Welcome back to SCARY OUT THERE, the Horror Writers Association’s new blog on scary fiction for teens. My guest this week is Charlie Higson, one of the top teen horror writers in the UK. He’s the author of the million-copy-selling Young Bond series that began with SilverFin and was followed by Blood Fever, Double or Die, Hurricane Gold and By Royal Command. All five novels entered the children’s bestseller charts in the top five. He’s also written much scarier books, including the truly creepy THE ENEMY and THE DEAD. Those books received well-earned critical and commercial success. Charlie’s novels have…

Welcome back to SCARY OUT THERE, the Horror Writers Association’s new blog on scary fiction for teens. My guest this week is Holly Black, author of bestselling contemporary fantasy books for kids and teens. Some of her titles include The Spiderwick Chronicles (with Tony DiTerlizzi), The Modern Faerie Tale series, The Good Neighbors graphic novel trilogy (with Ted Naifeh), the Curse Workers series, Doll Bones, and her new dark fantasy novel, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown. She has been a finalist for the Mythopoeic Award, a finalist for an Eisner Award, and the recipient of the Andre Norton Award. She…

Welcome back to SCARY OUT THERE, the Horror Writers Association’s new blog on scary fiction for teens. My guest this week is Tonya Hurley the New York Times and international bestselling author of the GHOSTGIRL young adult series and author of THE BLESSED.  Tonya has also created video games, two television series, written for film and is a contributor to The Huffington Post.  She lives in New York with her husband and daughter. JONATHAN MABERRY: Let’s jump right in and talk about. With Scary Out There we’ve been exploring that nature of fear and what makes each of us afraid. What…

Welcome back to SCARY OUT THERE, the Horror Writers Association’s new blog on scary fiction for teens. My guest this week is Rick Yancey, an author who writes powerful novels across genre and age lines. He’s the author of several adult novels and the memoir, CONFESSIONS OF A TAX COLLECTOR. His first young-adult novel, THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES OF ALFRED KROPP, was a finalist for the Carnegie Medal. In 2010, his novel, THE MONSTRUMOLOGIST, received a Michael L. Printz Honor, and the sequel, THE CURSE OF THE WENDIGO, was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His latest series, THE…

Welcome back to the Horror Writers Association’s new blog on scary fiction for teens. My guest this week is JAMES ROLLINS, the New York Times bestselling author of thrillers whose books have sold to over thirty countries. His Sigma Force series has earned national accolades and hit bestseller lists around the world. Jim also writes a middle-school adventure series featuring Jake Ransom, boy archaeologist, and has finished the first book in a collaborative adult horror series with award-winning mystery writer, Rebecca Cantrell, titled The Blood Gospel (published in January 2013). Jim also wrote a number of notable fantasy novels –The Banned and…

By: Jonathan Maberry Welcome back to the Horror Writers Association’s new blog on scary fiction for teens. This week we chat with dynamic newcomer Victoria Schwab, who has been turning out an impressive number of works in a short time –and gathering critical and commercial acclaim with every step. Victoria is the author of THE NEAR WITCH--which Kirkus Book Review praised for its “shivery horror tang”--as well as THE ARCHIVED, and several upcoming novels. Victoria suffers from a wicked case of wanderlust, but when she's not haunting Paris streets or trudging up English hillsides, she can usually be found tucked in…

By: Jonathan Maberry Welcome back to the Horror Writers Association’s new blog on scary fiction for teens. We kick things off with Barry Lyga, a finalist for this year’s Bram Stoker Award for Young Adult Fiction. In his own words: Barry Lyga “writes lots of stuff, some of which makes people question their safety around him. But really, he’s just a nice, normal guy. Really. Honest. (Could you hold this hammer for a sec? Thanks.)” Jonathan Maberry:

What scares you, Barry? Barry Lyga: OK, this will sound weird, but— Jonathan Maberry: It’s a horror blog, man. Barry Lyga: Fair enough. Right now…

What scares you? Is it the same thing that scares me? Are the things that scare us now the same things that made us tremble as kids? Are they the same monsters? The same fears and doubts? The same shadows? The same threats, real and imagined, that troubled us on the way to school? Or in school? In the playground? No. Fear, like everything in life, changes. Just as we change. And horror –that personal reaction to something that makes us afraid—is as changeable as it is individual. Horror is no more the same to you and me as it is you our adult selves…

There’s a sense of urgency that comes with horror. That feeling of your blood icing in your veins, sending your heart beating violently in your chest. Your breath hitches in your throat, anticipating what will happen next. You don’t know whether to turn away, or continue to witness what torturous thing the character will encounter before they’re out of reach. It’s that moment where you know it’s wrong to want to see the pain inflicted on their face, but somehow you can’t help but watch. You've invested so much already. There’s no going back now. You’re caught in the moment, watching, hoping,…

2011 Bram Stoker Nominee Kenneth Oppel Author bio: Kenneth Oppel is the author of numerous books for young readers. His award-winning Silverwing trilogy has sold over a million copies worldwide, and been adapted as an animated TV series and stage play. Airborn was winner of a Michael L Printz Honor Book Award, and the Canadian Governor General's Award for Children's Literature; its sequel, Skybreaker, was a New York Times bestseller and was named Children's Novel of the Year by the London Times. His most recent books are THIS DARK ENDEAVOR and SUCH WICKED INTENT, prequels to the gothic classic Frankenstein. Born on Vancouver Island, he has…

Bram Stoker 2011 Nominee Patrick Ness Author bio: Patrick Ness is the author of the Chaos Walking trilogy. The Knife of Never Letting Go, book one of the trilogy, won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize and the Booktrust Teenage Prize. The Ask and The Answer, the second book in the trilogy won the Costa Children's Book Award 2009. The third book, Monsters of Men, was released in September 2010. He has also written a novel (The Crash of Hennington) and a short story collection (Topics About Which I Know Nothing) for adults, has taught Creative Writing at Oxford University, and is a literary critic for…

Bram Stoker 2011 Nominee Daniel Kraus Author bio: Daniel Kraus is a Chicago-based writer and filmmaker. His novel THE MONSTER VARIATIONS (Random House, 2009) was selected to New York Public Library's "100 Best Stuff for Teens." Fangoria called his acclaimed, Odyssey Award-winning, Bram Stoker-nominated second novel, ROTTERS (Random House, 2011), "a new horror classic." Upcoming novels include SCOWLER (Random House, 2013) and TROLLHUNTERS (Hyperion, 2013), co-written with filmmaker Guillermo del Toro. Kraus has written regularly for such magazines as Cosmopolitan, Playboy, Maxim, and Salon.com. Visit him at www.danielkraus.com. Book synopsis: Grave robbing. What kind of monster would do such a thing? It’s true that Leonardo…

2011 Bram Stoker Nominee J. G. Faherty Author bio: A lifelong resident of New York's highly haunted Hudson Valley region, JG Faherty grew up amid Revolutionary War graveyards, haunted roads, and woods filled with ghostly apparitions. His varied professional career includes working as a resume writer, laboratory manager, accident scene photographer, zoo keeper, scientist, and salesman. He began writing fiction in 2001, and his short stories, poetry, and articles- have appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies. Book Synopsis: By all accounts, 16-year-old Maya Blair is a typical teen-age high school student. She hangs out with her best friend Lucy, has a turbulent relationship with her…

2011 Bram Stoker Winner Nancy Holder Author bio: Nancy Holder is a Los Angeles Times bestselling author and a charter member and Trustee of the Horror Writers Association. A Bram Stoker Award-winner, she has written more than 63 books. Book synopsis: The gutsy heroine of Possessions and The Evil Within returns for another year of boarding school at the haunted Marlwood Academy. Lindsay wakes to find herself strapped down in the infirmary. She had a breakdown and might have tried to kill her nemesis Mandy or Mandy's boyfriend, Troy-or both. The details are hazy, but one thing is certain: she is possessed by a spirit she…