Jason Palmatier- Life After Winning Writers of the Future

By Angelique Fawns

Jason Palmatier won Writer’s of the Future and appeared in volume 39 with his story “Under My Cypresses.”  I met him at World Fantasy Con this October in Niagara Falls and thought I’d ask him where his career has gone after his dream accomplishment. Learn more at his website! https://jasonpalmatier.com/about-me/

If his last name is familiar, his brother Joshua Palmatier runs the Zombies Needs Brain, LLC. (Rumor has it they will probably be opening for subs in the spring!)

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I can only hope that Dan Fields can appreciate a New Mexican spin on enchiladas, as that’s my go-to culinary influence at the present time (red, green, or Christmas chile, Dan?). Enjoy “feasting” on this interview, HT readers!

Dan Fields hails from Houston, Texas, where he lives with his wife and two children. He absconded with a film degree from Northwestern University in 2006, and has worked in a variety of media disciplines including music, photography, video, animation, fiction, criticism and even the odd (very odd) sculpture. In the late 2000s he was frontman of the Chicago chaos-and-blues act Howlin’ Tumbleweeds, and he is a founding member, songwriter and performer for the Lone Star blues, country and rock band Polecat Rodeo (established 2010).

Since 2015, Dan has published over two dozen stories of horror and the weird with Pseudopod, Nocturnal Transmissions, The NoSleep Podcast, Sanitarium Magazine, Grotesque Quarterly, Hellbound Books, Novel Noctule, Cowboy Jamboree Press, Frontier Tales, Improbable Press, Weird Christmas and more. His fiction has been broadcast (or rather podcast) in multiple accents across the English-speaking world, and has also been translated into Russian by the poet Katarina Vorontsova for Darker Magazine.

In July 2020, his story “And Every Living Thing After Its Kind” was anthologized in the 10th edition of the Kendall Hunt college textbook Analyzing Short Stories.

In 2021, he released an original story collection entitled Under Worlds, After Lives, which a reviewer for HorrorNews.net called “an immensely compelling anthology that preys upon your subconscious long after the final pages.”

Dan’s latest work of short fiction, entitled “The Fair Child,” will appear in a future anthology from Fabula Press.

Dan and fellow Harvest Time writer Chris Robinson have also published several collaborative stories, under the joint pseudonym “Lyman Graves,” with the likes of Swamp Ape Review, Grotesque Quarterly, Nocturnal Transmissions, and The Great Void. Red Room Press included Lyman’s story “When The Owls Call” in their anthology Year’s Best Hardcore Horror, Volume 4. A new Lyman tale entitled “So, I Hear You Eat Houses” is scheduled to appear in a forthcoming anthology from Three Ravens Publishing.

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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.

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Dragon Mythicana: Kickstarting a Fantastical Collection of Dragon Tales

An Interview with Kevin A Davis

By Angelique Fawns

Inkd Pub is creating a gorgeous anthology full of fire-breathing, magical dragons. Eighteen authors have stories flying in these pages, including my own creation, “The Emotional Support Dragon.” The Kickstarter, which is running now till December 14.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/inkd/dragon-mythicana

Kevin A Davis, a publisher at Inkd Pub, shared more details about this fantasy offering.

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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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I’m not only excited to interview author Alvar Theo, I’m thrilled to heat up a cup of my favourite chocolate elixir drink from the Kakawa Chocolate House for my “Spooky Six” guest!

Alvar Theo (they/he) is the author of Benothinged, a horror comedy from Haunt Publishing. They started writing at five years old, making Red Dwarf fanfiction in the form of picture books. This was quite possibly before they could even write as they only ever got as far as drawing the pictures. They continued to write off and on but only began to take it seriously as a career path in the last decade or so. They’ve written sketches for podcasts and have a folder full of feature screenplays unlikely to ever see the light of day. Benothinged is their first novel.

They write with a focus on outsiders, generally isolated queer people. Their fiction tends to explore: gender; mental illness; social isolation and poverty, all with a blackly comic undertone.

They hale from the Black Country – Tolkien’s inspiration for Mordor – where they live with a cat and two dogs who take up most of their time.

When they’re not writing or taking care of their pets, they enjoy reading and watching Asian dramas. They’re allegedly learning to speak Thai. Their most expensive hobby is attending conventions where they cosplay and collect pins, art and independent comics. Formerly, their most expensive hobby was collecting tattoos, but a mixture of ill health and running out of space meant they had to give that up. They are immensely proud of the time they got to show writer Al Ewing the Loki: Agent of Asgard tattoos on their calf. It remains one of their all time favourite memories.

They have a degree in Psychology and Creative Writing. They have previously worked as a bookseller, library attendant across various libraries and administrator for trade unions. At the time of writing, they are horrendously unemployed. This is due to a mixture of ill health and shit luck.
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I was very tempted to turn this interview into a recipe-swap event, but the only horrifying thing about that is my tendency to scorch the bottoms of all my pots and pans, and that’s not very interesting, is it?  Read on to learn more about this eminently more interesting author and his new release, which promises to be a perfect read for Halloween night!

Matt Wagner has enjoyed a career in comics for over thirty years.  Born and educated in Pennsylvania, his first published work was a short story that would introduce one of comicdom’s most respected creator-owned characters–the mastermind assassin, GRENDEL. This epic, Eisner Award-winning creation has seen Matt collaborate with a host of the industry’s most significant talents and was recently compiled in a six-volume Omnibus edition that totaled more than 3000 pages.  He’s also renowned for his more personal allegory, MAGE—a contemporary fantasy trilogy that spanned thirty-five years in the making.

Matt has also worked on a variety of established characters.  These include his ground-breaking portrayal of the Batman villain, Two-Face, in the graphic novel FACES, a five-year stint authoring the fan-favorite Vertigo title, SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE, as well as the re-booted DR. MID-NITE mini-series for DC Comics and serving as the regular cover artist on both the Kevin Smith-penned relaunch of GREEN ARROW and a subsequent stint for the monthly BATMAN title.

Known for his character-driven stories and his obvious love of world history and mythologies, Matt has also enjoyed the distinction of being one of the only writer/artists allowed to team his own creation with one of DC’s flagship characters in two successive BATMAN/GRENDEL crossover series.

Matt has also written and drawn several high profile projects for DC including a highly successful, three-issue, prestige series starring Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, titled TRINITY and a year-long project comprised of two mini-series that chronicled some of the earliest aspects of Batman’s career in BATMAN & THE MONSTER MEN and BATMAN & THE MAD MONK.

2020 saw the 40^th anniversary of GRENDEL and a special project to commemorate this significant milestone, an expanded and newly redrawn version of the original story arc, GRENDEL: DEVIL BY THE DEED—MASTER’S EDITION.

Some of his other efforts, variously writing or drawing, have included MADAME XANADU for Vertigo, ZORRO, GREEN HORNET: YEAR ONE, THE SHADOW: YEAR ONE, THE SHADOW: THE DEATH OF MARGO LANE and THE SPIRIT RETURNS for Dynamite Entertainment.

Matt also teamed with renowned film-maker Quentin Tarantino to co-write a DJANGO/ZORRO crossover series that was co-published by Dynamite and DC/Vertigo.

He continues to add new stories to the GRENDEL universe with the current DEVIL’S CRUCIBLE—DEFIANCE.  His latest work is collaborating with maestro horror artist Kelley Jones on an ambitious and well-received series of graphic novels unveiling the secret histories of DRACULA.

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A Chat with John Langan about Corpsemouth and Other Autobiographies

As author of Bram Stoker Award winner The Fisherman, as well as the recently released (Oct. 17th through Canelo Horror) Corpsemouth And Other Autobiographies, John Langan has cemented his position among the finest working authors today. That is to say, I was frankly terrified to sit down and talk to him. Yet, as a newer author myself, I couldn’t down the opportunity to pick the brain of someone I greatly admire. Among the overload of anxiety, I managed to conjure up some questions and a boatload of courage to sit down with him and have a fantastic conversation about cosmic horror, creating your own mythos, love, and monsters. He also gives some great book recommendations and tips for people starting out their journey writing, so, yes, I’m biased, but this is well worth the listen for readers and writers alike. Check it out after the jump!

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