Women in Horror: Part Seventeen

Today we're joined by author Roh Morgon on what horror means to her...     It’s an honor to have been selected to participate in the HWA’s recognition of Women in Horror Month.     Examining the accomplishments of women in this genre has forced me to look closer at my own work and determine whether or not it actually belongs in the horror category.   Before discussing the contributions of women writers to the horror genre, we should first conduct a brief examination of the genre itself.   Horror.   The word conjures images of screaming women, dripping blades,…

JG Faherty to receive The Richard Laymon President’s Award from Horror Writers Association

The Richard Laymon President's Award for Service was instituted in 2000 and is named in honor of Richard Laymon, who died in 2000 while serving as the Horror Writer’s Association’s President. As its name implies, it is given by the HWA's sitting President. The Award is presented to a volunteer who has served HWA in an especially exemplary manner and has shown extraordinary dedication to the organization. HWA’s President Rocky Wood has chosen JG Faherty to receive the 2013 Award. Rocky said, “JG (Greg) is one of the hardest working volunteers the HWA has ever had. In the past two…
Women in Horror Month: Part Six

Women in Horror Month: Part Six

  Today we are joined by Catherine Jordan, author of  Saving Samiel. Here she considers the darker side of Women's horror fiction...       February is Women in Horror Month.  For me, this means I have a great opportunity to learn about other authors as well as promote myself.  It was learning about Mary Shelly and her long ago gathering that inspired me to challenge myself and write a scary novel.  I had to sit and think about what scares me. What came to mind were the bad-ass female characters that I admired, but feared, such as:  Gillian Flynn’s…
An Interview with Amber Benson (Part 2)

An Interview with Amber Benson (Part 2)

By JG Faherty Read Part 1 Last month, actress and author Amber Benson talked to us about YA horror, literacy, her love of gory books and movies, and her writing process. This month we hit on those topics some more, plus some new ones as well. JG: Why do you think horror/dark fiction strikes such a chord with teen readers? AB: I think human beings like to be scared - and doing it within the framework of a book is the safest way to work up the adrenaline. JG: How do you keep in touch with the YA audience? While…
An Interview with Richard Christy (Part 2)

An Interview with Richard Christy (Part 2)

by JG Faherty, for the Horror Writers Association Newsletter Read Part 1 Last month metal drummer extraordinaire and horror fanatic Richard Christy and I spoke about his love of horror movies and novels, his metal band Charred Walls of the Damned, and writing songs vs. writing screenplays or novels. This month, the interview continues, with an emphasis on Halloween, naturally! JG: Let's talk about Halloween. I know it's your favorite holiday, and it's a safe bet that most people reading this interview feel the same way. What is it about Halloween that you like the best? RC: I think it…
An Interview with Richard Christy

An Interview with Richard Christy

Interviewed by JG Faherty Richard Christy is known to millions of fans as a drummer extraordinaire in the heavy/death/progressive dark metal categories for his work with Death, Iced Earth, Leash Law, Acheron, and his latest band, Charred Walls of the Damned. But there's a lot more to him than just providing people with music to bang their heads (and write) to. He is also a huge fan of the horror genre, not just music but films and books as well. He has written and starred in movies, is an avid reader of novels, is something of an expert on the…
An Interview with Amber Benson

An Interview with Amber Benson

interview by JG Faherty Amber Benson is known to millions of fans for her portrayal of Tara Maclay on the BUFFY THE VAMPIRE TV series. But there's a lot more to Amber than just playing a TV witch. Besides acting in TV and movies, she's written or co-written nine novels, several comic books, some short stories, and several scripts for movies, animated films, and Webisodes/Internet films. She's also produced and directed films and Webisodes, sung on a soundtrack, acted in audio dramas, and provided prose for picture books. On top of all this, she's a huge horror fan with a…
Video Interview with Ramsey Campbell

Video Interview with Ramsey Campbell

Guest of Honor Ramsey Campbell is interviewed during the Bram Stoker Awards Weekend/World Horror Convention 2013 in New Orleans. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSliZzUictM&feature=youtu.be
Interview with Ramsey Campbell at Darkeva’s Dark Delights

Interview with Ramsey Campbell at Darkeva’s Dark Delights

Darkeva interviews World Horror Convention’s Guest of Honor, Ramsey Campbell. Darkeva: To quote the Oxford Companion to English Literature, you’re “Britain’s most respected living horror writer,” which is a great esteem. What do you feel have been some of the great honors of your writing career so far? RC: Well, that was certainly one. The Lifetime Achievement awards from HWA and WHC were two spectacular ones, and some years ago I was honoured in Rome at the Fantafestival with a similar career award, together with the great Ennio Morricone, no less. But having my own issue of Weird Tales –…

Interview with Jonathan Maberry at Darkeva’s Dark Delights

Darkeva interviews Bram Stoker Award® Weekend's Guest of Honor, Johathan Maberry. Darkeva: You’re a frequent fixture at several types of genre and horror conventions, in particular, and you’ve also long been involved with the Horror Writers Association. In addition, you also run a hugely successful website and offer fantastic advice to aspiring and published writers alike. Some writers in your position don’t attend many conventions, or any at all. What attracts you to conventions, and what do you most look forward to when you’re going to one? JM: Even more than I’m a writer of horror I’m a fan of…

Welcome to Poetry Awareness

*** Welcome, we're kicking off Poetry Awareness with a new poem by Marge Simon, from her Stoker nominated book THE MAD HATTERY...among other goodies... Lovecraft's Wife   I owned a hat shop when we met, a tradeswoman of distinction, beloved by my aunts, who frowned when they saw his long jaw and meager prospects.   "Sonia," he would say, "may we dine at home, as proper folk, for I fear your aunts will eat me live."   And I would tell him otherwise, for I so craved human company, after reading his most gruesome tales, that crept into the fine…

Scary Out There: A Blog on Horror in Young Adult Fiction: A Chat with Darren Shan

Welcome back to SCARY OUT THERE, the Horror Writers Association’s new blog on scary fiction for teens. My guest this week Darren Shan has published over 30 books for YA and adults, including Cirque Du Freak, The Demonata, The City trilogy, and his new series Zom-B. His books have sold over 20 million copies worldwide. He lives in Ireland. Website: www.darrenshan.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/darrenshan Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/darrenshanofficial JONATHAN MABERRY: You write some creep stuff, but how well do you take it? Do you scare easily?  DARREN SHAN: I actually scare a lot easier now than I did when I was younger. JONATHAN MABERRY: Why’s that? DARREN SHAN: Maybe it’s…

Interview with Bruce Boston at Darkeva’s Dark Delights

Darkeva interviews World Horror Convention’s Poet Guest of Honor, Bruce Boston. Darkeva: There’s definitely a strong contingent of poets among the sci-fi/fantasy/horror communities, and you’re certainly one of the most accomplished with publications in all the top magazines. Tell us a bit more about how you got your first few sales. BB: I was publishing poetry in literary magazines, mostly non-paying, some of it speculative, throughout the 1970s, though I didn’t yet have the label “speculative” for it. I’d also sold a few science fiction stories to commercial anthologies. In 1978 I saw a market report for a magazine titled…

Interview with John Joseph Adams at Darkeva’s Dark Delights

Darkeva interviews World Horror Convention’s Editor Guest of Honor, John Joseph Adams. Darkeva: You’re one of the most respected editors in the genre fiction community, and have edited many bestselling anthologies. Is there a particular favorite among them that you worked on? JJA: That’s a hard question to answer–kind of like asking a parent to name their favorite child. Of course every parent secretly has one, but never says which it is out of fear of hurting their other children’s feelings. In this case, the ones whose feelings could be hurt are, of course, not the anthologies themselves, but the…

Interview with Glenn Chadbourne at Darkeva’s Dark Delights

Darkeva interviews World Horror Convention’s Artist Guest of Honor, Glenn Chadbourne. Darkeva: You’re one of the most noted Stephen King artists, particularly for Secretary of Dreams, and your work has frequently appeared in Cemetery Dance. What do you find the most challenging or the most rewarding aspects about being an illustrator working in the horror genre? GC: As for challenges, every new gig is a challenge. I always try to nail down the atmosphere or flavor of a new story I’ve been asked to illustrate, and the challenge is conveying the right sort of mood or impact in the art…

Interview with Caitlín R. Kiernan at Darkeva’s Dark Delights

Darkeva interviews World Horror Convention's Author Guest of Honor, Caitlín R. Kiernan. Darkeva: Although you’re mainly known for your powerful and dark novels such as The Drowning Girl, The Red Tree, Silk, and Low Red Moon among many others, you’re also a prolific comic book writer, most notably for Alabaster, but also with Vertigo for The Girl Who Would Be Death and The Dreaming, spin-offs of sorts from Neil Gaiman’s Sandman graphic novels. Tell us a bit about how you came to write for these series, what you enjoy (or least enjoy) about writing for comics, and if you have…

Interview with Amber Benson at Darkeva’s Dark Delights

Blogger Darkeva has posted a fascinating interview with World Horror Convention Guest of Honor Amber Benson. Darkeva: In addition to your acting career, you’re also an accomplished film director, producer, and writer, but most people know you for your role as Tara on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. As urban fantasy and horror readers already knew you, how did that affect your transition to becoming a novelist? AB: Well, I’d always written – mostly bad poetry and a few short stories and plays – but being on Buffy opened the door, as far as novel/prose is concerned, to a whole new…

An Interview with HWA Member Christopher Conlon

Interview by Ron Breznay Christopher Conlon bills himself on his web site as a writer, poet, and editor. He has written a number of prose works, including many short stories and two novels, Midnight on Mourn Street And A Matrix of Angels (he has adapted the former into a two-act play). Some of his short stories have been gathered into two collections, Thundershowers at Dusk and Saying Secrets: American Stories. He has published many poems in various magazines as well as in four collections of verse: Starkweather Dreams: Landscape with Figures, Mary Falls: Requiem for Mrs. Surratt, The Weeping Time:…