Know a Nominee, Part 9: Stephanie M. Wytovich

Welcome back to “Know a Nominee,” the interview series that puts you squarely between the ears of this year’s Bram Stoker Award nominees. Today’s update features Stephanie M. Wytovich, nominated in the category of Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection for Mourning Jewelry.

DM: Please describe the genesis for the idea that eventually became the work(s) for which you’ve been nominated. What attracted you most to the project? If nominated in multiple categories, please touch briefly on each.

SMW: I first heard the term “mourning jewelry” while I was watching an episode of Haunted Collector one afternoon. The team had found a lock of hair inside a locket that belonged to one of the previous residents and later concluded that the remains were what was drawing the spiritual energy to the house. I thought the idea of creating jewelry as a way to preserve the dead’s memory was not only a hauntingly beautiful concept, but an idea that sat well in relation to gothic text. The idea fascinated me and before I knew it, I was knee-deep in research.

I emailed my mentor, Michael A. Arnzen and asked him if he had heard of this concept before, and naturally, he had, but he also jokingly said, “Wyto, that would make a good title for a poetry collection” and not too long afterwards, Mourning Jewelry came to fruition.

DM: What was the most challenging part of bringing the concept(s) to fruition? The most rewarding aspect of the process?

SMW: The most challenging part of the process was evaluating and coming to terms with my own mourning. I had to confront a lot of my past while writing this collection, and as such, there were times when it was extremely painful to write, and other times when it was impossible altogether. The most rewarding part was when it was finished because the process acted as a catharsis. When I typed “The End,” both my pain, and my characters’ pain, was gone.

DM: What do you think good horror/dark literature should achieve? How do you feel the work(s) for which you’ve been nominated work fits into (or help give shape to) that ideal?

SMW: I think good horror/dark literature should make readers question everything: their faith, their humanity, their reality. Mourning Jewelry fits into that ideal by making readers question their mortality by forcing them to look at death and how they deal with it.

DM: I’m curious about your writing and/or editing process. Is there a certain setting or set of circumstances that help to move things along? If you find yourself getting stuck, where and why?

SMW: When it comes to my poetry collections, I have two very specific routines that I follow. The first is that I create a playlist for each book, and the second is that I write everything in alphabetical order. I recently talked about this at Frostburg University as I get asked about this a lot because it’s kind of weird. But I’m also kind of weird so I’m not sure why people are always surprised to find out that the process fits the author.

When I sit down to work on a collection, I brainstorm and write all the titles to my poems first. Each letter gets five titles, and I go in order: A, B, C, etc. This helps me to stay organized, and it allows me to set goals and physically see when I’m ahead or when I’m falling behind. For instance, I’ll say to myself “This week I want A and B done” and if I’m only halfway through “A” at the end of the week, then I know I’m not doing anything that weekend except writing and playing catch up.
What can I say? I’m a masochist.

Plus, it makes finding certain poems a hell of a lot easier when it comes to doing readings.

DM: As you probably know, many of our readers are writers and/or editors. What is the most valuable piece of advice you can share?

SMW: Be professional, always.

DM: If you’re attending WHC this year, what are you most looking forward to at this year’s event? If not attending, what do you think is the significance of recognitions like the Bram Stoker Awards?

I’m most looking forward to seeing my friends and colleagues again, as well as celebrating their work in the field.

DM: What scares you most? Why? How (if at all) does that figure into your work or the projects you’re attracted to?

SMW: People terrify me because they are unpredictable, dangerous. I try to focus on that human element in my work through themes of empathy, mourning, and madness.

DM: What are you reading for pleasure lately? Can you point us to new authors or works we ought to know about?

SMW: I’m teaching a class on Prose Poetry this summer at Seton Hill University, so I’ve been reading a lot of poetry and critical texts on analysis and structure, which to be honest, is pleasure reading for me. I did, however, recently read Jim Morrison’s poetry collection, The American Night, and I would highly recommend that to anyone who enjoys poetry and/or The Doors.

About Stephanie M. Wytovich

Stephanie M. Wytovich is the Poetry Editor for Raw Dog Screaming Press, a book reviewer for Nameless Magazine, and a well-known coffee addict. She is a member of the Science Fiction Poetry Association, an active member of the Horror Writers Association, and a graduate of Seton Hill University’s MFA program for Writing Popular Fiction. Her Bram Stoker Award-nominated poetry collections, HYSTERIA and  can be found at www.rawdogscreaming.com, and her debut novel, The Eighth, will be out in 2015 from Dark Regions Press. Follow Wytovich at stephaniewytovich.blogspot.com and on twitter @JustAfterSunset.