REMAINS TO BE TOLD – An interview with Kiwi author Bryce Stevens 

In this unique interview series, we chat with the contributors of Kiwi horror anthology Remains to Be Told: Dark Tales of Aotearoa, edited by five-time Bram Stoker Award-winner Lee Murray (Clan Destine Press, 1 October). 

Today, we welcome author and editor Bryce Stevens, whose short story “The Spaces Between” appears in the anthology. 

Tell us about your story in the anthology.  

Finding I was of Māori Heritage later in life and my growing up in Auckland and Hamilton, attending predominantly Māori/Pacific Island schools was the main inspiration for the tale. I’d always had Māori friends at schools and in the workplace. During my twenties I had Māori friends teaching me the language. Of course, being a young man, I had been most interested in the naughty words. 

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Kickstarting a Book Series! A Chat with Dean Wesley Smith

By Angelique Fawns

Dean Wesley Smith has an online course which I studied before launching my current Kickstarter for the Horror Lite Series. I’ve gathered up some of my best dark tales and compiled them into three collections called: Cursed & Creepy; Peculiar Pets; and Mythical Monsters.

You can check out the campaign here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1629319559/the-horror-lite-series-by-angelique-fawns

My stretch goals focus on adding other authors to my anthologies and paying them for their stories! I am hoping to include 3 guest tales per anthology.

Dean Wesley Smith’s workshop is a fantastic way for authors to learn about using this platform to get more eyes on their new ventures. Dean Wesley Smith has built 33 successful Kickstarter campaigns and is working on his next one. Learn more at www.deanwesleysmith.com.

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Spooky House Press Author Series

“Frickity Dizzle,” An Interview with Kathleen Palm 

Author of Into the Gray (Middle Grade)

Spooky House Press LLC (February 13, 2023)

By: Jacque Day

INTRODUCTION

As a bonus to the main interview with author Kathleen Palm, we bring you this mini-Q&A with Spooky House Press publisher, Robert P. Ottone, who discusses what distinguishes middle grade from young adult fiction, and why Kathleen Palm’s book, Into the Gray, resonated with him. 

Jacque Day: Into the Gray falls into the middle grade (MG) category for readers ages 8 to 12. How differently do you approach MG-rated books versus YA fiction for readers 12 to 18?

Robert P. Ottone: The major key, from what I’ve learned over time, is that middle grade and young adult fiction differ only in the way you present some material. For example, middle grade likely won’t have explicit cursing, sex, or drug use. That said, you can get as bloody or dark with the material as you like. 

JD: Why is it important for you, as a publisher, to be open to MG work like Into the Gray? 

RPO: My intention wasn’t to specifically find a middle grade book, but when Kathleen’s novel came through, I loved it. It hit every touchstone good middle grade should touch, and most specifically, spoke to the idea that it’s perfectly okay to not be okay. I don’t know any middle grade kids who are perfectly fine. Kathleen taps into that in a meaningful, very real way, and by the way, we’re delighted to have her. Spooky House, as a whole, exists to publish new authors, or newer authors, whatever you want to say, and we’re hoping that Kathleen feels at home and confident in us with projects going forward.

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REMAINS TO BE TOLD – An interview with Kiwi author Tracie McBride 

In this unique interview series, we chat with the contributors of Kiwi horror anthology Remains to Be Told: Dark Tales of Aotearoa, edited by five-time Bram Stoker Award-winner Lee Murray (Clan Destine Press, 1 October). 

Today, we welcome author Tracie McBride, whose shocking short story “Her Ghosts” appears in the anthology. 

Tell us about your story in the anthology.  

My short story writing process usually takes one of two paths – either I have the entire plot and concept in mind from the beginning, or I start with a seed and have to write my way through to something approaching coherency. “Her Ghosts” fell into the latter category. It took a few months for all the ideas to coalesce, and they came to me in dribs and drabs. 

The idea for my protagonist Callie, a reluctant psychic, came first. My mother and stepfather have been doing a lot of genealogy research in recent years and uncovered some interesting legends about Māori priestesses in my whakapapa. I got to thinking about how their reputed power might have been suppressed over generations of colonialism, and how that might affect someone trying to reconcile such abilities with twenty-first century life and ideas. 

The seismic activity came next. In my early brainstorming, playing around with the premise for the anthology, the phrase “uncanny disturbances” stood out, and earthquakes were the first thing I thought of. I wasn’t sure what role they would play at first, only that there had to be some. There is a theory that the low frequency, inaudible to the human ear, at which earthquake waves travel can cause unusual reactions in living creatures, from feelings of dread and fear to optical illusions. I had forgotten about this until my daughter reminded me after the story was finished; perhaps that knowledge had been working in my subconscious throughout the writing process.  

Finding a suitable antagonist was trickier. Just having a garden variety lunatic running around kidnapping kids felt inadequate. Like Callie, anger does not come to me easily, so I put some thought into the kind of person who really pisses me off – and then I had him.  

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