Interview with Horror University instructor Michael Arnzen

Here's the latest installment in our series of interviews with our StokerCon 2017 Horror University instructors. This time, Michael Arnzen tells us more about his "Making Readers Squirm" workshop.  Michael Arnzen: Making Readers Squirm This two hour workshop will cover insider tricks and tactics for crafting horror imagery—not just icons of the genre, but direct appeals to the reader’s sensorium— images that really hit readers in the guts. It will include a live writing activity with the aim of improving description of a gory or scary scene. Open to novelists, poets, flash fiction writers … anyone looking to sharpen their writing…

Interview with Horror University instructor Nicole Cushing

In today's interview with a StokerCon 2017 Horror University instructor, Nicole Cushing tells us about her workshop on "How to Give a Great Interview"! Nicole Cushing: How to Give a Great interview Author interviews can be a powerful tool to let readers know about your book, your personality and your unique take on your genre. They can also be difficult to do well. How much energy should you spend on an interview for a blog? How long should you make your answers? How comfortable are you with appearing on recorded interviews (whether they’re done by audio or video)? Would you…

Interview with Horror University instructor Tim Waggoner

Here's the latest in our series of interviews with StokerCon 2017's Horror University instructors - take it away, Tim Waggoner! Tim Waggoner: The Ultimate Guide to Writing Horror This session presents techniques for creating original, effective horror fiction. Topics covered include: · The difference between crime, suspense, thriller, and horror. · The difference between dread, terror, horror, disgust, and shock. · The horror equivalent of the hero’s journey. · Avoiding clichés. · Making your horror personal. · Taking new approaches to old archetypes. · Avoiding clichéd story patterns. · What, if any, are the limits in horror fiction? · How…

Interview with Horror University instructor Gretchen McNeil

Number five in our series of StokerCon 2017 Horror University instructor interviews is all about bestselling author Gretchen McNeil! Gretchen McNeil: Character-Driven Plotting and the 3-Act Horror Novel   Have you read Save the Cat? Have you poured over Story? Can you quote passages from The Hero With a Thousand Faces, The Writer’s Journey, and Story Engineering? Are you looking for a new approach to plot? If your answer to these questions is “YES” then Gretchen McNeil would love to introduce you to Constantin Stanislavski. Known as the godfather of modern acting techniques, Stanislavski’s approach to character reaches far beyond the…

Interview with Horror University instructor Jonathan Maberry

Here is our fourth interview with one of StokerCon 2017 Horror University instructors. This time it's bestselling author Jonathan Maberry! Jonathan Maberry: Act Like a Writer   The writer is the brand. The writer is the face and voice of his/her business. Successful writers know how to create a brand that both sells their product but also protects their privacy. Act Like A Writer is one of NY Times bestseller Jonathan Maberry’s most successful programs. It teaches writers –however reclusive or introverted they might be– how to create the public version of themselves so that their careers have a winning and…

Interview with Horror University instructor Kate Maruyama

Here's the third installment in our series of interviews with StokerCon 2017's Horror University instructors. Thank you, Kate Maruyama! Kate Maruyama: Tension & Scene: The Basics of a Uniquely Terrifying Screenplay Crash course in two hours: How to up the ante for your screenplay to get it noticed. The gatekeepers of Hollywood, the ones who decide if your script meets the eyes of a producer or executive or an actor, all read thousands of scripts for a living. And they are tired and they have seen it all. This two hour class will focus on the elements of scene, character, and…

Interview with Horror University instructor Johnny Worthen

Here's the second of our interviews with StokerCon 2017's Horror University instructors. Take it away, Johnny Worthen! Johnny Worthen: Mistakes Were Made Concrete advice on tightening your writing from an editor, author and student of the craft. We’ll concentrate on specific issues and hot buttons. See what doesn’t work. See how to fix it. From passive voice to head-hopping to adverbs and scaffolding, a dense class in modern style to please editors, readers and writers. Johnny Worthen grew up in the high desert snows and warm summer winds of the Wasatch Mountains. He graduated with a B.A. in English, minor in Classics and a…

Interview with Horror University instructor Patrick Freivald

This is the first in a series of interviews with our StokerCon 2017 Horror University instructors. At Horror University, you'll find award-winning and best-selling authors offering intensive two-hour workshops on all aspects of horror writing. Today we're talking with multiple Bram Stoker Award®-nominated author Patrick Freivald about his Saying More With Less workshop. About Saying More With Less: Writing styles are as varied as writers themselves, but a common complaint among editors and publishers of horror fiction is that writers use too many words to say what they mean to say. This interactive workshop will focus on squeezing every ounce…

Women in Horror Month Interview – Charlee Jacob

February is Women in Horror Month! The HWA is celebrating by posting interviews with award-winning authors. Following is an interview with Charlee Jacob, who won for Novel in 2005 (Dread in the Beast), Poetry Collection in 2005 (Sineater), Poetry Collection in 2007 (VECTORS: A Week in the Death of a Planet, co-written with Marge Simon), and Poetry Collection in 2013 (Four Elements, co-written with Linda Addison, Rain Graves, and Marge Simon). Special thanks by Sanda Jelcic and Alessandro Manzetti for conducting this interview.   Tell us a little about your Bram Stoker Award-winning works. Inspirations? Influences? Anecdotes about the writing…

Women in Horror Month – Interview with Beth Gwinn

February is Women in Horror Month! The HWA is celebrating by posting interviews with award-winning authors. Following is an interview with Beth Gwinn, who won the Bram Stoker Award in 2001 for Dark Dreamers: Facing the Masters of Fear.   Tell us a little about your Bram Stoker Award-winning work(s). Inspirations? Influences? Anecdotes about the writing or critical reaction? BG: At the time of creating the book, it took over 10 years to have produced. Being the photographer for Locus helped me to be taken seriously. Talk about winning the award – how surprised were you? Did winning pay off in…

Women in Horror Month – Interview with Sarah Langan

February is Women in Horror Month! The HWA is celebrating by posting interviews with award-winning authors. Following is an interview with Sarah Langan, who has won the Bram Stoker Award twice for her novels and once for short fiction. Tell us a little about your Bram Stoker Award-winning work(s). Inspirations? Influences? Anecdotes about the writing or critical reaction? SL: The Keeper, The Missing, and a short story called “The Lost” have all received Bram Stoker awards, for which I’m grateful. The Keeper was a book-of-the-month-club main selection in the US and UK. As it happens, it was the lowest rated BOMC…

Women in Horror Month – Interview with Sandra Kasturi

February is Women in Horror Month! The HWA is celebrating by posting interviews with award-winning authors. Following is an interview with Sandra Kasturi who won the Bram Stoker Award in 2000 for her work on the specialty press, Chiaroscuro Magazine.   Tell us a little about your Bram Stoker Award-winning work(s). Inspirations? Influences? Anecdotes about the writing or critical reaction?  SK: Brett Savory and I and the Chiaroscuro Magazine (chizine.com) team won for editing back in... I think it was 2001? It feels like it was a different world back then. . . . We were at World Horror in Seattle,…

Women in Horror Month – Interview with Kathryn Ptacek

February is Women in Horror Month! The HWA is celebrating by posting interviews with award-winning authors. Following is an interview with Kathryn Ptacek, who won the Silver Hammer Award in 2009 for her volunteer work.   Tell us a little about your experience with the Horror Writers Association and how it has influenced your own writing.  KP: I’ve been in the organization since the start when it was H.O.W.L., and almost from the beginning I was preparing market reports for the newsletter. Somewhere along the line I became the newsletter editor, and I still do the market reports. (By the…

Women in Horror Month – Interview with Elizabeth Monteleone

February is Women in Horror Month! The HWA is celebrating by posting interviews with award-winning authors. Following is an interview with Elizabeth Monteleone, who won the Bram Stoker Award in 2003 for the anthology Borderlands 5.       Tell us a little about your Bram Stoker Award-winning work(s). Inspirations? Influences? Anecdotes about the writing or critical reaction? EM: As with most things in my life, I tend to back into many of the successes that happen to me. If I  decide to take on task (such as editing the Borderlands series with my husband and then taking over the small…

Women in Horror Month – Interview with P.D. Cacek

February is Women in Horror Month! The HWA is celebrating by posting interviews with award-winning authors. Following is an interview with P.D. Cacek, who won the Bram Stoker Award in 1996 for her short fiction, "Metalica."   Tell us a little about your Bram Stoker Award-winning work(s). Inspirations? Influences? Anecdotes about the writing or critical reaction? PDC: I won a Bram Stoker in 1996 for my short story, Metalica: a “touching” story about a woman and her speculum. Yes, you read correctly: speculum. Now, in case you’re not sure what a speculum is, let me explain that it is a…

Women in Horror Month – Interview with Donna K. Fitch

February is Women in Horror Month! The HWA is celebrating by posting interviews with award-winning authors. Following is an interview with Donna K. Fitch, who won the Silver Hammer Award in 2006 for her volunteer work.   Tell us a little about your experience with the Horror Writers Association and how it has influenced your own writing. DKF: I’ve been a member of HWA for about 17 or 18 years. It’s been amazing being associated with so many talented writers. I’m not active in discussion boards, but volunteering behind the scenes has given me insight into the workings of the association. I’ve…

Women in Horror Month – Interview with Lucy A. Snyder

February is Women in Horror Month! The HWA is celebrating by posting interviews with award-winning authors. Following is an interview with Lucy A. Snyder, who has won the Bram Stoker Award five times for works including her fiction collection, While the Black Stars Burn (2015); fiction collection, Soft Apocalypses (2014); non-fiction, Shooting Yourself in the Head for Fun and Profit: A Writer’s Survival Guide (2014); short fiction, “Magdala Amygdala” (2012); and poetry collection, Chimeric Machines (2009).   Tell us a little about your Bram Stoker Award-winning work(s). Inspirations? Influences? Anecdotes about the writing or critical reaction? SL: Five of my works…

Women in Horror Month – Interview with Nancy Holder

February is Women in Horror Month! The HWA is celebrating by posting interviews with award-winning authors. Following is an interview with Nancy Holder, who has won the Bram Stoker Award five times for her short fiction and novels.      Tell us a little about your Bram Stoker Award-winning work(s). Inspirations? Influences? Anecdotes about the writing or critical reaction? NH: I have received five Bram Stoker awards. This is my list: Dead in the Water – Novel 1994 "Lady Madonna" – Short Fiction 1991 "I Hear the Mermaids Singing" – Short Fiction 1993 “Café Endless: Spring Rain” – Short Fiction 1994…
Women in Horror Month – Interview with Lucy Taylor

Women in Horror Month – Interview with Lucy Taylor

February is Women in Horror Month! The HWA is celebrating by posting interviews with award-winning authors. Following is an interview with Lucy Taylor, who won the Bram Stoker Award in 1995 for her first novel, The Safety of Unknown Cities.   Tell us a little about your Bram Stoker Award-winning work(s). Inspirations? Influences? Anecdotes about the writing or critical reaction? LT:  I was fortunate enough to win a Bram Stoker for Best First Novel in 1995 for my erotic horror novel THE SAFETY OF UNKNOWN CITIES. The protagonist, Val, goes in search of a mythic city of unlimited and inventive debauchery…

Women in Horror Month – Interview with Yvonne Navarro

February is Women in Horror Month! The HWA is celebrating by posting interviews with award-winning authors. Following is an interview with Yvonne Navarro, who won the Bram Stoker Award in 2001 for her Young Readers novel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Willow Files Vol. 2.   Tell us a little about your Bram Stoker Award-winning work(s). Inspirations? Influences? Anecdotes about the writing or critical reaction? YN:  Gosh, I’m not nearly as complicated as that question sounds. My novelization, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Willow Files Vol. 2, won the 2001 Bram Stoker for Young Readers. I was one of the core Buffy…