What inspired you to start writing?
For a long time, I wanted to be a comic book writer/creator. I wrote various stories in the comic book medium. Unfortunately, the search for an artist/collaborator was a difficult task. After quite some time of fruitless searches, I did some deep soul-searching and made the jump to writing genre fiction where I had no one but myself to rely on. It has turned out to be the best decision I could have ever made for my creativity. Anecdotally, there’s a section in the back of a given comic book called The Letter’s Page where readers share thoughts and opinions (in text form specifically) about said book. On two separate occasions, I wrote a few of my little stories into two different comics and the result from the writers/creators was that those stories were printed in The Letters Page as well as received praise from the writers. Those writers were Ed Brubaker and Scott Snyder. But to be clear, I didn’t get hired or receive any employment from the exchange with those two writers. They simply told me they liked my stories. That praise inspired me to take action. It made me realize I had something to say creatively speaking.
Tell us about your work in 25 words or less.
My writing is weird horror which is odd since I don’t plan for a given story to go in that direction but they do.
What was it about the horror genre that drew you to it?
Horror makes for a perfect mirror reflecting our society.
Do you make a conscious effort to include LatinX characters and/or themes in your writing and if so, what do you want to portray?
Not when I first started writing because I was under the impression that that was what publishers didn’t want, but as I kept writing I made the conscious decision to create Mexican / Mexican-American characters. Now, it’s automatic for the main character to be representative of my culture and me. Having said that, I have begun to develop a more diverse array of characters in my stories.
What has writing horror taught you about the world and yourself?
I don’t know how or if horror taught me about the world. Those rough ghetto streets of South Central Los Angeles that I came from taught me about the dark underbelly of society. There’s nothing like having an adult approach a twelve-year-old me in broad daylight and take me behind an apartment building to play a little game. He had me close my eyes, spun me around, and asked me to point to various objects. He was pleased with my talent and informed me that we’d play again the next time he saw me on the street. I spent the rest of that year avoiding certain streets on my way to school and back home. True story. Unfortunately, back then, law enforcement was not the most reliable, a 50/50 proposition. I never knew what that guy had planned for me with his game but glad I didn’t find out. This and other fun times in The Hood informed me about the way the world works. Later on, I figured out how to apply these experiences to my horror and dark fantasy stories.
How have you seen the horror genre change over the years? And how do you think it will continue to evolve?
The bright side is that there are more and more Latinx authors coming out through the publishing world. Things will continue to evolve as long as long as we are truly supportive of each other. That’s my hope, at least.
There have been noticeable changes in TV and cinema such as Jenna Ortega playing the co-lead in Scream VI (2023) and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024), but with all due respect to her, things still stand to improve. IPs from Latin America are not considered viable in the US for the most part. For every show and/or film of Latinx culture produced and released, how many countless stories get flat-out rejected? Hopefully, the stories published by Latinx authors will get the attention of the showbiz community and that may open more doors to awesome stories told by nuestra gente.
Time to daydream: what are some aspects of LatinX history or culture – stories from your childhood, historical events, etc — that you really want our genre to tackle? (Whether or not you’re the one to tackle them!)
Latin American myths and folklore exist in abundance and they are just waiting to be mined for storytelling material. I’d like to see creative people (myself included) delve deeper into all that cultural richness.
Who are some of your favorite LatinX characters in horror?
Atl from Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Augustin “Gus” Elizalde from the The Strain Trilogy by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan. Carlos from The Devil’s Backbone, written by David Muñoz, Antonio Trashorras, and Guillermo Del Toro also the director. All the vampires in From Dusk Till Dawn written by Quentin Tarantino, with story and directed by Robert Rodriguez. With a special nod to Vasquez in Aliens.
Who are some LatinX horror authors you recommend our audience check out?
My fellow HWA L.A. Chapter member S. Alessandro Martinez.
What is one piece of advice you would give horror authors today?
Learn what you are able to about the publishing world as a business. I understand that we’re not all equipped with a high business acumen but learn what you can.
What is one piece of craft advice you’ve gotten that has really worked for you? Alternatively, what’s one that you’ve happily rejected?
Go out and experience life and don’t live it sheltered. Accept that life (at times) will bring you pain and sadness and as long as you don’t let it break you take that bad stuff and write it down, apply it to your writing. I read someone’s post on social media recently where that person wrote (not verbatim), “I want to be in a relationship but I don’t want the stress that comes with it.” I understand that people have the right to choose how to live life, but if this person (or any other person) wants to tell stories that ring true with readers. Storytelling is (potentially) about drama and conflict and the bad stuff that comes to the main character and how the MC will overcome all that. I don’t know if the telling of that story will be possible if one lives inside a safe, little cocoon.
The “you have to write all the time/every day” rule is a be-all-end-all. No, it is not. Because I committed to writing consistently for years, today I am able to come up with a story with an ability I didn’t possess when in my first attempts. What I’m trying to say is: to find a regimen that works for you and make an unbreakable promise to yourself that you will stick to it. You are in complete control of your creativity, bound by nothing to make it happen.
And to the LatinX writers out there who are just getting started, what advice would you give them?
Experience is the key. If your first novel is the only story you have ever written, finish it and move on to the second novel. The second one will be better than your first. Then, write your third novel and that will be better than your second. You will get to the point where your understanding of the writing process has you writing the best story you once thought couldn’t be possible. Or start by writing short stories. Several short stories. Don’t look at any of this as a waste of time. On the contrary, it’s the best way to build up your writing chops. Because you have no prior writing experience to fall back on, that first novel will not be your best work. It sounds harsh but it isn’t. It’s a gift when you can identify your limitations, improve those aspects of writing, and become a better writer. That’s the best advice I can share.
Don’t be so precious about your writing and recognize your limitations when you’re at the start of things. I was once that fearful of recognizing my limitations but once I got past it, my writing has vastly improved. This will go a long way to positive results in your writing and/or other creative expression.
Erick Mancilla is a Mexican-American writer of horror and dark fantasy. His short stories have appeared in print and online anthologies. His latest story The Clatter of Dishes is found in the anthology Folk Horror published by Weird Fiction Quarterly.
As a member of the Horror Writers Association, he is the Assistant Manager of the Social Media Team where he runs the various interview series throughout the year, and as Assistant for the Chapter Program Managers. He enjoys reading various genres of fiction (for entertainment and to learn about the craft of writing) and still considers watching the original issue DVD version of 1980s horror movies a sublime experience. He can be found lurking on Instagram/Threads: @deapgreanwriter and on X (or whatever you want to call it): @DeapGreanDream