Interview with Award-Winning Anthology Editor Deborah Sheldon

Deborah Sheldon is well known for anthologies, and her latest offering, Spawn 2: More Weird Horror Tales About Pregnancy, Birth and Babies, promises to be exciting. Its predecessor won two awards! Spawn 2 certainly has big shoes to fill, but if Deborah’s past successes are anything to go by, then I have no doubt it will measure up. Maybe I’m biased because, I’m happy to say, one of my own stories was accepted for inclusion. I recently met with Deborah to talk about all things Spawn 2, covering the process of preparing the anthology from conception to publication.

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Interview with award-winning horror author, Deborah Sheldon

by Robyn O’Sullivan

When I think of Deborah Sheldon as an author, the term sui generis comes to mind; her work is in a class of its own. Unafraid to plumb the depths of human experience in all its extremes, Sheldon’s writing often breaks through the accepted genre frameworks. Her latest novel is released by the American small press, Undertaker Books. Bodily Harm is a gripping crime thriller shot through with psychological horror. A daunting read, the plot pivots on what is, sadly, a not-uncommon event. Curious to know what may lie behind a book of this nature, I sat down with Deborah to ask a few questions.

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We’re Taking A Trip To ‘Redhead Town’ with award-winning horror author, Deborah Sheldon

by Robyn O’Sullivan

Deborah Sheldon’s latest novella is best described using the Australian vernacular: it’s a ‘pearler’! Although Redhead Town is set in an Australia that doesn’t exist, its depiction of a life-choice that can plummet you into a situation beyond your control is entirely relatable. The raw emotion – anger, guilt, despair – and reactive behaviour of protagonist Mark Murphy are palpable and real. Deborah’s masterly writing holds you in thrall from the first sentence to the last word. It has been my privilege to speak with her about how she created such a realistic and frightening narrative.

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Deborah Sheldon on Cretaceous Canyon and Beyond!

Deborah Sheldon has recently published Cretaceous Canyon with Severed Press. And, running true to form, she has written a novel that will seize you in the first chapter and then thrill, horrify, enmesh and sicken in turn as it propels you through to the final page. I could not put this book down, so I was pleased to be able to speak with Deborah about how this scintillating story came to life.

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Interview with Award-Winning Editor Deborah Sheldon

Deborah Sheldon is an award-winning and award-nominated author and editor. She produces everything from novels and novellas to short stories, poetry, and anthologies—of her own stories as well as multi-author collections. For her most recent offering, Killer Creatures Down Under: Horror Stories with Bite, Deb covered the whole process from concept through commissioning and selecting the stories, to editing them and arranging the final versions. 

In the introduction to this collection, Deb says, “I’ve selected the ones that gripped me, unsettled me: stories that interpreted the theme in captivating, unexpected or shocking ways. You’re about to read an eclectic mix of disturbing tales that run the gamut from action to phantasmagorical to historical to futuristic to supernatural to psychological and more. My hope is that this anthology is the literary equivalent of a box of chocolates, assuming each chocolate is hazardous in its own delectable way.”

I met up with Deb not long ago to congratulate her on the incredible variety in her ‘box of chocolates’, and to find out what is involved in producing an anthology.

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Interview with award-winning horror author, Deborah Sheldon

by Robyn O’Sullivan

Deborah Sheldon can produce suspenseful stories in any form of the horror genre. The trademarks of her writing are riveting plots, engaging characters and extensively-researched settings. Her instincts for a good story are unerring, and her many award nominations and wins bear testament to this. Sheldon’s latest book, the novelette The Again-Walkers, is a thrilling tale. I recently caught up with Deb to talk about her new book and find out what goes into writing a story that readers love.

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