of Screaming Creatures?

Well, what you have to understand is I actually started as a screenwriter. My first long-form writing was a 60 page script, and a year later, a 90 page script. So before I’d sat down and done my first short story, I’d written most of my first script. And it’s basically a part of my writing style I’ve never entirely been able to get rid of, for good or ill.

I mean, I’d love to get better at novels. I feel like I might be a half-way decent novelist if I could get my shit together. I’m getting there—halfway through my second novel—but novels are a marathon, and what I have practice in is sprinting.

I would say right now I consider myself a very good novella-ist. I like that length from about 10 to 30 thousand words. It’s like if you’re good at short story writing you can be good at a novella, but then it’s also sort of practice for novels.

The advantage of short story writing, for me, is you can really experiment, and if it flops, well, you’ve only spent maybe a month or so trying it. If you try experimenting even with a novelette, you might be washing 3 months down the drain. And a novel, forget it. My first unpublished novel, as in the first novel I wrote, I tried this experimentation, and largely it failed. And that was more or less 2 years gone. So, the benefit of shorter stuff is the ability to try more things. However, novels, there is something about them that hits harder. You get to live with the characters. And, I can go pretty epic with them.

As for the advantage of short stories reflected in Screaming Creatures, I think it’s that for the first time all in one book you can see me hopping around from genre to genre, trying to flex my style a bit. I would compare it to something like “Entropy in Bloom,” from Jeremy Robert Johnson, an excellent book. I’m not trying to say it’s as good as “Entropy in Bloom,” that’s not for me to say, but it does have that sort of spirit to it.

We talked earlier about Screaming Creatures being the first release from your new press, Nictitating Books. I have to ask, why did you choose the name Nictitating?

The nictitating membrane is found in certain predators. It is a film that rolls over the eye to protect it during an attack on prey. I had originally, God, back in say 2011 or 12, written a poem called “Nictitating Membrane,” which was about this weird sort of undiscovered genus of shark. I’m a big shark nerd, and great whites have a very prominent nictitating membrane. I decided on the name because I thought it was a very creepy name, and thematically a lot of my work does deal with the predator and prey dynamic. The title of the collection Screaming Creatures is actually a somewhat flippant description of human beings. We pretend we aren’t animals, but guess what? Look outside today at people refusing to wear masks for no logical reason, beating their chests and hooting. Yeah… we’re fucking animals. So, the press name reflects my love of animals, and the sort of work I’m attracted to.

Also, I knew a creepy eye with a film over it would make a cool logo.

You've published with multiple independent presses over the years, and also self-published at times. What made you want to start Nictitating Books? What's your goal with this press?

Fucking cash money, homie. Tryin’ to make this paper, ya feel me?

No, uh… jfc where was I going with this…

My goal with Nictitating is to not only have a steady platform to put out my own material, but to find writers I think deserve to be more widely read, and to put out books by them. If you want a press to put out another book by an already well-established writer, that’s cool… but that’s not Nictitating. Yes, I will probably work with well-established writers eventually, but my primary intent is to take the newer writers who I find a story from or a novella or novel, and just get so hyped on, and to take them and try to put out new material from them. That’s what excites me. Finding someone I’ve never heard of and just being like god damn, that was great, I need to talk to them immediately.

Could you tell me a little about some of the things Nictitating has in the works for the future? You've already announced upcoming releases from Paula D. Ashe and Maxwell Bauman. Could you tell me a bit about those, and if you have any other projects in the pipeline?

I don’t want to spoil things, so for Paula D. Ashe, let’s just leave it at she is putting together a collection, and it is dark, and raw, and beautiful, and I cannot wait for it to be done sometime in 2021 (hopefully). As for Maxwell Bauman, he has a novella lined up, a haunted house/ body horror story which I’m also so fucking excited for.

I don’t mind admitting (again, since it’s my material) that I’m currently writing a new novella set in my Whispering Pines universe dealing with aliens and time travel, and this will most likely be an ebook only release for the fall 2020 season, and if it happens to do well I can always make a print book a little later on.

And I do have a mini antho with about 6 writers or so (including myself, yeet) aimed at maybe a late 2021 release, which I won’t say the theme of, because y’all ain’t stealing my shit. But I’ve talked to a few writes I’ve yet to work with, and I’m also very excited for it.

And probably in Janurary of 2021 I’ll open up subs for a month or so, and perhaps try an ebook only thing with something from that, but that is very much an up in the air thing. But, in the past I’ve been critical of invite only presses, so rest assured, there will be open subs with Nictitating, and I will absolutely consider anything subbed, albeit with the caveat it may be ebook only initially.

These projects you've got in the pipeline, how do you feel they tie back to the goals of Nictitating Books that we discussed earlier?

Writers like Bauman and Ashe are relatively new, and there is a quality to their work that is often transgressive. I love that. To me, horror fiction is at its best when it is challenging what you are used to. Horror often deals with death, and death is one of the more transgressive things we as a society can choose to be honest about, both in the grieving process and in the fear of it we all have. In any case, the writers and projects I gravitate towards, what draws me to them is this quality of not sugar-coating things, of not turning away when something awful is happening. I just find them to be very exciting writers.

Running a press is a lot of work and I know it can get stressful, time-consuming, and expensive. How are you finding it so far? Are there any things you're keeping in mind to try to make the process is a little easier on yourself? Any philosophies that help keep things in perspective?

One major thing, and as much as I’d love to do it I just can’t, is the trend to have a ton of books come out each year. I not only don’t have the budget for that, but I don’t think I have the patience to do more than maybe 3 big releases a year, and maybe 1 or 2 ebook only releases.

I do plan to crowd-fund, but my thing from the beginning has been to see it as an added bonus, but to in no one expect it to come through. I want these books to be something that can and will happen, whether or not it’s crowd fund assisted, or just me going out of pocket. (But please, for the love of all that is holy, donate some money if you can, I’m a broke person).

I think the general philosophy that is going to keep me sane is slow and steady. I want to be able to really give writers a good edit, content and proofing wise, and to really allow writers the time to work on new material, and to edit up the existing.

So far, I’m starting to feel like some sexy lady because I keep getting randos like “Hey,” “Hey, can we talk?” “Sup”? Lulz. I’m not trying to dig on anyone, it’s just sorta funny. Trust me everyone, I’ve done plenty of that type of stuff my damn self.

Well, thank you very much for taking the time to talk to The Ginger Nuts of Horror Again. Is there anything else you'd like to say about Screaming Creatures or Nictitating Books? How can readers keep up with your work and Nictitating's releases?

I plan to do a Linktree soon, and to have an Instagram and Facebook page, Twitter page. There is currently a press email, but I’m not planning to make that public knowledge until the sub period.

I’m planning an Indiegogo and Patreon for the press, but I’m very much not ever EVER doing a Kickstarter. I‘d have a fucking heart attack.

Other than that, Screaming Creatures is currently up on Amazon, and in the coming weeks I’m planning to do some writer interviews on my Sean M. Thompson YouTube channel, and all other sorts of fun stuff. So keep your eyes peeled.

And thanks again. Later.

Piper Mejia is an advocate for New Zealand writers and literature and is a co-founder of Young NZ Writers - a non-profit dedicated to providing opportunities for young NZ writers. Her short fiction has appeared in a range of publications including Babyteeth, Conclave, Spec-Fic Short Cuts, Short Cuts Track 1, Te Korero Ahi Ka and Tricksters Treats 3.  A collection of her short stories, The Better Sister, will be published by Breach in July 2020. As a child, Piper stayed up late laughing at horror films. As an adult, she spends a lot of time being disappointed by plot holes and yet somehow she has never lost her love for Science Fiction and Horror; two genres that continue to ask the question “What if …”

​Find out more about Piper here 
https://authors.org.nz/author/pmejia/

Other than the horror genre, what else has been a major influence on your writing?
 
A major influence on my writing are my students, whose lives are often beyond belief, and yet they get up each day, get dressed and come to school. They are amazingly resilient and when they decide to be honest sometimes you wish they weren’t.
 
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?

To me, at its core, horror reveals the extent people are willing to be cruel to each other, how far they are willing to go, what excuses they use to justify their madness. Good horror is honest, a metaphor for the continuing atrocities committed every day, in every walk of life.

Given the dark, violent and at times grotesque nature of the horror genre why do you think so many people enjoy reading it?
 
There are a range of reasons for reading horror, sometimes it reminds us of how lucky we are, that we are safe, that our world is kind. Sometimes we read horror to remind ourselves to our humanity. Sometimes we read horror to vent the darkness inside of ourselves, rather than to let the darkness take over us. I read horror for all three of these reasons.

In the past authors were able to write about almost anything with a far lesser degree of the fear of backlash, but this has all changed in recent years.  These days authors must be more aware of representation an the depiction of things such as race and gender in their works, how aware are you of these things and what steps have you taken to ensure that your writing can’t be viewed as being offensive to a minority group? 
 
When you say ‘almost anything’, the default was white and male. Instead of ‘backlash’ perhaps it should be viewed as a cry for representation, of what society actually looks like. At the same time, I am not so sure I agree that we shouldn’t be offensive. Slavery is offensive. Poverty is offensive. Assault is offensive. I think it is important to be challenged as a writer and as a reader, not to fall into lazy stereotypes, to take opportunities to explore abuse of power and how it impacts of a range of groups in society. I like to write feminist horror in which my protagonists are more often women, from a range of cultures (of which I am familiar). Sometimes I am told that my stories are not ‘real’ horror, but to me they are, as being trapped by gender is an all too real experience for women, trapped by our religion, our culture, our traditions, our families, our lack of education and opportunities for economic freedom, even simply the freedom over our own bodies.

What new and upcoming authors do you think we should take notice off?
 
Each year I try to challenge myself to read authors I have never read before. One year it was ‘classic horror’, another year it was ‘an author from every country in the world’ – which was impossible, but I gave it a good shot. Currently, I am concentrating on POC, in particular from, NZ, Australia and Pacific Islands. Lee Murray is a favorite and she has a new anthology of Asian writers called Black Cranes.

For those who haven’t read any of your books, which of your books do you think best represents your work and why?
 
Writing is such a reflective pursuit, constantly trying to decide ‘what kind of writer’ you want to be: who is your audience, what is your purpose. For me, I focus on the lives of women, young women, girls, old women; women from different walks of life, age and stage. Even in what I read I want to read about women, in the past, in the future, fact and fiction. The way we accept, or don’t accept, our lives is where the horror aspect of my writing comes in, often it is subtle, because I don’t think women act in haste.

Can you tell us about your last book, and can you tell us about what you are working on next?

My collection of short stories – The Better Sister – published by Breach, is coming out at the end of July, 2020. This collection of stories explores the complexity of the sister-trio relationship in worlds where women struggle for a voice, a place to stand; and peace in themselves. 
 
I am currently working on two more collections of short horror, one aimed at secondary students and the other at adults. The first looks at the hidden lives of young women and the second looks at how women become invisible as they grow older.

Could you tell the readers a little bit about yourself?

Well, I’m just an average guy, nothing special. There is nothing too interesting about me. I was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Mexican/American, and lived in New York City for a while. I like both the outdoors and the Big City life.

I love video production/filmmaking, and everything I’ve written has come from a screenplay rather than an actual premise/outline for a novel. But unless you’re an oligarch or elitist, making films is very expensive endeavor. Regardless, being creative ultimately is what’s keeping me alive, so I guess that’s a good thing. And Seeds of the Dead is a great take on the awesome zombie genre in my humble opinion.

Which one of your characters would you least like to meet in real life?

Well, from Seeds of the Dead, I would say Jake. He’s one of those annoying, self-righteous hipster type dudes – you know the kind. He would feel right at home in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, glaring at you condescendingly as he sips his kombucha tea. But ultimately, even Jake has some redeeming qualities, so read the book and find out. (Wink-wink)  

Other than the horror genre, what else has been a major influence on your writing?

METAL! I love metal, in particular Thrash, Doom, Death, and Black metal. The dark imagery it paints in your mind, just wonderful! If you love horror but don’t listen to metal, you are missing out. As a matter of fact, I wrote a majority of Seeds of the Dead to the awesome blasts beats of the death metal band Nile.
 
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?

Honestly, I don’t think we need to break past any assumptions – let people assume what they want. Horror, whether books, comics, or films - or any other artistic medium for that matter - is the most diverse of any genre. That is if you are willing to take the time to dive in with an open mind and discover the plethora of awesome material out there. Not everyone can be an outstanding writer or storyteller like Ray Bradbury and Mary Shelley, but there are a lot of creative voices yet to be heard, and horror can lead the way.

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 it’s always good for horror to expand its horizons. There is nothing wrong with exploring social commentary, and interweaving that into the reality of the story you are telling. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t work. I mean with “Seeds of the Dead” I touch on genetically modified food and corporate monopolies. But my story doesn’t center on that, the story centers around the characters and their relationships, their conflicts both internal and external. The social commentary is just icing on the cake. It’s what’s under the icing that really matters.

Given the dark, violent and at times grotesque nature of the horror genre why do you think so many people enjoy reading it?

It’s a release for many people, like the aforementioned Metal music. It allows us to tap our deepest, darkest fears. It can also be alluring and highly emotional, in its raw and stark, and at times violent beauty. And sometimes, it's just good, gory fun! It just depends on what you are looking for - like any genre - it truly has something for everyone if you look long and hard enough.

What, if anything, is currently missing from the horror genre?

Honestly, nothing I can think of is missing, because horror touches all. In one way or the other.…

What new and upcoming authors do you think we should take notice off?

Wayne Kyle Spitzer is cranking some great stuff horror genre, namely in the Dinosaur apocalypse type stories, namely Flashback. I also personally know him, and he is a great writer, so you won’t be disappointed. 

Are there any reviews of your work, positive or negative that have stayed with you?

Nope, none that I can think of off-hand. But the night is still young….

What aspects of writing to do you find the most difficult?

Good question. Probably just sitting down and finding your flow, the valve to creativity that you can turn on like a faucet and write. When you can’t find it, you challenge yourself to write anyway, even if it’s just a little at a time and complete crap, because eventually, you’ll find what you are looking for - eventually. It can be a challenge.  

Is there one subject you would never write about as an author?

No. Nor should any author limit himself or herself, especially in the horror genre. I mean, it’s always a safe bet to write what you know, but for everything else, well, that’s what Google is for, so use it! It’s free even! 
 
Writing, is not a static process, how have you developed as a writer over the years?

Again, you just find the time , everyday if you can, even if just a little, and get some writing done. Most of my stories are adapted from screenplays I’ve written. Would I love to make them into movies someday?  Well yeah! But that’s my outline and treatment, and I develop it from there. I am not a traditional writer, nor do I want to be. But you do you, and find your own way to develop your skills and routine.

What is the best piece of advice you ever received with regards to your writing?

Just do it, man! And writing is rewriting. And rewriting some more, and some more….
 
Which of your characters is your favorite?

Well, from Seeds of the Dead, I would say Alex. He’s wheelchair-bound, but that doesn’t stop him from meeting the threat - the conflict - head-on. He is also a part of Anonymous, a smart kid with a lot of guts, and an even bigger heart. 

Which of your books best represents you?

For now, that would be Seeds of the Dead for its wicked sense of humor. It was really a fun script, and an even more fun book to write.

Do you have a favorite line or passage from your work, and would you like to share it with us?

I don’t know if it’s my favorite, but the line - “Eat the fruit, motherf**ker—Now!”- Cracks me up. Especially when you know WHAT that fruit will do to you if you do eat it!
 
Can you tell us about your last book, and can you tell us about what you are working on next?

My last book was titled Day Crosser - which highlights a poor migrant farming family from Mexico looking to escape the ruthless violence of the drug cartels. Not horror per say, but very intense, and a harsh look at the evils of racism and the beauty of empathy.

The next book that I’m going to personally tackle, is titled The Pit - As genetically engineered Were Beast Gladiators (shapeshifting human-animal hybrids) fight to the death in the Pit, a young man amongst them leads a revolution against the evil Corporate Empire that created them all.

It’s dystopian science fiction/action with elements of horror mixed in.

If you could erase one horror cliché what would be your choice?

I wouldn’t, not even the bad ones! I’m not into erasing (or cancelling) tropes and clichés. If you want t use it, that’s fine with me.

What was the last great book you read, and what was the last book that disappointed you?

The last great book I read was the Dark Elf Trilogy by R.A. Salvatore from Forgotten Realms. As far as disappointments, uh, I’ll just humbly keep that to myself.

What's the one question you wish you would get asked but never do?  And what would be the answer?

Do you like to eat sardines? And the answer is “Hell Yes I do! Guts and all!”

When his evil superiors create a new strain of genetically modified food (GMO) that transforms ordinary people into ravenous, bloodthirsty zombies, a disillusioned scientist turns whistle-blower and becomes their next target....

Seeds Of The Dead is a story about a man at a crossroads, one
which will, in turn, jeopardize the very fate of humankind. On one
hand, this man supports the creation of GMO (genetically modified
organisms) to help feed the world. But to do so he must align himself
with a nefarious corporation and the corrupt elitists who control it.

Set against a zombie-apocalypse pandemic in small-town America,
the story’s hero is Peter Malik, a promising young scientist employed by the
dubious Moonstar Foods INC. When Peter learns the treachery his
corporation is set to unleash upon the unsuspecting masses, he
threatens to expose their dark secrets by becoming a “whistleblower”.

The corporation retaliates, contaminating Peter’s hometown with the zombie
virus through infected food. Can Peter save his hometown, his parents, and the
woman he adores, plus warn the entire planet of the impending doom?
Seeds Of The Dead explores controversial issues with elements of horror
and gallows humor in this page-turning action and suspense novel!

You are what you eat, and it may just eat you back! ​

Could you tell the readers a little bit about yourself?

I’m a 40 year old dyke, relatively new to writing in the genre. I live in the UK with my wife and kids, and in between daydreaming about sea monsters and dystopian hellscapes, I run a consultancy - copywriting is a big part of my day job. Before that, I was briefly an academic and researcher.    
 
Why horror?  What is appeal of the genre to you as both a fan and as a writer?

Part of it I think is the imaginative freedom the genre gives you. Unlike, say, literary fiction or romcom, horror (and associated genres like sci-fi and fantasy) give you licence to imagine other worlds, other possibilities, other futures – dystopian or otherwise.
 
But some of the best horror, for me, isn’t pure horror – but rather the stuff that straddles multiple genres and draws on horrific imagery and horrifying narrative devices and constructions to tell a fuller, more compelling story.   

As LBGTQ+ fan and writer of horror, how did you when you first became immersed in the genre and found that representation that you could identify was few and far between?
 
I must have been 10 or 11 when I came across Stephen King, who was my first introduction to the genre. I have very vivid memories of staying up all night reading ‘Salem’s Lot, absolutely terrified but completely unable to stop.  
 
I was a big reader as a kid – aren’t most people who write? – and I was certainly aware that there wasn’t much of what we’d think of these days as positive representation in the genre. (The murdered gay men in It were as good as it got, from memory). But it wasn’t restricted to horror: I read my local library dry, and there was very little across the board for a gay kid in the Midlands to fix on, the way there is now. Armistead Maupin’s Tales Of The City were a bit of a revelation, though obviously not enormously horrific. And one particular story in Clive Barker’s Books of Blood – In The Hills, The Cities – put a male couple front and centre, albeit in a bit of a bleak way. There’s certainly wasn’t a relationship you’d aspire to!
 
Beyond books, TV shows like Buffy and Dark Angel were pretty important in my very late teens and early 20s, as well as movies like Bound.
 
Even now, though – when queer representation in other media proliferates by comparison – I struggle to think of many mainstream horror lit voices that do lesbian women and female relationships consistently well.      

How did you discover authors that wrote about characters that you could relate to?

For the most part, I’m still looking! For lesbians, I think – and again this is a little depressing – fan fiction is, right now, the better imaginative playground, and there’s some absolutely fantastic writing in there if you have a dig around.  

Other than the horror genre, what else has been a major influence on your writing?

As a genre, crime fiction – I write crime thrillers under another name (TC Parker is a pseudonym reserved for the darker stuff), and they’re heavily influenced by people like Val McDermid and Ruth Ware.
 
I love Neil Gaiman, and China Mieville, and Terry Pratchett – all the usual fantasy suspects.
 
But regardless, I love a plot twist – something you absolutely didn’t see coming. Whether it’s straight horror or sci-fi or bodice-ripping romance I’m reading – if it manages to blindside me, I’m sold.  
 
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?
 
I think it’s useful shorthand to have some sort of generic categorization, if only for navigation purposes. But “horror” is such a broad church. I wonder if one way to break down some of the assumptions around what horror is and isn’t is to help people understand that fiction not typically categorized as horror – say, something like Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, or even The Handmaid’s Tale – can have some absolutely horrific elements while still being ‘literary’ fiction (for a given value of ‘literary’), while horror can be as lyrical as a prose-poem or as well-plotted as a really good bit of detective fiction.
 
Fortunately, I think readers are a lot more receptive now than they were to the idea of genre hybridity.

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?

Horror’s always been political, hasn’t it? Whether you’re talking about Caligari and the Weimar Republic, or 50s B-movie body horror and the Cold War, or 80s slashers and Reaganism. So I’d be very surprised, given Trump and Covid and climate crisis and the manifold other horrors we’re seeing play out at the moment, if there weren’t more overtly political dystopian narratives flying around.
 
It’s very difficult, right now, to write something that isn’t political. And when people say they don’t do politics in their writing – well, even that is a political position, isn’t it? It’s active disengagement. And something you can only afford to do if you’re coming at writing from a position where your identity and place in the world isn’t already contested.
 
LGBT+ and BIPOC people don’t have that privilege, unfortunately.

What are the books and films that helped to define you as an author?


Off the top of my head:

• Any of Stephen King’s short story collections (though I’ve got a soft spot for Skeleton Crew and Everything’s Eventual)
• Jeremy Dyson’s Never Trust A Rabbit – another short story collection, and just wonderful
• China Mieville’s The City & The City
• Bret Easton Ellis’s American Psycho – incredibly problematic, but I loved it when I was younger
• Val McDermid’s Wire In The Blood
• Pretty much anything Discworld, but especially the Witches books

There’s also a lot of academic stuff that’s influenced the way I think about the world, which logically has influenced the way I write – but I’m not sure anyone wants to hear me bang on about Foucault.

In recent years there has been a slow but gradual diversification within the genre, which new LBGTQ+ writers do you think we should be paying attention to? 
 
I read Sara Tantlinger’s To Be Devoured recently, and was hugely impressed. Would love to read more of her stuff.

How would you describe your writing style?

Plot-heavy and digressive. There are a lot of stylistic tics I need to police!

Are there any reviews of your work, positive or negative that have stayed with you?

I’m new to horror writing, so… not yet. Though I’m sure I’ll cry myself to sleep over them at some point, if and when they roll in.

What aspects of writing to do you find the most difficult?

Finding the time to do it at all. I have two kids and work more than full-time hours – so time to write is very much at a premium.

Are there any subjects that you would never write about?

Nothing I can think of…
 
Writing, is not a static process, how have you developed as a writer over the years?


I feel very much like I’m just getting started – so you might need to ask me that 5 years from now!

What is the best piece of advice you ever received with regards to your writing?


Two things:

1. Write for an audience, not just for yourself. If you want people to read – and ideally enjoy – what you’ve produced, you have to have their needs in mind as well as your own
2. Always have an idea of what you’re trying to say before you say it. Writing is a hell of a lot easier – and writer’s block a hell of a lot easier to dodge – when you have a sense of the point you’re trying to make with each sentence, paragraph, chapter

 
 
Getting your worked noticed is one of the hardest things for a writer to achieve, how have you attempted to break through the barriers that are so often in place against LBGTQ+ writers?

I don’t know that I have yet! But I’m very aware that I’m coming at this from a privileged position. I’m not young, or just out of university; I have an established career already, and write more or less for a living anyway, which won’t change regardless of how well or how poorly my books perform. So to some extent, getting noticed is a bonus rather than a necessity. I want people to read what I write, but not out of material necessity.
 
That’s just me, though. There are many, many LGBTQ+ and BIPOC writers – writers far more talented than me – who are young, who aren’t established, who do desperately need material support. And for these writers, the old barriers and gatekeepers are still very firmly in place, at least when it comes to traditional publishing.
 
The good news, I guess, is that indie publishing means that these writers aren’t dependent in the way they would have been, say, 20 years ago on getting an agent and a Big 5 book deal.
 
The bad news is that they are dependent on recognition – on people knowing they’re out there, and paying for (not just reading) their work.
 
So, if you have a platform: promote them, however you can!
    
Many CIS white male authors use LGBTQ+ characters in their works, what’s the mistake that they make when trying to portray these characters?

I’m reluctant to criticize, because so many straight, cis, white male writers now are trying – they’re well-intentioned in their constructions of queer characters, and they’re not just using them as props, or worse. Nobody who remembers the 80s and 90s will need me to tell them this, but we’ve come very, very far in terms of representation.
 
That said: it would be good if authors, and media producers more generally, stopped killing lesbians in their fiction, or at least killed fewer of them. Characters dying off is inevitable in the context of a lot of horror narratives – but lesbians have been killed off in epic numbers across multiple genres for a lot of years now, and we’ve got a lot of ground to make up!
 
So, if any cis white male authors are listening: maybe sometimes let your lesbians be the last ones standing at the end?   

Moving on to getting your work read, what do you think ins the biggest misconception about LGBTQ+ fiction?

It used to be: that every story was a coming out story, in one way or another. And unfortunately there was some truth to that.
 
Now, though… I’m really not sure. There are so many LGBTQ+ stories being told across platforms, and so many more people identifying as queer in public, that it feels less now than it did that LGBTQ+ identity is a monolith.
 
There are as number of presses dedicated to LGBTQ+ fiction, do you view these as a good thing, or do you think they help to perpetuate the ongoing exclusion from mainstream presses?

A good thing, definitely. Assimilation can be a very good and positive thing – but we need our indie presses, queer and otherwise!

Do you agree with movements like this and things such as Women in Horror Month?  If so how would you like to see sites such as Ginger Nuts of Horror tackle diversity? 

I agree 100%. It’s not about promoting women above men, in that instance – it’s about addressing a long-standing imbalance, in the same way that (say) Black Lives Matter or Trans Lives Matter exist as movements because some people, historically, have believed that they don’t matter, and this needs to be dragged into public view, dissected and rectified.
 
As to what Ginger Nuts of Horror can do – the fact you’re doing interviews like this and asking these questions suggests you’ve already got a handle on it!

The most common phrase you hear when people object to active movements to encourage all forms of diversity is “I don’t care about the sexuality, gender, color etc etc of the writer I only care about good stories” what would you like to say to these people?

That diversity of background, identity and experience is what contributes in many cases to diversity of thought and imagination. So if you want new, interesting stories and fresh perspectives on existing tropes, it’s probably worth listening to people (BIPOC, queer and otherwise historically marginalized people) who haven’t had much of a voice in your genre previously.

To many writers, the characters they write become like children, who is your favorite child, and who is your least favorite to write for and why?

I like them all! Some of them are appalling human beings, but as long as they’re interesting, I’m interested in them.

What piece of your own work are you most proud of?

There’s room for improvement in all of it. But anything that’s out in the public sphere I’m generally happy with.

For those who haven’t read any of your books, which of your books do you think best represents your work and why?

Saltblood is my first horror novel – so it would have to be that one.

Do you have a favorite line or passage from your work, and would you like to share it with us?
 
It feels a bit narcissistic to quote myself, so I’m reluctant. But there’s a very mild allusion to TS Eliot’s Marina in Saltblood, so I’ll go with the opening lines of that instead: “What seas what shores what grey rocks and what islands/what water lapping the bow/and scent of pine and the woodthrush singing through the fog/what images return/O my daughter.”
 
It’s just beautiful – the imagery and the lyricism, but also the feeling of the syllables, even when you’re not reading it aloud.   
 
Can you tell us about your last book, and can you tell us about what you are working on next?

My last book before Saltblood was a crime thriller novel written and published under a different name. My next one is a sequel to that.
 
But after that one, I’m hoping to get stuck into another bit of dystopian horror – a near-future detective thing about extreme body modification and sensory overload. I’ve got a couple of fragment chapters knocking around the hard drive, so we’ll see how they play out when I get to them.

What was the last great book you read, and what was the last book that disappointed you?
 
If I get all the way through a book, chances are I’ve enjoyed it. The last thing I read – in fact, re-read – was George R R Martin’s The Skin Trade, which was as good as I remember it being. (I’m not a fan of Game of Thrones, or epic fantasy more generally, but that guy writes bloody good horror).
 
The last thing I abandoned was Caroline Kepnes’s You. There wasn’t anything wrong with it, exactly – I just didn’t feel like the target audience for it. If I’d read it at 20, I’d probably have felt differently.

What's the one question you wish you would get asked but never do?  And what would be the answer?
 
“Where’s the best place to leave a review?”

Tabatha Wood lives in New Zealand and writes weird, dark fiction and uplifting poetry. Despite her obsession with the strange and unusual, she considers herself mostly harmless.
 
A former English teacher and library manager, Tabatha now teaches from home while writing in her spare time. She released her debut collection, “Dark Winds Over Wellington: Chilling Tales of the Weird & the Strange” in March 2019. Since then she has had short stories published in a number of antipodean horror magazines.
 
Tabatha is the lead editor in a team of twelve for the “Black Dogs, Black Tales” anthology. The collection aims to raise money and awareness for the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand and will be published by ’Things In The Well Press’ in May 2020. 
 
You can read more of her writing on her website https://tabathawood.com and her Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/tlwood.wordweaver/ ​

Could you tell the readers a little bit about yourself?
 
I like weird arty stuff, disturbing and creepy horror and the worst trash on TV. I cry at almost everything we watch. I cried at that Eurovision film, that’s how bad I am. I kind of go for a ‘psychedelic flapper’ look and I belong to a fun group called The British Bizarro Community. It’s like a support group who send memes to each other.
 
I live in Essex and I’m married to a talented artist, musician and graphic designer, Bill Purnell. We don’t have a cat yet but I’m working on it.

To get the ball rolling and get everyone relaxed, here is a hopefully lighthearted question to break the ice, which one of your characters would you least like to meet in real life and have them complain at you about they way you treated them in your work.

Margie in The C Word (you can hear it on the Other Stories podcast) will be very miffed. Her biggest fear is facing up to reality and I forced her to do that.

Other than the horror genre, what else has been a major influence on your writing?
 
Surrealism, bizarro fiction, DADA, silent films, the frothy artistic culture of the 1920s, weird films. Also I watched Beetlejuice every day for a year when I was nine and I’m honestly not exaggerating.
 
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?

I think it’s up to people to seek it out. If it puts people enough not to explore it, they probably wouldn’t enjoy it anyway. If someone is curious, though, we should offer a cup of tea and a biscuit (the UK kind, not those weird scones).

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 exploring the darker sides, especially if science fiction is mixed in somewhere, can show the depths we can reach and hopefully serve as a warning, or at least a mirror. I think it will continue along those lines.

Given the dark, violent and at times grotesque nature of the horror genre why do you think so many people enjoy reading it?
 
Sometimes it’s to focus on troubles that aren’t your own. Or, if it’s unrealistic/supernatural, it’s pure escapism. My favourite is a quiet, creeping dread. The Little Stranger (book version, definitely not film) and Lake Mungo are perfect examples. Sometimes, though, I find I need catharsis. I want to really feel how terrible everything is, so I’ll read something like The Teratologist By Edward Lee and Wrath James White.

What, if anything, is currently missing from the horror genre?
 
Honestly, that’s a difficult one, but I’ll probably go with appreciation of the smaller, weirder stuff. It’s less mainstream, it’s odd, it’s uncomfortable, but it’s most definitely there.

In the past authors were able to write about almost anything with a far lesser degree of the fear of backlash, but this has all changed in recent years.  These days authors must be more aware of representation an the depiction of things such as race and gender in their works, how aware are you of these things and what steps have you taken to ensure that your writing can’t be viewed as being offensive to a minority group? 


I think all people want is well researched or non-stereotypical characters, so I’ll do my best with that. It’s also good to make sure it passes through the eyes of others before it meets its audience as well.

Does horror fiction perpetuate it’s own ghettoization?
 
Sections of it might, certainly the 80s/slasher horror fans. I’d never see that as a bad thing, I find it heart-warming when people love something like that, but I think their main goal is to find like-minded people and perhaps not worry too much about outsiders, which is cool.
 
Otherwise I think there’s such variety that if others are intrigued, they’ll seek it out. I went from horror and gothic literature to cult authors to bizarro, all fuelled by a need to get weirder and weirder. Not that everything I do is necessarily weird, but I do love a good Russian Absurdist like Daniil Kharms.

What new and upcoming authors do you think we should take notice off?  
 
Julia Platz Halter, Leza Cantoral, Jayaprakash Satyamurthy, Luciana Williams, Brendan Vidito, Monique Quintana, Amy Vaughn and everyone in The British Bizarro Community of course (see our twitter). That’s off the top of my head, there’s so many more.

What are the books and films that helped to define you as an author?
 
Ok, here we go. It’s something of a list…
 
Alice in Wonderland, Beetlejuice, Haruki Murukami’s short story collection, early Terry Gilliam (Baron Munchausen was a close second after Beetlejuice on watch time), Monty Python, comedies like Spaced and The Young Ones, Sorry to Bother You (it’s new but wow!), M (Fritz Lang), Within Our Gates, The Haunting (the film), Ringu, the short stories of Robert Aickman, Hansel and Gretel (2007 film version), Junky/Naked Lunch by William Burroughs, A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, the short stories of Dorothy Parker, The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, the short stories of Leonora Carrington, Out of the Unknown (British sci fi anthology doing adaptations of the best short stories. Oh my God you have to see it), The Palm Wine Drinkard by Amos Tutuola and this French animation I saw as a small child called The King and the Mockingbird. It was intensely strange, frightening and surreal for my tiny brain and I recommend it even today.
 
That’s not everything but it’s starting to look unwieldy.

Are there any reviews of your work, positive or negative that have stayed with you?

I think Matthew Revert saying I could take a seat at a table with Kafka, Kharms and Gogol will forever blow my tiny mind.

What aspects of writing to do you find the most difficult?

Sitting in a chair. Honestly, that sounds like a joke, but I have chronic pain and it gets a bit frustrating.

Is there one subject you would never write about as an author?
 
I wouldn’t like to say I’d never write something because you never really know.

How important are names to you in your books? Do you choose the names based on liking the way it sounds or the meaning?
 
Honestly sometimes I just google ‘names’ and pick out ones I like haha!
 
Writing, is not a static process, how have you developed as a writer over the years?

I think my writing has got a bit deeper, or at least I hope it has. I want to put more of my innards in it, if that doesn’t sound too gross, my fears and hopes.

What is the best piece of advice you ever received with regards to your writing?

I’m only improving (hopefully) because I was daft enough not to stop. You won’t be good at first unless you were born amazing, you have to keep doing it.

To many writers, the characters they write become like children, who is your favorite child, and who is your least favorite to write for and why?


I really like the character in an upcoming novella. It’s a weird mystery set in a 1920s New York that you won’t recognise. I don’t want to say too much more though.

For those who haven’t read any of your books, which of your books do you think best represents your work and why?
 
Fortune Box. The interconnected stories were such fun to write and are truly what happens when I sit at the computer and let my brain fall out.


Do you have a favorite line or passage from your work, and would you like to share it with us?
 
“Tell me doctor, when can I start applying for managerial positions?”
 
“I really wouldn’t apply for anything above a clerk until you’ve been toilet trained, Albert.”
 

Can you tell us about your last book, and can you tell us about what you are working on next?
 
My last book was Fortune Box, a series of stories in which characters are sent strange gifts from Tower Limited Surprise Packages.
 
I have a novella coming really soon  The Vine That Ate The Starlet and it's out with Filthy Loot,  It’s a 1920s mystery with a bit of a difference.
 
Also the British Bizarro Community put out The Bumper Book of British Bizarro, an anthology with all the proceeds going to Mermaids, the charity for gender diverse and trans young people and their families. There are so many new and exciting word weirdos that I can’t wait for people to read.

If you could erase one horror cliché what would be your choice?

Jump scares. They’re OK occasionally but they’re really annoying.

What was the last great book you read, and what was the last book that disappointed you?
 
I always go on about Who Cares Nothing Matters by Julia Platz Halter. It’s weird, it made me laugh, it’s kind of gross, I recommend it.
 
I get disappointed by a fair amount of books published by the big ones. However I think most recently was After by Anna Todd, the Harry Styles inspired romance. I want to make it clear that I wasn’t expecting it to be good and, to be fair, I had a good time for most of it. It was unintentionally funny and quite silly. Then, suddenly, something happened and it took it too far. I stopped reading. Actually, I made a video if you’re interested:
 

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