Author: Selene MacLeod

Articles / Interviews

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WiHM 12: Quick Six Questions With Naching T. Kassa

Welcome to The Horror Tree, and thank you for participating in Women In Horror Month. First, tell us a bit about yourself and your interest in horror. 

Thank you for having me, Selene. Always a pleasure.

My name is Naching T. Kassa and I’m a wife, mother, and horror writer. I’m also an Assistant at Crystal Lake Publishing and Head of Publishing for HorrorAddict.net. Horror has been a part of my life since the age of three, when my dad showed me King Kong on TV. I was hooked on horror after that and was lucky enough to grow up during the Golden Age of horror in the 80s.

 

Why is Women In Horror Month important, and what do you say to someone who says ‘Oh, I don’t care if it’s by a man, a woman, etc., as long as it’s a good story’?”
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Articles / Interviews

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WiHM 12: Quick Six Questions With Suzanne Madron

Welcome to The Horror Tree, and thank you for participating in Women In Horror Month. First, tell us a bit about yourself and your interest in horror.

For me, horror has always been around. As kids, we would try to scare the hell out of each other with ghost and monster stories or by hiding and jumping out. The transition to adulthood didn’t change my love of a good scare.

Why is Women In Horror Month important, and what do you say to someone who says ‘Oh, I don’t care if it’s by a man, a woman, etc., as long as it’s a good story’?”
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Articles / Interviews

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WiHM 12: Quick Six Questions With L. Marie Wood

L. Marie Wood is an award-winning psychological horror author and screenwriter.  She won the Golden Stake Award for The Promise Keeper.  Wood’s short fiction has been published widely, most recently in  Slay: Stories of the Vampire Noire and Bram Stoker Award Finalist anthology, Sycorax’s Daughters.  Learn more at www.lmariewood.com.

Welcome to The Horror Tree, and thank you for participating in Women In Horror Month. First, tell us a bit about yourself and your interest in horror.

I have been a fan of psychological horror since I was very young and began writing when I was around 5 years old. Three of my novels have been published with more to come, three short story collections as well, and a few novellas that will be released in the near future. I am also a screenwriter and have been lucky enough to have won a few awards in the past few years. When I am not writing novels or screenplays or short stories, I am teaching people to do so (I am an English Professor and mentor).

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WiHM 12: Quick Six Questions With Gemma Files

Editor’s Note: Disclaimer, this paragraph includes an affiliate link which means a small portion of the sale at no additional expense to you may go to Horror Tree. Gemma didn’t include it in her interview, but her latest novel, ‘That Endlessness‘ is due out today!

Welcome to The Horror Tree, and thank you for participating in Women In Horror Month. First, tell us a bit about yourself and your interest in horror.

Formerly a film critic, journalist, screenwriter and teacher, Gemma Files has been an award-winning horror author since 1999. She has published for collections of short work, three collections of speculative poetry, a Weird Western trilogy, a story-cycle and a stand-alone novel (Experimental Film, which won the 2015 Shirley Jackson Award for Best Novel and the 2016 Sunburst award for Best Adult Novel). She has a new story collection upcoming from Grimscribe Press (In This Endlessness, Our End, February 2021).

My interest in horror, meanwhile…horror has always been my meat, pretty much from the beginning. As Yukio Mishima once put it, “my heart’s yearning has always been for night, and death, and blood.”
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Articles / Interviews

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WiHM 12: Quick Six Questions With Alice Loweeceey

Welcome to The Horror Tree, and thank you for participating in Women In Horror Month. First, tell us a bit about yourself and your interest in horror.
Thank you for having me! This standard greeting takes on a new layer of meaning When talking about certain kinds of horror, eep! My dad raised me on horror starting at age 5. We used to make popcorn and watch the Friday night local TV horror movie, which back in the day was never rated higher than PG. As myself and as Kate Morgan and I write dystopian, vampires, Lovecraftian, and supernatural thrillers.In the immortal words of Danny Elfman, “Life’s no fun without a good scare.”

Why is Women In Horror Month important, and what do you say to someone who says ‘Oh, I don’t care if it’s by a man, a woman, etc., as long as it’s a good story’?”
Because I still talk ot so many men who won’t pick up a book if it’s written by a woman. I’m glad to be among the pioneers working to change this mindset. And to anyone who lets the above statement come out of their mouths, I have a whole list at my fingertips of great horror written by women to suggest to them. With a smile.
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WiHM 12: Quick Six Questions With Carmilla Voiez

Welcome to The Horror Tree, and thank you for participating in Women In Horror Month. First, tell us a bit about yourself and your interest in horror.

I’m a <cough> 49 year-old mother of two daughters and life-long Goth who writes in various horror genres, from magic-filled dark-fantasy, and psychological through to slashers. I suspect what distinguishes my work most is that I write first and foremost about women, and I write sympathetic antagonists (or villains). I adore a complicated and compelling baddie. I grew up with Hammer Horror, and perhaps that’s what turned me towards the dark-side of film and fiction. It certainly encouraged me to think of horror and sexuality as being intrinsically linked.

Why is Women In Horror Month important, and what do you say to someone who says ‘Oh, I don’t care if it’s by a man, a woman, etc., as long as it’s a good story’?”

I am certain that the secret to any writer’s success is exposure. There are elements in every community, and I don’t believe horror is any different, which are reactionary, hierarchical, and protect the privilege of those already at the top. Women have been traditionally told to shut up or remove themselves from public spaces, which is why things like Women in Horror Month matter.

Who are some Women In Horror (or other women) who have influenced your work, and why?

The late, great Storm Constantine, whose fantasy was frequently driven by horror and vice versa. I’m also a fan of emerging voices like Kenzie Jennings and Eden Royce. And I’m amazed (although I probably shouldn’t be) and the diversity of female voices in horror. I believe I’ve been influenced more by male horror writers Like Clive Barker, but that’s probably because I encountered them earlier. What I do get from other female writers is a wonderful sense of community and shared struggle.

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WiHM 12: Quick Six Questions With Christine Morgan

photo credit Erin Shaw

Welcome to The Horror Tree, and thank you for participating in Women In Horror Month. First, tell us a bit about yourself and your interest in horror. 

CM: Oh, lifelong horror fan here, starting with watching the old Universal and Hammer flicks on TV during Saturday night creature features … started reading Stephen King at age 10, always been my favorite genre. When I got started as a writer, because I also played Dungeons and Dragons, I tried to go with fantasy at first. But, even then, things sometimes tended to get dark. I’d go to the conventions and really feel like the odd duck out because everyone would be talking about books and authors I may have heard of but hadn’t much read. Moving over to horror was a rightness and a relief in so many ways … I was happier writing it, I felt much more at home among my fellow readers and writers and fans … it’s where I belong.
Why is Women In Horror Month important, and what do you say to someone who says ‘Oh, I don’t care if it’s by a man, a woman, etc., as long as it’s a good story’?” 

CM: Y’know, it’s funny how most of the time I see someone posting or saying that, it’s a straight white guy and nearly all the entertainment he consumes is exactly what caters to straight white guys. That’s their normal. It’s the majority of what they see. They’re comfortable with it, and that’s how they DEFINE what’s a good story. Something that doesn’t cater to them, that doesn’t make them feel comfortable, they’re much more likely to therefore dismiss as NOT a good story, no matter how it’s written. So, basically, I think it’s a weaksauce excuse along the lines of saying “I don’t see race!” because they don’t want to confront the possibility of having to maybe look at their own biases. I do have mixed feelings about Women in Horror Month, because on the one hand we’ve been here all along, but on the other, it still seems like we need to keep bringing attention to it.

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Articles / Interviews

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WiHM 12 – Quick Six Questions With R.L. Merrill

1. Welcome to The Horror Tree, and thank you for participating in Women In Horror Month. First, tell us a bit about yourself and your interest in horror. 

 

My love of horror goes back to nights I’d sneak out of bed after my mom went to sleep and watch Creature Features with my stepdad. I graduated to daily walks up to the local video rental store the summer we got our first VCR, and by high school I was reading Stephen King and convincing my English teacher that it was perfectly acceptable for my essay-writing practice. About twelve years ago I started writing what would become my first paranormal romance/supernatural suspense novel and I was hooked. Since then I’ve been published in contemporary and paranormal romance and horror. I write inclusive stories featuring quirky—often creepy—and relatable characters full of hope, love, and rock ‘n’ roll. Even the contemporary romances flirt with horror. I love showing my macabre side whenever possible.

2. Why is Women In Horror Month important, and what do you say to someone who says ‘Oh, I don’t care if it’s by a man, a woman, etc., as long as it’s a good story’?”

 

Horror has long been considered to be too harsh for the gentle lady’s discerning taste. I call bullshit. While I agree that anyone can write a good story, the inner machinations of the female mind can be utterly terrifying, and our stories are deserving of respect. I love a good spin on a classic fright or a brand-new creation, and there’s nothing more satisfying than seeing women triumph over evil. There’s just something empowering about channeling our frustrations into ghoulish and ghastly adventures where we’re in control of our own destiny.

  

3. Who are some Women In Horror (or other women) who have influenced your work, and why?

 

I was lucky to find a local tribe of women through HorrorAddicts.net that love the dark side as much as I do. We’ve participated in a few readings at the San Mateo Public Library where I’ve heard Emerian Rich, Sumiko Saulson, E.M. Markoff, and Mercy Hollow read deliciously sinister stories that had me on the edge of my seat. Beyond that, I’m grateful to Mary Shelley for creating my favorite creature, Frankenstein’s Monster, and to Anne Rice for combining history, drama, and lore with love and horror in her Vampire Chronicles and The Mayfair Witches stories. 

4. 2020 will probably be remembered as a TERRIBLE year for many of us; tell me something GOOD that happened in the past 12 months.

I had such big plans for 2020! I was going to do three horror conventions in Northern California with my gal pals, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be. But I found solace in horror this past year like I haven’t in a long time. I subscribed to Shudder and attended the online version of the Salem Horror Fest. I watched a ton of great horror films like Host, Spiral, and The Mortuary Collection, which were fresh, diverse, and unexpected treats during a really dark time! I also wrote an homage to my horror hero, Edgar Allan Poe, called “The House Must Fall,” which will be featured in this spring’s gothic horror collection, Haunts and Hellions, from HorrorAddicts.net Press. I also had a flash fiction story called “Human Sacrifice” be chosen for publication in Queer Sci Fi’s Annual Flash Fiction Collection titled Innovation. Writing these stories stretched me as an author and I can’t wait to write more!

 

5. What have you got planned for Women in Horror Month, and the coming months of 2021? 

When I’m not writing fiction, I write music reviews and recommendations for HorrorAddicts.net, and for Women in Horror month, I wrote a piece called Women in Metal. It features musicians and artists in today’s metal world who infuse their love of horror into their lyrics and the imagery in their videos. I’ve been a metal fan for as long as I’ve loved horror, and for me they are forever intertwined. It’s a marriage of the best kind, combining sound and vision into the sweetest creation imaginable complete with blood, lust, and darkness. What more could you want out of life?

6. Is there anything else you’d like to tell our readers? Thanks for participating in Women in Horror Month! 

I love connecting with fellow lovers of horror and sharing recommendations and I’d love to extend an invitation to visit my brand of Rock ‘n’ Romance for your reading pleasure. Besides the gothic horror anthology this Spring I’ll also be releasing the next installment of my supernatural suspense series in late summer and I’ll be releasing the next wacky paranormal romance as part of Robyn Peterman’s Magic and Mayhem Universe in October in time for Halloween. You can subscribe to my website at www.rlmerrillauthor.com for blog posts and monthly newsletter or follow me on the socials @rlmerrillauthor. Thanks for spreading the horror love and inviting me to play!