An Interview With Author Julie Hiner

I recently chatted with Julie Hiner, author of Fear of the Deep, about all things monstrous and watery. From the blurb for Fear of the Deep:

But the sea has a way of claiming what it wants. The discovery of a woman’s body, marked by peculiar and familiar bite marks, washes up on her beach, forcing Bailey to confront the fears she’s been running from. Deep beneath the waves, something sinister lurks, a nightmare born from genetic engineering gone awry. As Bailey delves deeper into the mystery, she finds herself entangled in a web of horror and science fiction, where sea creatures of the darkest depths become terrifyingly real.

With each tide, the line between reality and nightmare blurs, pulling Bailey into a psychological maelstrom. Her journey is not just a battle against the horrors emerging from the deep but a fight to overcome the demons within herself.

Julie Hiner spent her childhood lost in the pages of books. The only thing that took precedence was her Walkman. Julie remains a hardcore ’80s rocker at heart.

Julie worked as a computer scientist, specializing in network simulation. While traveling, she published an inspirational book, her own story of facing fear and anxiety by cycling up mountains.

She now writes a unique blend of heavy metal and horror, weaving both psychological suspense and various genres of rock and metal into a tapestry of musically infused storytelling. She has published an ’80s metal murder detective vs serial killer series, a ’90s nostalgic serial killer novella, a death metal demon possession novella, and co-curated a horror anthology. Several of Julie’s horror short stories have been published in anthologies. Torrid Waters, a pulp and extreme horror imprint of Crystal Lake Publishing, published Julie’s deep sea horror novella on Valentines Day 2025.

You can find her at KillersAndDemons.com serving up toxic cocktails of metal and murder.

(more…)

Interview with Suzie Lockhart of Dastardly Damsels

I recently got to chat with Suzie Lockhart about her latest anthology, Dastardly Damsels, which would have grabbed my attention from the title alone. And then, of course, there was the blurb:

A transcendental anthology of women in horror, altering all you know by revamping traditional lore while exploring the unfathomable and the obscure.

Prepare yourself for a harrowing journey through Dastardly Damsels, an anthology that redefines horror with a powerful lineup of female authors. This collection dares to explore the darkest corners of the human psyche and the supernatural, presenting a diverse range of chilling narratives that will captivate and unsettle you.

From the Victorian Era’s haunted secrets to futuristic global disasters, Dastardly Damsels serves up an array of stories that blend psychological fear with mythological intrigue. Dive into tales of revenge with a twist, where women wield dark powers and confront terrifying entities, from cannibalistic horrors to vengeful ghosts. Experience the suspense of a secretive stripper turned avenger, a gladiatrix with a taste for brutality, and a peculiar elevator with a sinister personality.

Each story promises a unique thrill—whether it’s the heart-stopping tension of a final girl like no other or the unsettling aftermath of witchcraft gone awry. The anthology’s gothic and steampunk elements enhance its eerie atmosphere, while the psychological twists ensure that each page turn brings a new shock.

If you’re ready for a blend of suspense and horror narratives that push the boundaries of traditional lore, Dastardly Damsels is your ticket to an unforgettable reading experience.

(more…)

An Interview with Kyle Toucher on ‘The Medusa Psalms’ and More!

You may have already read the work of Kyle Toucher, either in his excellent novel Live Wire or a myriad of short stories, and are thus familiar with his Walpurgis County: a place where American folk horror meshes with Lovecraftian terrors. Now he has gathered many of those stories into his first collection, The Medusa Psalms. Or as his publisher describes it:

“Enter Kyle Toucher’s Walpurgis County and discover the history and lore of America’s most benighted landscape, a melting pot of monsters and occultists, the heroes and the maimed, the suffering and the insufferable.”

Which is basically my catnip, and I was all in to deep dive on some of my questions about the Purg, its denizens, and what lies beneath Walpurgis Peak.

—

Kyle Toucher (rhymes with voucher) is the author of the novel Live Wire, from Crystal Lake Publishing, the novella Life Returns, and the Black Hare Press Short Read, Southpaw.
He recently appeared in the anthologies Dead Letters: Episodes of Epistolary Horror and To Hell and Back, from Crystal Lake and Hellbound Books respectively.

Through his twenties, he fronted the influential Nardcore crossover band Dr. Know, made records and hit the road. Later, he moved into the Visual Effects field, where he bagged eight Emmy nominations and two awards for Firefly and Battlestar: Galactica.

He lives with a lovely woman, five cats, two dogs, and several guitars in a house built when Nosferatu first ran in theatres.

(more…)