Category: Interviews

Gwendolyn N. Nix lives in Missoula, MT. She saw her first beached humpback on a windy day in New York, met a ghost angel in Paris train station, and had Odin answer prayers on a mountain in Scotland. Her experience includes being the entertainment editor for Aconyte books, the senior editor for Outland Entertainment, being a casting producer, and social media manager. She has studied sharks in Belize and induced evolutionary pressure on green algae.

Her works include shorts in the, Pileaus Symphony No. 1, Where the Veil is Thin, Apex: World of Dinosaurs, and The Sisterhood of the Blade anthologies. She has four novels including Sharks of the Wasteland, The Falling Dawn and Seams of Shadow from her Celestial Scripts series, and the upcoming I Have Asked to be Where No Storms Come. You can find a review of the new novel here at HorrorTree.com.

This is a transcription of our original video interview of Gwendolyn N. Nix that you can find here.

(more…)

NEW BLOOD: The Rebirth of Indie Horror

A Conversation with Laurel Hightower

By Matt Micheli

These interviews are intended to be very candid and conversational. There is nothing off limits.

***

“There’s a single note that plays through all of Laurel Hightower’s Crossroads, and in that note you can hear a mother’s justified devastation, a lover’s acceptance, and the haunting displacement of a ghost. Refreshingly nuanced character, down to earth in the rightest of ways, Crossroads will sincerely move you. There is a big mind, and an even bigger heart, behind this book.” — Josh Malerman, New York Times best-selling author of Bird Box and Malorie

(more…)

Today, we’re honored to share J.W. Donley’s video interview with Gwendolyn N. Nix on her upcoming release of ‘I Have Asked to be Where No Storms Come’ from Crystal Lake Publishing as well as her writing in general. Before jumping in, here is a synopsis of the novel to get you in the right headspace:

The facts of Domino Bluepoint’s afterlife are simple: he’s a half-breed witch from a people without a name, and no one wants to be stuck in Hell with witch blood.

When a demon bounty-hunter comes calling, Domino pairs up with his mother, who died too young and carries the witch lineage in her veins, to survive. Soon the two of them are Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid running from whatever torture awaits them and whoever wants to harvest their magic. Yet, Domino doesn’t know that his brother, Wicasah, is behind this and is desperate to resurrect Domino out of long-lasting guilt and a sensation of belonging to no place and no one.

As Wicasah dives deeper into darker magic that ends in an ill-made deal, Domino must overcome addiction, depression, and hone his own brand of witch-magic to help save his brother—and the world—from an ancient god of lighting and thunder.

You can watch the interview right here:
(more…)

Ai Jiang: thoughtful writing & selling stories

By Angelique Fawns

Ai Jiang is no stranger to the world of speculative short story writing. Her tales can be found in some of the most respected markets in our industry including: The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Uncanny, The Dark Magazine, Pseudopod, The Deadlands, and Dark Matter. She mixes the literary with speculative elements and her writing has a unique, vibrant flavor. Jiang is studying her craft by pursuing a Master’s in Creative Writing at the University of Edinburgh and works as a fiction editor at Orion’s Belt. (A pro-paying market for flash fiction.)  

 I discovered this prolific Canadian-Chinese writer through our very own Horrortree newsletter written by Holley Cornetto. She featured Ai Jiang’s story “For Viporis” at Flashpoint Science Fiction, and I loved it so much I contacted Jiang to find out more about her.

(more…)

Filipe Lichtenheld & Dream of Shadows

By Angelique Fawns

Filipe Lichtenheld loves honest and daring stories that exist in the grey zone. Send him your stories of struggle, moments of horror, and flashes of fantasy. Launched in 2019, Dream of Shadows is based out of London, England, and publishes monthly short stories and annual anthologies. I’ve sent several submissions to this market and Lichtenheld has always taken the time to send me a few notes on how to improve my writing. I took his advice to heart and finally sent him a story he accepted. “Ogri Trips the Light Fantastic” will be published on the Dream of Shadows website on November 15, 2022. 

Dream of Shadows is also running a Halloween Contest this year from August 1 to September 15, so if you have a short spooky tale looking for a home, check out the website for more details. This August you can also find the annual anthology for sale on Amazon. I sat down with Lichtenheld to learn more about his vision and what lurks in the shadows…

(more…)

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.

(more…)

Laurel Hightower is a horror lover, legal nerd, and mom. Today, she is opening up to the art of crafting novellas and her most recent release ‘Below’ which was released in March of 2022. The synopsis describes it as “While driving through the mountains of West Virginia during a late-night snowstorm, a recently divorced woman experiences bizarre electrical problems, leaving her with little choice but to place her trust with a charismatic truck driver. But when an unexplainable creature with haunting red eyes gets between them, she is forced to make one of the toughest decisions of her life. Will she abandon the stranger who kept her safe—or will she climb down below, where reality has shapeshifted into a living nightmare?” Let’s dive into the interview!
(more…)

Enjoy this Author Interview between Contributing Author of Vindication of Monsters Anthology, Donny Prentice, Jr. & host Ivana Sanders about his experiences as a contributor to a Horror Anthology and a fan of horror which illuminates the human condition!

Donny’s Bio: A debut author in the field that he loves, horror! He contributed a film analysis to Claire Fitzpatrick’s anthology, Vindication of Monsters. He once joked, “To be honest, while I’m a big fan of the horror genre, I would be quite terrible at writing my own horror story (haha).”
(more…)