Hi Rachel, Thanks for being with us at Horror Tree in celebration of Women in Horror Month. As editor of Crone Girls Press, we are thrilled, and maybe a little chilled, to talk to you about the darker side of speculative fiction. – JD Blackrose

Can you tell us how your first horror anthology came about?

It’s because my sister is the slowest writer ever…

I had been editing some horror short stories for my sister, Thea, and had been encouraging her to submit some for publication. When it became clear that wasn’t going to happen, I decided to take matters into my own hands.

I’ve always loved horror, especially in short story form, both reading and writing it. It seemed almost a natural progression to go from wanting to read a story in an anthology, to taking the reins and making an anthology happen. I reached out to my writing community, found a number of writers to send me their work, and started putting it together. And once I started working on what became Stories We Tell After Midnight 1, it was too late. The horror antho bug had bit, the rash had spread, and Crone Girls Press was on its way.

What is it about anthologies that you like so much?

I’ve compared anthologies to mixtapes before, so I think I’ll stick with that analogy. I love short stories, first. The form is so versatile and impactful, with room to play for the writer, and I feel like that really shows in the best short stories. In an anthology, you get to spend time with a range of different settings and characters and emotions, like the very best kind of mixtape, and that is the sort of journey that I love reading.

Tell us a little about Midnight Bites.

Midnight Bites started because I was having trouble saying no to a bunch of the novellas that people had submitted for our 2020 publications. After considering a couple of different ways I could publish the novellas and novelettes as standalone projects, I decided that the best way would be to offer readers a selection of three authors and three stories–long enough to really sink their teeth into, but not requiring so much time as a novel would to get through it. We are about to publish our third of the series; each has a general theme to it, although in some it’s a little flimsier than others. For example, we started off with military/paramilitary horror, and that first volume includes a World War I story a mercenaries-in-Antarctica story, and a paranormal-hunting, shadowy-government-agency-in-San Antonio story. We’ve got another four volumes scheduled for 2021, and more planned for after that.

Where do you think women authors stand in horror today? Have they made strides into the mainstream?

From speaking with women who were writing and publishing in the genre even five, ten, fifteen years ago, and hearing some of the struggles they dealt with, I would say yes, women have definitely made strides within the genre, and mainstream. I don’t think that this standing is completely even; I don’t think I would compare my experience to that of women of color or trans women working or trying to work in the genre. But there are now multiple examples that we can point to of women killing it (metaphorically speaking) like Nia DaCosta directing Candyman, as well as venerable names within the genre who have always been there, such as Ellen Datlow’s incredible editorial work, and women writers who are telling me there is less of a: “Oh, you write vampires? Romance is right over there…” (Not that I don’t read my fair share of PNR!)

Do we still have a ways to go? Yes. Am I optimistic we’ll get there? Yes. And I intend to do what I can to make it happen.

What’s ahead for Crone Girls Press?

This February, we’ll release our third Midnight Bites, “Hard for Hope to Flourish,” a three-novella collection of literary horror. Also on the slate, we’ve got another four mini’s, as well as a full-length anthology, the third and final volume of Stories We Tell After Midnight, which we’ll start reading for this spring. We also have a pretty fun Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/cronegirls) to share new work from our authors, Halloween memes (who doesn’t need more of these?), and articles of interest to those writing in the darker side of genre fiction. And from there… who knows? Horror is a genre of possibilities.

Thanks again!

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!