Indigenous Heritage in Horror: Interview with Owl Goingback
Owl Goingback has been writing professionally for over thirty years and is the author of numerous novels, children’s book, screenplays, magazine articles, short stories, and comics. He is a three-time Bram Stoker Award Winner, receiving the award for Lifetime Achievement, Novel, and First Novel. He is also a Nebula Award Nominee. His books include Crota, Darker Than Night, Evil Whispers, Breed, Shaman Moon, Coyote Rage, Tribal Screams, Eagle Feathers, and The Gift. In addition to writing under his own name, Owl has ghostwritten several books for Hollywood celebrities. He has also lectured across the country on the customs and folklore…
The HWA Honors Indigenous Peoples Day
Monday, October 11 is Indigenous Peoples' Day 2021 in United States. Indigenous Peoples' Day is a holiday that celebrates and honors Native American peoples and commemorates their histories and cultures. In honor of Indigenous Peoples Day, the Horror Writers Association is kicking off a series of interviews with Native American writers, including HWA member and Owl Goingback, who won a Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel, and Daniel H. Wilson is a Cherokee citizen and author of the New York Times bestselling Robopocalypse and its sequel Robogenesis. Although not all of them will be in our series, here are…
Latinx Horror: Interview with Isabel Cañas
Isabel Cañas is a Mexican-American speculative fiction writer. After having lived in Mexico, Scotland, Egypt, and Turkey, among other places, she has settled (for now) in New York City, where she works on her PhD dissertation in medieval Islamic literature and writes fiction inspired by her research and her heritage. To find out more, visit www.isabelcanas.com. What inspired you to start writing? I remember that I started dictating stories to my older sister when I was about 4, before I could write. I really kicked off writing with Lord of the Rings fanfic when I was about 11 and started…
Latinx Horror: Interview with Richie Narvaez
Born and raised in Brooklyn, Richie Narvaez writes in multiple genres about Latinidad, Puerto Rico, urban culture, and social issues. His horror/spec fic story “Room for Rent,” from the anthology LATINX RISING was read by LeVar Burton on the LeVar Burton Reads podcast. Richie’s most recent novel is the historical YA mystery HOLLY HERNANDEZ AND THE DEATH OF DISCO, which received an Agatha Award and an Anthony Award. His latest work is the anthology Noiryorican. Visit him online at www.richienarvaez.com. What inspired you to start writing? I was an awkward, shy kid and there were things going on in my…
Latinx Horror: Interview with Guadalupe García McCall
Guadalupe García McCall is the author of four award-winning YA novels, some stories, and many poems. Among the many accolades bestowed upon her works, her debut novel, UNDER THE MESQUITE, received the prestigious Pura Belpre Author Award and her second book, SUMMER OF THE MARIPOSAS, was an Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy Finalist. Though she calls Texas home, she is an Assistant Professor of English at George Fox University and resides with her husband in the Pacific Northwest. Her next book, THE KEEPER, is due from Harper Collins on January 25, 2022. What inspired you…
Latinx Heritage in Horror: Interview with Romina Garber
Romina Garber is a New York Times and international bestselling author whose books include Lobizona & the ZODIAC series. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and raised in Miami, Florida, Romina landed her first writing gig as a teen—College She Wrote, a weekly Sunday column for the Miami Herald that was later picked up for national syndication—and she hasn’t stopped writing since. She is a graduate of Harvard College and a Virgo to the core. Find her online at: IG: @rominagarber https://rominagarber.com/about/ Twitter: @rominarussell FB: @rominabooks What inspired you to start writing? I was born in Buenos Aires, and I immigrated…
Latinx Horror: Interview with Gaby Triana
Biography Gaby Triana is the bestselling author of 18 novels for adults and teens, including Moon Child, the Haunted Florida series (Island of Bones, River of Ghosts, City of Spells), Cakespell, Wake the Hollow, Summer of Yesterday, and Paradise Island: A Sam and Colby Story. Her short stories have appeared in the Classic Monsters Unleashed Anthology, Don't Turn Out the Lights: A Tribute Anthology to Alvin Schwartz's Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, and Weird Tales Magazine (Issue #365). Also the host of a YouTube channel, The Witch Haunt, Gaby writes about witchy powers, ghosts, haunted places, and abandoned…
Latinx Horror: Interview with David Bowles
Biography David Bowles is a Mexican American author and translator from the US-Mexico border, where he teaches at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Among his award-winning books are Feathered Serpent, Dark Heart of Sky: Myths of Mexico, Lords of the Earth, and the graphic novel series Clockwork Curandera. His work has also been published in multiple anthologies, plus venues such as The New York Times, Strange Horizons, Apex Magazine, and Rattle. Find him online at www.davidbowles.us. What inspired you to start writing? My Mexican American family (and our larger community) has longstanding, rich oral traditions. And in my…
Latinx Horror: Interview with Charlie Vázquez
Charlie Vázquez is the author of the novel Contraband (2010, Rebel Satori), the collection Fantasmas: Puerto Rican Tales of the Dead (CV Publishing, 2020), and other books. He’s the former New York City coordinator for Puerto Rico’s Festival de la Palabra and was awarded a Commendation from the City of New York in 2014 for his contributions to Latino literary heritage. Charlie is a founding member of Latino Rebels and a certified mindfulness meditation instructor in the lineage of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, as taught by David Nichtern. Find him online at www.charlievazquez.com What inspired you to start writing? My maternal…
Latinx Horror: Interview with Cynthia Pelayo
Biography Cynthia “Cina” Pelayo is a two-time Bram Stoker Awards® nominated poet and author. She is the author of LOTERIA, CHILDREN OF CHICAGO was released by Agora / Polis Books in 2021. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Columbia College, a Master of Science in Marketing from Roosevelt University, a Master of Fine Arts in Writing from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and is a Doctoral Candidate in Business Psychology at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Find her online at www.CinaPelayo.com or on Twitter @cinapelayo. What inspired you to start writing? Ultimately, when…
Latinx Horror: Interview with E. Reyes
E. Reyes is the author of the novel The House on Moon Creek Avenue, and the anthologies Devil’s Hill, Strange Tales of the Macabre, and The Halloween Grindhouse. His works are included in Pulp Harvest (edited by Nick Harper), Latinx Screams (edited by Cina Pelayo and V. Castro), and Trump: Utopia or Dystopia? (edited by JF Garrard and Jen Frankel). Reyes lives in the city Devil’s Hill is based on with his wife and three kids, keeping it spooky. What inspired you to start writing? I was inspired by the Goosebumps books by R.L. Stine. As soon as I started…
Happy Hispanic / Latinx Heritage Month!
Latinx Heritage in Horror Intro by two-time Bram Stoker Awards® nominated poet and author Cynthia “Cina” Pelayo This is a wonderful time to recognize the works and accomplishments of the diverse Latinx horror authors in our community. The horror writing community includes writers with heritage from various Latin American countries including Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and more. Some of our horror writers were born and raised in their country of origin and many were born and raised in the United States, or elsewhere. All of our writers have completely unique and important stories to…
Michelle Renee Lane—Maafa Day Interview
Maafa Day is a Pan-African observance. It is a day of remembrance where we hold space for the millions of Africans who lost their lives due to the TransAtlantic slave trade. That includes those who died on slave ships while being forcibly transferred to the Americas, those who died during escape attempts, and those who died in captivity. Maafa comes from the Kiswahili (Swahili) term for "disaster, terrible occurrence or great tragedy".and is used to refer to the African Holocaust. Maafa Day also serves the purpose of making sure that we never forget Maafa - the African Holocaust. This year…
A Point of Pride: Interview with Jacqueline Dyer
Jacqueline Dyre (they/them) is the editor and publisher of Novel Noctule, as well as a 2020 HWA Diversity Grant recipient. You can find them in the sunshine state, drinking poorly made coffee and consuming psychological horror in lieu of meals. What inspired you to start publishing and editing? When I founded Novel Noctule, I was recovering from acute myeloid leukemia and an allogeneic stem cell transplant. In my estimation, second chances are much better motivators than first chances: If you’re on your second chance, chances are that you’ve almost lost something, and you’re now being forced to consider the possibility…
A Point of Pride: Interview with Norman Prentiss
Norman Prentiss is the author of Odd Adventures with your Other Father, Life in a Haunted House, and The Apocalypse-a-Day Desk Calendar. He won a Bram Stoker Award for his first book, Invisible Fences. Other publications include Four Legs in the Morning, The Halloween Children (with The Narrator (with Dark Screams, normanprentiss.com. What inspired you to start publishing and editing? I was reading Edgar Allan Poe in grade school, and I got there through my love of horror movies broadcast on TV. I was reading horror comics at the same time, like House of Mystery and House of Secrets, then…