Women In Horror Month 2024 : An Interview with Linda Watkins
What inspired you to start writing?
I’ve been writing in some fashion or other ever since I was a kid. My older sister and I used to write scripts (mostly parodies) for some of the more popular TV shows of the day. When I got older, I wrote poems or songs for my family or myself. In my work for the Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at Stanford, I used my writing talent to write “long forms.” These were documents that were used for appointments and promotions in the professoriate. My boss hated writing them, so I would draft them for him. I could mimic his style perfectly and no one ever knew that it was me who wrote them! I didn’t start doing anything seriously until after I retired and moved with my dogs to an unconnected island off the coast of Maine. The creation of my first novel, Mateguas Island coincided with the invention of the iPad. Living on a small island and being dependent on ferry service, gives one a lot of downtime – waiting for the ferry, riding on the ferry, etc. With the iPad, I could use this time to write, and write I did. The setting for the story of Mateguas Island was patterned on the island I lived on. Actually, the house the Andersen’s inherit is based on the 150-year-old house that I lived in. I published Mateguas in 2014 and was surprised by its success. After that, it’s been about a book a year for me.
What was it about the horror genre that drew you to it?
I was a pretty solitary kid, mostly because I had a congenital hearing loss that wasn’t diagnosed until I was 16. Thus, I immersed myself in books. I read everything and anything I could get my hands on – from my dad’s Mickey Spillane dime novels to Kenneth Roberts’ Northwest Passage. Somewhere along the line, I settled on horror as my genre of choice. I like books that keep you, the reader, guessing; that move swiftly, and that end with a surprise or a bang! I think I read my first Stephen King (Salem’s Lot) when I was in my early 30s. After that, I devoured everything he wrote. He not only keeps you involved in the story, but his characters are so real you can’t help but become invested in their fates. I also read Shirley Jackson, John Saul, and Dean Koontz (my favorite is Watchers), and other writers of horror and suspense. Thus, much later in life, when I decided to try my hand at a novel, it was a pre-gone conclusion that the genre would behorror.
Do you make a conscious effort to include female characters and themes in your writing and if so, what do you want to portray?
I don’t think I make a conscious effort to include women, but it does come naturally. The protagonist in the Mateguas Island books is a woman and not a very likable one at first. I have another series, The Kate Pomeroy Gothic Mystery Series, in which, obviously, the main character is a woman. I also include women in my novels who serve as “lore masters.” They are wise women, sometimes witches or ghosts, who understand the natural world and help guide the main characters through the paranormal morass I present them with. My women characters are intelligent and strong. They have flaws, but they strive to overcome them. Kate Pomeroy, even though she is a physician, can kill if necessary. Karen Andersen in Mateguas embraces the Native American legends and forces that surround her in order to save her family. I see women in my novels as nurturers, but also independent, multi-faceted human beings.
What has writing horror taught you about the world and yourself?
I don’t know if it’s specifically writing horror that’s taught me anything about myself and the world, but I do know writing professionally has. I’ve developed a whole new career which I never expected. And, even more amazing is the fact that I’m good at it! My sister was always “the writer” in the family and I guess, because that role was taken, I didn’t think I could do anything better. But I’ve always had stories running around in my head, especially at night when I try to get to sleep. There’s a place somewhere between wakefulness and deep sleep where my creative juices flow. When I was writing my first novel, I often got up in the middle of the night to note dialogue or scenes that came to me just before sleep. As far as the world goes, there’s enough real horror out there to go around, The horror of American gun violence, the horror of the attacks on women’s reproductive rights, and the horror of the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, to name a few. It’s sometimes a relief to escape these real-world horrors in a novel about vampires, ghosts, or other paranormal phenomena.
How have you seen the horror genre change over the years? And how do you think it will continue to evolve?
I’m a fan of “quiet horror” – those things you can’t see that go bump in the night that scare the crap out of you. Horror today, as far as I’m concerned, is sometimes too visual and has, to some degree, evolved into blood, guts, and gore. I don’t like or read books that are all about the slasher. I find the unseen to be far scarier than reading aboutsomeone who gets their head cut off. Also, don’t kill the dog. That’s a total turn-off for me. Last Sunday, I actually experienced some real horror myself. I was taking my 13-year-old English Setter for a walk on the golf course across the street. The course was deserted except for a lone coyote in the middle of the fairway. I didn’t think much of it. They’re always around. So, I just gave the animal a wide berth. My dog walks quite slowly and we were cutting across the fifth hole when that coyote began to scream. Suddenly, his scream was joined by others. My heart began to pound. I pulled my slow-walking dog close by my side, afraid the pack would sneak up behind us and grab him. I backtracked to a vacant lot adjacent to the course and pulled my dog across it to the safety of the residential street beyond. We were safe. What was so terrifying was what I couldn’t see, but could hear. I couldn’t see the pack. I was afraid to turn and find out where they were. I could only hear their screams. Now, that’s real horror.
How do you feel women have been represented thus far in the genre and what hopes do you have for representation in the genre going forward?
There are a lot of female writers of horror out there today and I expect there will be more in the future. But this is not new. There have always been female writers of horror – Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein in 1818. In the past, women have tended to write Gothic. I think that’s changing as they branch out into other horror sub-genres.
Who are some of your favorite female characters in horror?
Of course, I like my characters (Kate Pomeroy, Karen Andersen, Maude Prichard, to name a few). Others I like are: Eleanor in The Haunting of Hill House, Allison in John Fowles’ The Magus, Frannie in The Stand, Delores in Delores Claiborne, Merricat in We Have Always Live in the Castle; Malorie in Bird Box and the sequel; and I’m sure thereare many others I can’t think of right now.
Who are some women who write horror you recommend our audience check out?
Anything by Shirley Jackson, of course. Sarah Read – her The Bone Weaver’s Orchard is a spectacular gothic novel; for poetry, Linda Addison; Anne Rice – her earlier books are the best – I’m partial to The Witching Hour; Diane Setterfield’s The Thirteenth Tale is another great gothic read; Gwendolyn Kiste’s The Rust Maidens, and Alma Katsu’s The Hunger.
What is one piece of advice you would give horror authors today?
Don’t take shortcuts with AI. Do the hard yards. I vomit out my first draft, then edit, edit, edit. Once the book is as good as I think it can be, I send it off to the professional editor. She always makes it better. Always use an editor. Take advantage of things you know and have experienced – like maybe in a book someday, I’ll use my recent encounter with the coyotes.
And to the women who write horror out there who are just getting started, what advice would you give them?
Do it! Read as much as time allows. Read different genres within Horror. Find your niche. You don’t always have to stay in it, but it can become ‘home.’ For me, Gothic is home, although I write mystery, noir, thriller, and other genres as well.
Bio:
USA Today bestselling author, Linda Watkins is the author of the multi-award-winning
Mateguas Island Series, the critically-acclaimed, award-winning, Kate Pomeroy Gothic Mystery
Series, and the historical fiction/noir Steve Daniels Mystery Series. In addition to these novels, she has also penned a contemporary romance and three novellas. Her last publication was a short story, The Conservatory, which was published in Mystery Magazine, May 2023 issue. Born in Norwich, CT, Linda grew up in Dearborn, Michigan. She attended Carnegie-Mellon University, graduating with a B.A. in Psychology. Following college, Linda moved to Palo Alto, California where she worked for twenty years at Stanford University School of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics as a Senior Clinical Financial Analyst. Taking early retirement, she moved to Chebeague Island, Maine where she began her writing career. She lived briefly in Muskegon, MI, and then moved in 2016 to Sedona, AZ where she resides today. Linda is a voting member of the Horror Writers Association, The Authors Guild, The International Association of Crime Writers (N.A.), and The Great Lakes Association of Horror Writers.
The adopter of three rescue dogs, Linda is serious about animal welfare and volunteers not only
at the local Humane Society, but also with a local rescue group.
To find out more about Linda and her works, please visit her book website
http://www.lindawatkins-author.com/, her blog, http://www.lindawatkins.biz/ where she posts
book reviews and other items of interest, or her website dedicated to the Mateguas Island Series, http://www.mateguasisland.com/.
