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Author Archives: darkeva
WiHM Feature #15: Sarah Langan
Notable quote:
“Plenty of women write horror—it’s just packaged differently. Bad horror by men tends to be ultra-violent and sexist; bad horror by women tends to involve sexy werewolves and empowerment (but not the transgressive kind). The former gets called horror, the latter, paranormal romance. But there are plenty of men and women writing excellent horror right now, that transcends these clichés.”
(From an interview with Little Miss Zombie, Feb 17, 2011)
One of the most interesting and eclectic women of horror, Sarah Langan made a huge impact with her Bram Stoker Award-winning novels The Missing (2007) and Audrey’s Door (2009). If you ever have the privilege of hearing her talk at a convention, especially on a panel, you’re in for a real treat as she has a wicked sense of humour and relates some of the most memorable stories. She’s also ridiculously smart. Describing her own work, she says, “I like writing about messed-up chicks with brains, bad pasts, and serious challenges.” Couldn’t have put it better myself 
With these Women in Horror posts, one of my hopes is to highlight the important contributions of females to the genre, and in particular to put the spotlight on those writers/editors who I feel need to be highlighted a lot more. Ms. Langan is most definitely one of those; if you haven’t had a chance to check out her work, you don’t know what you’re missing
Interesting interviews:
Little Miss Zombie (2011)
Fearzone (2007)
Fatally Yours (2010)
Dark Scribe (2007)
Creature Antho (2011)
Planet Fury (2008)
Horror Bound (2008)
Sheepishfashionista (2010)
What to Read First: The Keeper (2006), the first book in her Keeper series.
Notable Works:
The Keeper (2006)
The Missing (2007)
Audrey’s Door (2009)
The Lost (2008)
Fun Facts:
* Lives in Brooklyn, New York
* Grew up in Long Island
* Went to college in Maine
* Married to JT Petty, a screenwriter/director/children’s book author
* Has a pet rabbit
* Used to be scared of spiders as a kid
* Some authors she admires include Joyce Carol Oates, Sarah Pinborough, Gemma Files, and many more
* Has an MFA from Columbia University
* Had Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Cunninham as an instructor
* Has a master’s in environmental toxicology from NYU
* Is also developing a young adult series called Kids
* Pours Tabasco Sauce on almost everything she eats
* Likes bathroom humour
* Once worked as an office manager for a plastic surgeon
Career Highlights:
* Three-time Bram Stoker Award winner (2007, 2008, 2009)
* Two-time Dark Scribe Award winner (2007, 2008)
* Publisher’s Weekly Editor’s Favourite Book of 2008
* American Library Association Award Winner, 2008
* New York Times’ Book Review Editor’s Pick, 2007
What she’s working on now: Sarah continues to publish short fiction pieces and special projects in such publications as F&SF, The Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror, and other anthologies, and she usually appears on the convention circuit, as well. Sign up for her newsletter to find out more. She’s also working on a novel, Empty Houses.
Read her blog, or follow her on Twitter.
WiHM Feature #14: Sarah Pinborough
Notable quote:
“I hate getting caught up in the ‘neglected female voice in horror’ debate – we had too much of it last year – primarily because I never think in terms of gender. I have, however, just written a novel in collaboration with Sarah Langan, Alexandra Sokoloff and Rhodi Hawk – three very strong and successful female voices in the genre. The book rocks. It is interesting that women write Horror and Crime so successfully. It goes to show we’re not all sugar and kittens.”
(From an interview with Dark Wolf Fantasy Reviews, July 30 2010)
Don’t be fooled by those bright baby blue eyes, blonde hair, and the cute, pixie-like smile. Sarah Pinborough is one of the edgiest voices in horror and has been for a long time. She may not be a household name outside the genre, but her writing is plenty fierce, and has quite the thought-provoking bite. From babies who aren’t quite human to tales of ghostly revenge, Pinborough has it all in her eclectic repertoire, so if you haven’t had the opportunity to do so, discover some of her great work, and make some more room on your bookshelf for this woman of horror.
Interesting interviews:
Dark Wolf’s Fantasy Reviews (2010)
The Damned (2011)
Kamvision (2010)
David McWilliam Interview (2010)
SciFiNow (2011)
Electric Sheep Magazine (guest post) (2011)
And Cream Magazine (2008)
Shirley Jackson Awards (2010)
Dark Scribe Magazine (2008)
What to Read First: I would start with The Hidden (2004, Leisure Books), which is about a tortured young woman suffering from amnesia who has to contend with forces from the other side that aren’t content to just let her be. If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if spiders overtook London, Feeding Ground (2009, Leisure Books) is also a good choice.
Notable Works:
The Hidden (2004)
The Reckoning (2005)
Breeding Ground (2006)
The Taken (2007)
Tower Hill (2008)
Feeding Ground (2009)
The Language of Dying (2009)
A Matter of Blood (2010)
The Shadow of the Soul (2011)
Fun Facts:
* Writes full time
* Has written novelizations of the popular sci-fi series, Torchwood
* Also publishes under the pseudonym Sarah Silverwood for her YA fare
* Lived in the Middle East until she was eight
* Wrote a lot as a child, including plays
* Attended boarding school
* Was a teacher
* Also had aspirations of becoming an actress
* Fan of Dean Koontz, early Stephen King, Philip Pullman, Dan Simmons, and Justin Cronin among others
* Often attends FantasyCon
* Has turned to science-fiction inspired dystopian crime fiction with the Dog-Faced Gods trilogy
* Has stated that horror is an emotion not a genre.
* Big fan of the film Alien
Career Highlights:
* Recipient of the 2009 British Fantasy Award for Best Short Story
* Has been short-listed for the British Fantasy Award three times
* Has been short-listed for a World Fantasy Award.
* Her novella, The Language of Dying (PS Publishing) was short-listed for the Shirley Jackson Award and won the 2010 British Fantasy Award for Best Novella.
What she’s working on now: Forthcoming in 2012, Sarah has the third book in her Dog-Faced Gods series coming out, called The Chosen Seed.
Follow Sarah on Twitter.
WiHM Feature #13: Tanith Lee
Notable quote:
“I was very interested by the eastern idea of death as a woman, which I used in the ‘Flat Earth’ books. In the type of eastern literature where death was personified as a woman; women were considered dangerous and untamed and pariah material, and that was why death was in female form. Conversely, in the western literature where I came across death personified as a male, it was because men were seen as powerful, and death was seen as powerful, so he had to be male. So it’s two ways of looking at death, as well as two ways of looking at gender.”
(From an interview with Locus Magazine, 1998)
Tanith Lee has had one of the most significant influences on so many of genre fiction’s heavyweights, and many remember to hail her as being one of the most important writers in dark genre fiction, yet so many readers have yet to hear of her. She should have the same recognition factor as Anne Rice–her characters are thought-provoking and challenging, different and unique. I could go on praising Ms. Lee’s work as being some of the most original and groundbreaking stuff ever to be published, which it is, and the beauty of it is that she has always written what she wanted to write as opposed to writing for market demands, but words can hardly do justice to the immeasurable talent that is Tanith Lee. If this is the first you’re hearing of her, get your hands on one of her novels, short story collections, and any other works you can find.
Interesting interviews:
Locus Magazine (April 1998)
Tabula Rasa (#4, 1994)
Realms of Fantasy (2011)
Innsmouth Free Press (2009)
Lambda Literary (2010)
SF Crows Nest (2004)
Weird Fiction Review (2011)
What to Read First: Tanith Lee is such a prolific author with both her novels and short fiction that it’s difficult to know where to start, as the readership among her series is diverse, but beginning at her first series isn’t a bad place to start, with 1975′s The Birthgrave, and Night’s Master is the first book from her renowned Flat Earth series, also a good place to start. One of my personal favourites is the stand-alone Heart-Beast. Tanith’s short stories have also appeared in a plethora of anthologies, so rest assured that any time you can get your hands on an anthology with her in it, you’re getting an amazing tale.
Notable Works:
For a comprehensive bibliography of Tanith Lee’s works, please visit her page on Fiction Factor and on her Wikipedia page.
The Birthgrave (1975)
Don’t Bite the Sun (1976)
The Storm Lord (1976)
The Castle of the Dark (1978)
Night’s Master (1978)
Kill the Dead (1980)
The Silver Metal Lover (1981)
The Book of the Damned (1988)
Black Unicorn (1989)
Dark Dance (1992)
Law of the Wolf Tower (1998)
Faces Under Water (1998)
Cast a Bright Shadow (2004)
Piratica (2004)
Fun Facts:
* Born in North London
* Parents are ballroom dancers
* Not the daughter of Bernard Lee (actor who played “M” in the James Bond series of films of the 1960s).
* Married author John Kaiine in 1992
* Didn’t learn to read until she was almost eight years old
* Started our writing children’s books; her first novel for children, The Dragon Hoard, came out in 1971.
* First short story, “Eustace,” came out in 1968.
* Has written for television, including the show Blakes 7
* Heard fairy stories from her mother, most of them invented
* Also writes under the pseudonym Esther Garber
* Big fan of classical music
* Also a fan of Mervyn Peake who wrote the Gormenghast trilogy
Career Highlights:
For a complete list of awards Tanith Lee has won, please refer to her Wikipedia page.
* 3 Nebula nominations
* 10 World Fantasy nominations, 2 wins
* 6 British Fantasy nominations, 1 win
What she’s working on now: Cold Grey Stones (Imaginings, book 1) came out just last month, and she has a re-issue of her short story collection, Tempting the Gods, forthcoming in July 2012.
Find her on Facebook and her blog.
WiHM Feature #12: Gillian Flynn
Notable quote:
“I am probably the least efficient writer that could be found on the planet. I don’t outline. I kind of think I know where I’m going and I never end up there. I feel like I write about three books for every one that gets published because I kind of go all over the place. It’s almost like a “Choose-Your-Own-Adventure” where I write “what-would-happen-if-this-happened.” And then I write about fifty pages of that and say, “That’s not working at all,” so I’ll chuck that and start all over again. For me it’s very much a process by elimination. I’m not a good plotter. I have to see where it goes myself and write through it to get to what’s working.”
(From an interview with Public Libraries, February 2011)
Chances are you probably haven’t heard of Gillian Flynn, which is a damn shame, because her dark and twisted plots are enough to make even the toughest die-hard horror fan pee their pants. It makes you wonder what could possess such a seemingly sane and well put together person to come up with such horror and violence involving families in particular. Her work gives In Cold Blood by Truman Capote a run for its money, exploring themes of what drives people to the brink of such destruction, both to themselves and to others. Stephen King said of her: “Gillian Flynn is the real deal, a sharp, acerbic, and compelling storytellers with a nack for the macabre.” High praise indeed from one of the authors Gillian grew up idolizing. Although technically classified as a mystery/thriller writer, and having won awards designated for mystery writers, there’s no doubt that what Flynn writes is horrific stuff. Although a self-professed fan of Agatha Christie, you won’t be getting into a cozy mystery to curl up with in front of a fire when you’re picking up one of Flynn’s books. This ain’t Masterpiece Theatre, folks Flynn has caught the attention of many people since her debut in 2006 with Sharp Objects, and has only risen to more accolades and even better writing since, with 2009′s Dark Places. With Gone Girl set to release this year in June, Flynn will only go higher and gain even more notoriety as her career continues.
Interesting interviews:
Gillian Flynn on the Interview Show (Parts 1 & 2; video) – (2009)
Bookslut (2007)
Chris High (2007)
Chris High (2009)
Orion UK Reading Room
Public Libraries (2011)
What to Read First: Sharp Objects
Notable Works:
Dark Places – (2009, Shaye Areheart Books)
Sharp Objects – (2006, Shaye Areheart Books)
Fun Facts:
* Lives in Chicago, but is originally from Kansas
* Went to Northwestern University
* Worked at Entertainment Weekly for ten years
* Has a black cat
* Fan of Agatha Christie novels
* Always wanted to be an author growing up
* Has visited such diverse film sets on her Entertainment Weekly job, including “Jackass: The Movie”
Career Highlights:
* Guest of Honour at Stoker Weekend 2011
* Shortlisted for the 2007 Edgar Award for Best First Novel by an American Writer for Sharp Objects
* Shortlisted for the 2007 Duncan Lawrie Award for Sharp Objects
* Won the 2007 CWA New Blood Award for Sharp Objects
* Won the 2007 Ian Fleming Steel Daggers Award for Sharp Objects
* Dark Places has been commissioned as a film by French director Gilles Paquet-Brenner
What she’s working on now: Gone Girl (June 5, 2012, Random House), as well as a screenplay for the film adaptation for Dark Places.
Join Jillian’s mailing list here and become a fan of Dark Places on Facebook here.
WiHM Feature #11: Gabrielle Faust
Notable quote:
“The first vampire novel that truly engaged me thoroughly and inspired my life-long obsession with the genre was Anne Rice’s Interview With the Vampire. My mother gave me her well-read copy when I was eleven and I was instantly hooked. Around the same time I discovered Brian Lumley’s Necromancer series. I wouldn’t say that either was THE book that made me want to write within that genre, but they were the catalyst that started the evolution of my intense interest. After years of studying the folklore, history, sociology, as well as indulging in the literary side of the culture, it seemed only natural that I would begin my writing career in the genre I was so loyal to. I wanted to tell the tale that I myself had not yet read…”
(From an interview with Vampire Love Affair, 2011)
Gabrielle Faust is one of the coolest chicks on the horror scene, and not just because of her righteous goth-inspired look. And come on, that has got to be one of the most badass last names to have as a horror writer (and it’s actually her real last name! So cool) Her writing is dark and edgy, and dares you to like it. Her work in the genre spans many roles, not just that of writer–she’s also been an illustrator, graphic designer, model, and has been the guest of honour or special guest as several events. If you haven’t read her books, or aren’t sure where to start, or if you’ve heard of her for years but just haven’t gotten around to checking out any of her writing so far, do yourself a favour and pick up on of her works. You won’t be disappointed. Whether you’re a fan of dark poetry, she’s got something for you, or if you like creepy vampire novels she’s also got books for that, and my personal favourite, she’s also got demons, now, with her latest release, Revenge with Solomon Schneider, put out by Barking Rain Press at the end of last year. Do yourself a favour and check out some of her incredible writing.
Interesting interviews:
For a complete list of Gabrielle Faust’s past interviews, please visit this link.
Pretty Scary
Fear Zone
Horror World
SNM Horror Magazine
Rigor Mortis
The Dark Phantom
What to Read First: From Deep Within the Earth, the first book in the Eternal Vigilance series.
Notable Works:
Before Icarus, After Achilles (poetry collection) (2005, PublishAmerica)
From Deep Within the Earth (Eternal Vigilance Book 1) (2008, Immanion Press)
The Death of Illusions (Eternal Vigilance Book 2) (2009, Immanion Press)
Bound in Blood (Eternal Vigilance Book 3) (2010, Immanion Press)
Crossroads (poetry collection) (2009, Seraphemera Books)
Regret (2010, Dark Regions Press)
Revenge (2011, Barking Rain Press)
Fun Facts:
* Also an illustrator and entertainment critic
* Also a musician (for more about her music, read this interview)
* Worked as a graphic designer for years in the advertising and boutique design agency world
* Edits horror newsletter The Bloodied Quill w/ Michele Lee
* Dubbed “New Orleans Vampire Royalty” at the Tru Blood & Gold vampire ball
* Has also modelled
* Not a fan of the more “stripped down” sparkly vampires of late
* Some of her favourite books include Wraeththu by Storm Constantine, Dawn Song by Michael Marano, Memnoch the Devil by Anne Rice (also one of my favourites), Ilium by Dan Simmons, and Neuromancer by William Gibson
* Also a fan of comic books
* Keeps 3 calendars to track her various activities
* Fan of Cirque du Soleil
* Big fan of the vampire Lestat
Career Highlights:
* Guest of Honour of the “Queen of the Damned” Vampire Ball in New Orleans (2008)
* Special Guest (w/ Charlaine Harris) at the Endless Night Festival (2009)
* Special Author Guest at New Orleans UnDeadCon
* Appeared at the 2011 Endless Night steampunk vampire masquerade ball
* Her work (both as an author and illustrator) has appeared in Girls & Corpses Magazine, GUD Magazine, Doorways Magazine, The Open Vein, Darkened Horizons, Ladies of Horror and The Bloodied Quill, as well as the websites Fear Zone, SCI FI Wire and Fatally Yours.
* Active in the Horror Writers Association, SCARE for a CURE, SXSW Music & Film Festivals and the Association of Writers & Writing Programs.
* Preliminary graphic designer for the 2011 World Horror Convention in Austin, Texas, developing the iconic logo and promotional materials for the convention.
* A recipient of the 2011 Texas Social Media Awards.
* Longlisted for the 2009 Bram Stoker Award in the “Superior Achievement in a Novel” category
What she’s working on now: Gabrielle Faust is actively promoting her latest release, Revenge, co-written with Solomon Schneider, and is travelling across the USA doing promotional appearances. She’ll also be at a number of conventions, including the World Horror Convention 2012 in Salt Lake City, Utah next month. She’s also had some film interest for an adaptation of Eternal Vigilance, and began excerpting the fourth book in this series online last year. For a full list of her scheduled events, click this link.
Find her on Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace.
WiHM Feature #10: Rain Graves
“Rain Graves writes really nasty poetry. She is a mistress of creating images that stick, the kind that you cannot get out of your mind—not even using steel wool and a small, extremely sharp knife.”
— Neil Gaiman
“Rain Graves’ poetry is, by turns, surreal and very real, grand and romantic as the tango and nasty–even downright gross–as bugs crawling through your bed at night, burrowing through your sleeping bones. She can be funny and spooky and angry and tender and sometimes truly haunting, essaying life’s tragedies and joys and triumphs with equal vigor. She’s erotic and she’s wicked.”
—Jack Ketchum
“Lush and bloody, Gothic in every sense, the poetry of Rain Graves has a murderously seductive voice.”
—Poppy Z. Brite
Notable quote:
“I write because I have to get it out of my head and somewhere else. If I didn’t have that creative outlet, I might still be playing music or doing art, which was what I did to get things out of my head in high school and college. I find a muse in everything. Walking down the street, the way a dandelion pops up through the cracks in a sidewalk, and some little kid comes by and stomps on it-I mean really crushes it-then giggles wildly and moves on. That kind of thing inspires me.”
(From an interview with Science Fiction Magazine, “Never Lick Something With Your Eyes Closed : An Interview With Rain Graves” by Michael Lohr)
Publishers Weekly has described her work as Bukowski meets Lovecraft. She’s received critical acclaim for her dark, twisted poetry. Genre heavyweights such as Richard Laymon, Neil Gaiman, and Jack Ketchum only have wonderful things to say about her work, and with good reason. I’ve never been much of a poetry fan, although I did read a lot of the Romantic Poets growing up, Percy Shelly in particular, it took me a while to warm up to horror and dark fantasy poetry, although there is some spectacular work being produced out there, and Rain Graves is definitely a name that more dark fiction fans should be acquainted with. She changed my perceptions about what could be done with the medium of the poem, and I’m glad, because her work is some of the most startling, visceral, and memorable stuff out there.
Interesting interviews:
Science Fiction Magazine
(MP3) The Real Horror Show (Agony Column) (2011)
Creative Writing Help interview (2010)
What to Read First: Barfodder is a good place to start, but if you can find some of her earlier chapbooks, like Blood of a Black Bird, grab them and don’t think twice about it.
Notable Works:
• Barfodder: Poetry Written in Dark Bars and Questionable Cafes (2009, Cemetery Dance Publications)
• The Gossamer Eye (with David N. Wilson and Mark McLaughlin) (2002, Meisha Merlin)
Her short fiction appears in numerous anthologies, including:
• Tales From the House Band edited by Deborah Grabien (2011, Plus One Press) – Featuring “Vampire Fiction”
• Dark Faith edited by Maurice Broaddus (2010, Apex Books) – Featuring “Lilith”
• The Dead Cat Poet Cabal edited by Gerard Houarner (2005, Bedlam Press) – Featuring “Stalking Dead Cat”
• Once Upon a Slime: Gruesome Tales by Mark McLaughlin, with Special Guests: Michael Arnzen, Rain Graves, & Michael McCarty (2003, Catalyst Press) – Featuring “Old Lady Cat Trash”
• Bad News edited by Richard Laymon (2001, Cemetery Dance Publications) – Featuring “Lila Came A Walkin”
• The Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror vol. 14 edited by Ellen Datlow, Terri Windling (2001, St. Martin’s Griffin) – Honorable Mention “The Drunkard’s Coin”
• For a more complete bibliography, visit her Wikipedia page here.
Fun Facts:
• Lives in San Francisco
• First name is Heather
• Owns two cats, one white and one black
• Retired dance instructor
• Former musician, and has dated some musicians
• Has named the Brothers Grimm, V.C. Andrews, James Ellroy, and Ray Bradbury as huge influences.
• Also a fan of George R. R. Martin and Neil Gaiman
• Into Pablo Neruda and German philosopher Nietzsche
• A bad date of hers once actually ate a rose in front of her
• When she danced in tango competitions in Buenos Aires, she went by the name Katalina, her middle name
• Loves country music, but is also a fan of a lot of different genres
• Has participated in the annual “gross out” contests that happen at World Horror Convention
Career Highlights:
• Won a Bram Stoker Award in 2003 in the Superior Achievement in the Poetry Collection category for The Gossamer Eye
• Her first published story, “Thoughts of Anna,” (Transylvanian Society of Dracula, 1997) won 2nd place for the creative writing contest at the convention Dracula 97.
• She has been published in such magazines as Cemetery Dance, Twilight Tales, The Urbanite, Black Petals and Gauntlet Magazine.
What she’s working on now: Rain continues to tour the US doing spoken word events, and does book signings as well as convention appearances on select ocassions.
Visit Rain’s Facebook page, blog and find her on Twitter.
