Writer Wednesday: Jeffrey J. Mariotte

Today, Writer Wednesday welcomes Jeffrey J. Mariotte. Jeff is a writer whose work I’ve long admired. We’ve become social media acquaintances and we have quite a few mutual friends, but I’ve never had the chance to meet him in person. I’m very happy to have the chance to chat with him.

During his decades-long career in the world of books and publishing, Jeffrey J. Mariotte has written more than sixty novels, nearly 200 comic books and graphic novels, dozens of short stories, magazine articles, and much more. He has received multiple awards for his writing, including four Scribe Awards for Best Original Novel, presented by the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers. He’s also won the Inkpot Award from the San Diego Comic-Con for his career contributions to science fiction and fantasy, the Spur Award from the Western Writers of America for editing and publishing,  is a co-winner of the Raven Award from the Mystery Writers of America, and he has been a finalist for the Peacemaker Award from the Western Fictioneers, the Bram Stoker Award from the Horror Writers Association, and the International Horror Guild Award, among others. He has owned and managed independent bookstores and has worked in publishing as the vice president of marketing for WildStorm Productions/Image Comics, a senior editor for DC Comics, and the editor-in-chief for IDW Publications.

Jeffrey works in multiple genres, including thrillers, mysteries, horror, westerns, and science fiction and fantasy, for adult and young adult audiences. He’s been entrusted with world-famous intellectual properties including CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, NCIS, Narcos, Star Trek, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, Tarzan, and many more.

He lives in the Arizona desert with his family, pets, and a massive collection of books.

Hi Jeff. Thanks for joining me for today’s Writer Wednesday!

It’s my pleasure, Anthony!

You’ve written two novels for Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc as part of the “Edgar Rice Burroughs Universe” (Tarzan and the Forest of Stone and Beyond Thirty: A World Reborn). What was your first encounter with Burroughs as a reader, and how has he influenced your writing?

I don’t have a specific memory of my first Burroughs book. I was introduced to Tarzan early, thanks to the Johnny Weissmuller movies playing frequently on daytime TV in the late 1950s/early 60s. At some point I discovered that there were books (it’s possible that I discovered him in comics first). In the mid-to-late 60s there was a boom in fantasy/adventure/sf paperbacks, and I was constantly reading ERB, Robert E Howard, and their literary kin. That continued through the 1970s, and in 1980 I became a bookseller at Books Inc. in San Jose, CA, a general bookstore that had the best sf/fantasy/horror section of any bookstore in the southern Bay Area. That was when I became acquainted with the fandom community, started meeting authors regularly, and started writing semi-seriously myself.

I can’t say that Burroughs has specifically influenced my writing per se, but he influenced the direction of my life, along with the many other writers that I read obsessively in those days. And, obviously, my life influences my writing all the time.

Who were your other early writing influences?

I’ve read so widely, and in so many different genres, that it’s hard to pin down specific influences. I don’t really recognize anybody else’s work in mine, and I’m not sure that mine reads like that of anyone else—unless, as in the case of a Burroughs book, I’m trying not to imitate his work, but to suggest it.

 

The Burroughs characters are not the only licensed properties you’ve worked on. What is your process like when approaching licensed work?

First, I want to be very familiar with the underlying property. I’ve read a lot of Burroughs over the decades, but before digging into a work of my own, I re-read some (specifically ones related to the project, like Tarzan books before writing Tarzan, and obviously Beyond Thirty for the new one). In the case of Burroughs, I also read what others have written about the works, because they can usually point out specific aspects of it that I might not pick up on my re-read. One of my bibles for that is Edgar Rice Burroughs: Master of Adventure by my old friend Dick Lupoff.

If it’s a work based on a TV series, I’ll watch as much of the series as possible and read things about the series. I want to know what the fans respond to, how they think about the characters, etc.

 

Does your writing process differ at all when working on your own original characters? Do you approach writing novels differently than short stories?

When writing original stuff, I still do research for locations, professions, anything the characters would have to know or do, etc., but I don’t have to read particular authors or watch particular TV series—the research is more focused based on who my characters are and what their setting is. Those things, I have to know for licensed work as well, but for my own characters I don’t have to know all the details of their previous adventures, because I’ll be inventing any of that.

When I’m writing a short story, I’m more likely to just dive in and do any necessary research as it comes up, rather than before I start work. Beyond that, my process is pretty much the same for both formats.

 

It feels like you have worked in almost every genre. What is your favorite, or most “comfortable” genre to write in? And is there any genre you haven’t worked in yet that you’d like to?

I guess I’m most “comfortable” with thrillers or novels of suspense. Even when I’m writing in other genres, I tend to include elements found in thrillers. Tarzan and the Forest of Stone, for example, was a Tarzan adventure but also a crime novella with a prolonged chase scene. Many of my horror novels are really supernatural thrillers, as well. I like writing plots that keep the reader turning pages to see what’ll happen next.

I think I’ve written in every genre that I’m truly interested in. I’ve written sword-and-sorcery, science fiction, horror, adventure, mystery, thriller, western…maybe others I’m not thinking of right now. I’m not particularly interested in writing romance or romantasy (although I wouldn’t entirely rule out cozy romantic mystery). I think mainly I want to stick with the genres I know, but to do new things within them.

 

Beyond Thirty: A World Reborn comes out later this year from ERB, Inc.. What else do you have coming out in the near future?

Nothing in the immediate future. I had two book releases in August—Billy the Kid: Cheat the Hangman, an “untold tale” of Billy the Kid in the last weeks of his life, and Flesh of All Sorrows, a fairly epic thriller that’s earning some of the best reviews of my career. The Burroughs book will be the last of this oddly busy season—three books in three different genres from three different publishers. I do have a horror novel finished that’s out with an agent. I’ve been working without one for years, but this particular agent is someone I know and would like to work with, but I’m still waiting to hear if she wants to rep it. I’m pretty sure everything else that I’ve placed is already published.

 

Where can you be found online?

My website is jeffmariotte.com, and I try to keep it up-to-date. There’s a blog there where I write about what’s happening in my professional life. I also have a Substack (https://substack.com/@jeffreyjmariotte), which is a substitute for the autobiography that people have been bugging me for years to write. It’s occasionally about my writing projects but more often about other aspects of my life and my long career in the world of books and publishing. Facebook is the social media site I use most, but all of my socials (and more) are on my Linktree.

 

And my standard final question: what is your favorite book?

This is the world’s hardest question, because there are so many books that I love. Our library comprises thousands and thousands of volumes, on thirty-some bookcases spread throughout just about every room of the house (with more books boxed in the garage because there’s no room for them). My sentimental favorite is probably Wallace Stegner’s Angle of Repose, a historical novel set largely in California’s Bay Area, where I lived for ten years and still love. Stegner’s work resonated with me when I was getting to know the American West, and he was a brilliant writer, a faithful activist, and a wonderful man with whom I was privileged to spend most of a day once.

On different days, though, I could just as easily pick books by William Goldman or Joan Vinge or Ross Macdonald or James Lee Burke or…well, it’s a long list. Books have been the most constant feature of my life, and I’ll never stop reading them.

Interview: Callie Schuttera

Today is a special “weekend edition” of “Writer Wednesday” with actress and writer Callie Schuttera.


Callie Schuttera is an American-born actress and producer who grew up in Cincinnati Ohio. Callie is known for her iconic role in Zach Cregger's 'Weapons' and her appearances on shows like 'The Rookie' and 'On Call'. Callie earned international acclaim on the festival circuit for her performance in 'Blue', which took home a slew of awards including multiple wins for Best Picture and Best Actress. Callie can also be seen in the family comedy 'The Last Conception' and voices Vivian Lobdow, on the popular Darkest Night podcast. Callie earned a B.F.A. in Acting from the College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). After moving to Los Angeles, she co-created Poison Pictures Film House with her wife, Gabriela Ledesma. Poison Pictures is a leading indie producer of feature films, music videos, and documentaries.

 

Hi, Callie! Thanks for taking some time to chat with me.

Thanks for reaching out :)

 

Your new film The Exit State premieres at Screamfest in Los Angeles this month (Tuesday, October 13th, for those in the LA area who may want to catch it). Tell us a bit about the film.

The film is political thriller/horror about a group of American citizens who attempt to illegally flee the United States to Mexico, to escape an authoritarian regime. They arrive at shelter they believe is safe in politically neutral territory but their ‘safe house’ becomes a dystopian nightmare.

 

Will it be showing at other film festivals or be coming to streaming or on DVD?

Screamfest will be our major film screening before moving to streaming a couple of weeks later!

 

When did you first know you wanted to pursue acting? How did you get started in the industry?

I knew from a really young age, maybe six or seven. I got as much training as my parents would allow me to. Classes, camps, and then a BFA in Acting from a conservatory program.

When I moved to LA I was lucky to land an agent right away, and I learned a LOT from those first few years of auditioning.

 

Your most recent screen appearance was as “Alex’s Mom” in Weapons. What was working on that film like?

That was a very cool experience. I was a huge fan of Zach’s previous film Barbarian so I was thrilled to audition for the project even before I knew the details.

Being on set was surreal - not only was everyone so talented (cast + crew), the scale of the project was massive. So the feeling that something iconic was being made was palpable.

 

You’re the co-writer of both The Exit State (with Josh George and director Gabriela Ledesma) and Blue (also with Ledesma, who directed both films). I would love to hear about the writing process for those films.

Writing is a passion that kind of bloomed for me in late twenties. I had always enjoyed it but the older I get, the more obsessed I am with writing scripts.

My writing process with Gabby is usually quite harmonious. We always say she can ‘see’ the film and I can ‘hear’ it. She’s very in tune with the camera’s trajectory and I’m more drawn to dialogue.

Adding Josh into the mix was a ton of fun. He brought a great perspective to our process and was crucial in world-building and creating the plot’s landscape.

 

Also regarding the creative process: as an actress, how do you usually work on crafting your performance? And does that process differ when it comes to scripts you wrote versus characters in movies or shows you didn’t have a hand in writing?

Each role feels like a new puzzle, so the process is never exactly the same. That said, I do always keep a little character notebook that contains some of a character’s backstory, their key thought patterns, and their astrology (whether you believe in astrology’s validity or not, it’s a great way to explore a character).

The main difference in playing a role you’ve helped craft is that there’s a lot of subliminal character work being done as you write and rewrite. When you go to prep the acting, you realize that a lot of the character’s nuance is already engrained in you.

 

Who are some of your strongest influences, both as a writer and as an actor?

As a writer, I’m heavily influenced by Adam McKay, and Jesse Armstrong - they’re both writers who unabashedly comment on real world politics, and some of society’s most dire current circumstances. Their lenses always includes humor without sacrificing the severity of their subject matter.

As an actor, I’m a massive Hannah Einbinder fan right now. I love how much joy translates from her work. I think she’s fearless yet lighthearted and an incredible human being.  Her work in Hacks and Camp Miasma (Jane Schoenbrun is another fantastic writer!) were some of my favorite performances of the past couple years.

 

You and Gabriela co-founded Poison Pictures, which produced both Blue and The Exit State. Your website states your mission to “collaborate with the best up-and-coming filmmakers in LA and around the world to create high-quality products from start to finish.” What’s coming from Poison Pictures in the near future, in addition to The Exit State?

We are feeling very at home in the horror/thriller genre so we’re putting a lot of our energy behind two other narrative scripts in the same wheelhouse. What I love about both of them is that, like The Exit State, they boldly venture into contentious subject matter, not just to agitate, but for the sake of progress.

In addition we are working on a very special documentary about an organization called The School of Sexuality Project. They teach science-based, fun, shame-free sex-ed to K-college kids and hold community events for adults. We’re very proud to be a part of their cause and helping to take their mission world-wide.

 

And my usual final question: What is your favorite book, and why (if you feel like sharing)?

The Social Animal by David Brooks. I love all of his work but this one is very special. It blends economics and psychology while drifting in and out (seamlessly) of narrative storytelling to illustrate its points. It left me understanding my own human nature, perhaps more than anything I’ve ever read.

 

Check out Poison Pictures website for more about the company, and of course the ScreamFest page for the full roster of movies and talks.  Callie can also be found on Instagram and IMDB.

Writer Wednesday: Russell W. Dickson

Today I welcome my childhood friend and neighbor Russell W. Dickson to chat about his books and writing process. Russell and I grew up in the same section of Mahopac, NY and our mothers were good friends. We haven’t seen each other in person in way too long, so it was fun to “catch up” as it were.

Russell W. Dickson is a horror novelist and longtime journalist based in Upstate New York. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in English/Writing with a minor in Journalism and has written for NewsBlaze Daily News for more than 26 years. His books include The Man Next Door, Children Shouldn’t Play with the Dead, and The Leather Man’s Curse. Drawing inspiration from the communities, folklore, and dark corners of his home region, he creates interconnected stories where familiar places conceal unsettling secrets. He connects with a combined social media following of approximately 110,000 fans across Facebook, Instagram, X, and TikTok.

Hi Russell. Thanks for joining me on this Writer Wednesday!

Thanks so much for having me! I’m really happy to be here. It’s especially fun doing this interview with someone who grew up in the same hometown—and even the same part of town—as I did. I’m looking forward to talking about my books, my writing, and maybe revisiting a few ghosts from our old neighborhood along the way.

 

Your recent books and upcoming novella are all in the horror genre. Is it safe to assume you’re a lifelong horror fan?

Absolutely. I’ve been a horror fan for as long as I can remember. Even as a kid, I was fascinated by movies like The Exorcist, The Amityville Horror, and Halloween. There was something about being scared—while knowing you were safe—that hooked me early on.

As I got older, that fascination grew beyond movies. I became interested in ghost stories, local legends, haunted places, and the darker side of folklore and history. I think that naturally found its way into my writing. Horror has always been the genre that lets my imagination run the wildest, so looking back, it probably makes perfect sense that I ended up writing horror stories of my own.

 

We grew up in the same small lower Hudson Valley town, and in fact the same part of town. I’ve noticed a few nods to Lake Secor in your work. How did growing up where we did influence your writing?

Growing up there had a huge effect on my writing, probably more than I realized at the time. Camp Henry on Lake Secor in Mahopac and the woods behind my childhood home are featured prominently in Children Shouldn’t Play with the Dead. Those were places I knew intimately as a kid, so when I began creating that story's world, they naturally became part of it.

Even the group of kids in the book was inspired in part by the kids I grew up with in our neighborhood—the friendships, personalities, adventures, and trouble we managed to find.

If you read more of my books, you’ll find other connections to our hometown scattered throughout them. I like leaving those little nuggets behind—places, memories, and details that might not mean anything unusual to most readers, but that old friends like you might recognize immediately. In a way, pieces of where we grew up keep finding their way into the fictional worlds I create.

 

Who were your major influences (literary or otherwise)?

As a child, I was an avid reader. I loved mystery and adventure books, especially The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew. Those books gave me an early appreciation for mystery, suspense, and the idea that something unexpected might always be waiting around the corner.

As I got older, I discovered writers like Stephen King and Dean Koontz, who showed me just how powerful horror could be when it was grounded in believable people and places. I was also fascinated by Washington Irving and Hudson Valley folklore. Stories like The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle mattered to me because they blended fiction, history, folklore, and recognizable places. That strongly influenced my decision to incorporate local legends, history, and real locations into my own books.

My education broadened those influences considerably. I earned a B.A. in English/Writing with a minor in Journalism, where I learned the discipline and mechanics of writing professionally. In college, I was inspired by a wide range of writers, including Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Dickens, Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and Leo Tolstoy. I was drawn to Poe's darkness and atmosphere, Dickens's memorable characters, and the harsh realities and psychological depth found in the great Russian writers.

I was also fascinated by vivid firsthand wartime accounts and historical writing, because they demonstrated how powerful specific, honest details can be. Journalism reinforced that lesson: observe, research the facts, and make the reader feel as though they are actually there.

All of those influences eventually came together in my own work. Horror may be the genre I write most often, but underneath it you'll usually find history, folklore, real places, human nature, and little pieces of the world I grew up in.

 

What is your writing process like? Are you a “plotter,” a “pantser,” somewhere in between? And does that process change based on the length of the work (novels, novellas, short stories)?

I would definitely say I lean more toward being a “pantser,” although there is some plotting involved. Most of my stories begin with an idea, an image, a place, a piece of history, or sometimes just a frightening “what if?” I usually know where I want the story to go in general, but I don’t necessarily know every turn it will take to get there.

I like giving my characters room to develop and letting the story surprise me. Some of my favorite ideas have come while I was actually writing rather than during the planning stage. There are times when a character or situation takes the story somewhere I hadn’t originally intended, and I think that spontaneity gives my work some of its energy.

The longer the work becomes, though, the more organized I have to be. With a novel, especially when I’m weaving together history, local legends, multiple characters, and connections to my other books, I’ll keep notes and map out important events so everything eventually comes together. With novellas, I tend to work from a looser framework. Short stories are probably where I’m the closest to being a pure pantser. I can start with one disturbing idea and follow it to wherever it takes me.

So I suppose I’m somewhere in between, but I always want to leave the door open for the story to surprise me. For me, discovering what happens is part of the fun of writing.

 

You’re also a journalist. How does your process differ between fiction and non-fiction, if at all?

For me, fiction and journalism actually have a lot in common. Whether I’m writing a novel, a short story, or a news article, it has to be something I have a genuine interest in. I write from both my heart and my mind. If I’m not interested in the subject myself, I can’t expect the reader to be interested either.

Research is also crucial to everything I write. I believe you have to become as much of an expert on your subject as possible. Readers are smart, and if you don’t understand what you’re writing about, it will eventually show, and you’ll lose credibility.

The biggest difference is what I do with that research. As a journalist, the facts are the story. My responsibility is to be accurate, fair, and truthful. In fiction, research becomes the foundation that lets my imagination take over. When I write about a historical event, a local legend, or a real place, I want the details to feel authentic even when I introduce something supernatural.

Journalism taught me discipline, accuracy, research, and how to tell a story clearly. Fiction gives me the freedom to take those same skills and ask, “What if?” I think the two sides of my writing have influenced each other tremendously.

 

What projects do you have coming up that people should be on the lookout for?

This is a really exciting time for me. Publishers, literary agents, film producers, and actors have expressed interest in my work, so several possibilities are developing behind the scenes.

My first three books—The Man Next Door, Children Shouldn’t Play with the Dead, and The Leather Man’s Curse—along with my upcoming The Witch’s Road, really only scratch the surface of the fictional world I’ve been creating around Gloversville and the surrounding region. The stories are connected through local history, folklore, characters, and supernatural threads, and I currently have three more books planned that will expand that universe considerably.

I’m also writing shorter pieces from the Leather Man world. Readers can find me on Substack at RussellWDickson, where subscribers get multiple creepy short stories and other material that allows me to explore corners of that universe that might not fit into the novels.

Outside of fiction, I continue my journalism work for NewsBlaze.com, and I stay very active on social media, particularly Instagram, where I’ve built a large following and can interact directly with readers.

A lot is happening right now, and I feel like I’m only getting started. If readers enjoy the world they’ve encountered in the books so far, there is a great deal more coming.

 

Where can interested readers find you or your work online?

Readers can find me all over the place online. The easiest way is to search for Journalist Russell W. Dickson on Google, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X. I’m very active on social media, where I share updates about my books, upcoming releases, appearances, horror stories, and other projects.

You can also find my journalism at NewsBlaze.com. Readers looking for more horror can find me on Substack as RussellWDickson, where I publish creepy short fiction, including stories that expand my Leather Man universe.

My books are available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble.com, and other major online booksellers and distribution channels worldwide, as well as through select independent brick-and-mortar bookstores.

And if your local bookstore doesn’t carry my books, tell them they should! Independent bookstores are incredibly important to authors. Booksellers interested in carrying my work can reach out to me directly through Instagram for ordering and distribution information.

Most of all, I enjoy hearing from readers. Whether you find me through my books, journalism, Substack, or social media, feel free to reach out and say hello.

 

And my standard final question: what is your favorite book?

That’s a tough question for someone who has been an avid reader his entire life, but if I had to choose one, I’d probably say Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. I know it’s technically a short story rather than a novel, but it influenced me so deeply that I have to pick it.

Growing up in the Hudson Valley made Irving’s story feel different to me. These weren’t just imaginary places somewhere far away—they were part of the history and folklore of the region I called home. I loved the atmosphere, the mystery surrounding the Headless Horseman, and especially the way Irving blurred the line between history, legend, and the supernatural.

Looking at my own books today, I can see that influence very clearly. I’m constantly digging into local history and legends and then asking myself what might be lurking beneath the stories we think we already know.

Of course, ask me again tomorrow, and I might say Edgar Allan Poe, Stephen King, Dostoevsky, or Dickens. That’s the problem with asking a writer to name only one favorite!

Interview: Christa Carmen

Today for Writer Wednesday, I chat with author Christa Carmen.

Christa Carmen lives in Rhode Island. She is the Bram Stoker Award-winning and two-time Shirley Jackson Award-nominated author of The Daughters of Block Island, Beneath the Poet's House, and How to Fake a Haunting, as well as the Indie Horror Book Award-winning Something Borrowed, Something Blood-Soaked, the Bram Stoker Award-nominated "Through the Looking Glass and Straight into Hell" (Orphans of Bliss: Tales of Addiction Horror), and co-editor of the Aurealis Award-nominated We Are Providence and the Australiasian Shadow Award-nominated Monsters in the Mills. She has a BA from the University of Pennsylvania, an MA from Boston College, and an MFA from the University of Southern Maine.

When she’s not writing, she keeps chickens; uses a Ouija board to ghost-hug her dear, departed beagle; and sets out on adventures with her husband, daughter, and bloodhound–golden retriever mix. Most of her work comes from gazing upon the ghosts of the past or else into the dark corners of nature, those places where whorls of bark become owl eyes, and deer step through tunnels of hanging leaves and creeping briars only to disappear.

 

Hi Christa! Thanks for taking some time to chat.

Thank you so much for having me, Anthony!

How To Fake A Haunting, which released on October 7th, is your third book in three years. That’s consistent output! Tell us a bit about the plot.

Lainey Taylor is being pushed to the brink by her alcoholic husband, Callum. However, without any DUIs or missed work days for a judge to point to, Lainey knows she won’t win against Callum–and his influential family–in divorce proceedings or an attempt to gain full custody of their daughter, Beatrix. She’s trapped, angry, and completely helpless. 

Her best friend Adelaide has a wild solution. They’ll stage a haunting so convincing it will drive Callum out of Lainey’s life for good. They start small, with strange smells, noises in the walls, and flies unleashed along the windowsills (I had to insert at least a little Amityville-esque influence!). But with each stage of their plan (and a little help from Callum’s alcohol-induced night terrors), Lainey is closer to seeing the haunting through to its bitter, freeing end.

Without giving anything away, I’ll just say that there’s far too much rage, resentment, and fear for Lainey and Adelaide’s plan not to go horribly wrong. As their fake haunting spirals into something no one can control, Lainey discovers that the only way out is to join forces with Callum, or die trying.

What inspired or influenced How To Fake A Haunting?

There was a very specific moment of inception for this book. My husband and I have been married for nine years this October, and like all married couples (or maybe just like all people once they reach a certain age), we tend to occasionally (ahem, often) spend so much time choosing a movie to watch, that by the time we turn it on, one or both of us falls asleep. On this particular evening, my husband swore he wasn’t tired; we chose a movie, and not five minutes later, I heard heaving breathing coming from the couch. 

Annoyed, I decided to head in and get ready for bed. But before I could, an idea–BAM–hit me like a horror movie jump scare. I grabbed his cell phone, and took a picture of him sleeping on the couch. I think maybe I was planning to show him the picture in the morning, like, “I told you you’d be the one to fall asleep!” Instead, I texted the picture to myself, walked into the kitchen, and then stormed back into the living room loud enough to wake him. “Why did you just text me a picture of yourself sleeping?” I asked. Disoriented, he replied, “What? Why would I text you a picture of myself sleeping?” But I doubled down, narrowed my eyes, and said, really cryptically, “You mean, you didn’t just text me this picture of you sleeping from your phone?” Needless to say, he was suitably freaked out, and eventually, I caved and admitted to the prank. When the time came to get working on a new novel, I thought of the playfulness of scaring your spouse, and how the idea of faking a haunting could be really fun, which morphed into questions of why someone would want to commit to a fake haunting, and then things just took off from there!

It seems like you did quite a bit of research into the paranormal investigation field, and particularly in regards to faking a haunting. Can you tell us a bit about that research?

I think the research for this book might have been some of the most bonkers research I’ve ever conducted. Around two-thirds of the way through the book, in chapter 32, Lainey and Adelaide have returned to Lainey’s house under cover of darkness to orchestrate the mother of all fake hauntings, a terrifying spectacle that will finally send Callum packing for good. In order to pull off what is essentially an elaborate theatrical production, the women dig deep into their arsenal, acquired through extensive horror movie research and a meeting with a husband-wife team of paranormal investigators. Without spoiling anything, I’ll say that, in order to write the scene, I had to rely on my own knowledge of horror films, titles like Let’s Scare Jessica to Death, The Conjuring, The Amityville Horror, Poltergeist, Carrie, The Changeling, and Malevolent, as well as deep dives into smart speaker and television programming capabilities, magnetized candles, recordable teddy bears, and how much pig’s blood might be required to recreate an abattoir inside a bathroom.

Having read and loved all three of your novels, I feel like it’s safe to say you have slowly increased the supernatural quotient in each book. Daughters of Block Island was more classically Gothic, with mostly eerie vibes; Beneath the Poet’s House had some moments that could have been supernatural or could have had mundane explanations but were left up to the reader to decide, and now, without spoilers, it appears the fake haunting turns real. Has this slow increase in the supernatural been a conscious decision on your part?

So, short answer… yes? But one that was met with a fair amount of reluctance on my part and lots of encouragement from writer friends and beta readers.

I recently took part in a wonderful event an An Unlikely Story in Plainville, MA with fantastic thriller writers Vanessa Lillie and Tracy Sierra, and Tracy said that she thinks one of the most difficult things in writing horror is coming up with a ‘system’ of the supernatural—or monsters, or killers, or whatever frightening thing the author is working with—that is unique but also makes sense in the world of the story, and she stated that she felt I’d done a good job with it in How to Fake a Haunting (for which I’m eternally grateful). She then asked if I had any advice on how to invent a ‘horror world’ that is also logical, and my answer was that I start by getting something onto the page that serves the story, but that ultimately, I don’t want the supernatural in my work to be, as the kids say, “cringe.” 

I think I shied away from the supernatural on the page in the past because I was worried I would do it in a way that would be hokey or take readers out of the story. I should have trusted myself more, however, because I was happy with how the final third of How to Fake a Haunting played out.

I’m always interested to know what an author’s creative process is like. Are you a plotter, a pantser, somewhere in between? Has your process changed over the years you’ve been writing?

I am neither, I suppose. I’m a writer who tends to know where she wants a story to begin, where she wants it to end, and the major beats in between. The details, though, how I get from beginning to beat one, beat one to beat two, etc., those are apt to surprise me. I do tend to—if I stumble on an idea I want to include somewhere in a manuscript—get nervous that I’ll forget it, so I text myself little “breadcrumbs,” as I call them, so I can go back over the text thread at the end of each draft and make sure I’ve incorporated everything I wanted to include. So…I’m a ‘Hansel-and-Greteler?’

I love that term! Let’s make it a thing. You also write short stories and have edited some anthologies of local Rhode Island writers’ work. What do you look for as an editor?

First and foremost, adherence to submission guidelines! It may sound nitpicky, but this shows an editor that you respect their process and their time, and helps you put the right foot forward from first glance. As for content, I look for work that keeps me guessing, keeps me uneasy, has me questioning everything I thought I knew in the world of the story. I love a well-done ambiguous ending, a jump-scare-on-paper, and both quiet and cinematic horror, as long as it’s well done. Most importantly, I want to be thinking about the story long after I read it, turning over lines and plot points in my mind. I’m currently editing an unannounced project right now, and it’s been a delight to discover some new voices and be told some amazing, get-under-your-skin stories from writer’s I’ve come to admire.

I’m already eagerly anticipating your next book, as you probably have guessed. Can you tease us at all about your next project and when we might expect it?

Well, thank you! That’s so nice to hear. I’m indeed hard at work finishing up my fourth novel, as well as putting a second short story collection together. The novel will NOT be set in Rhode Island, which is pretty wild for me, but in London, Geneva, and Rome, and is a sort of body horror/sci-fi/artifact chase mashup. I’m having lots of fun with it and am looking forward to getting back to work on the project post-release of How to Fake a Haunting.

 In the meantime, my short story, “The Clearing,” is part of Lindy Ryan and Stephanie M. Wytovich’s HOWL: An Anthology of Werewolves from Women-in-Horror, out November 4th. I also have a story, “Comeback Kid,” in The Rack II: More Stories Inspired by Vintage Horror Paperbacks, edited by Tom Deady, that came out October 14th, and several other stories in anthologies, as well as an editing project, that I can’t announce just yet.  

Anyone interested in updates can find me online, at Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/christaqua/), Instagram (@christaqua), and Bluesky (‪@christaqua.bsky.social), as well as on my website, www.christacarmen.com.

And my traditional final question: What is your all-time favorite book?

I’m going to be such a downer on this question, because my favorite book is A Little Life by Hanya Yanigahara. I’ve never read something beyond this book in which the characters felt realer to me than some of the real people I know. Yanigahara’s ability to immerse you in the story, in the world she’s created, is unparalleled. Jude’s plight also helped me understand more about how trauma can follow and shape a person than some of my experiences working at an actual inpatient psychiatric hospital ward; I worked to get into patients’ heads, to help them, but one can never quite reach through someone’s barriers the way you can into a well-rendered character’s head, and this was Jude St. Francis all the way.

Thanks, Christa!

Thank you, Anthony! This was a blast!

You can find my review of Christa’s second novel, Beneath the Poet’s House HERE.

Sunday Shorts: Three from Autumn Cthulhu

Editor Mike Davis takes a line from H.P. Lovecraft’s story “Polaris” (“And in the autumn of the year, when the winds from the north curse and whine, and the red-leaved trees of the swamp mutter things to one another in the small hours of the morning under the horned waning moon…”) and uses it as the core principal of the anthology Autumn Cthulhu (Lovecraft ezine Press, 2016). Here are my thoughts on a few of the stories contained therein:

cover image by andreiuc88

 

“In the Spaces Where You Once Lived” by Damien Angelica Walters

Helena and Jack, a couple in their retirement years, live in a house that backs up onto a beautiful forest. Jack is falling victim to dementia/Alzheimer’s and Helen is struggling to accept the slow loss of her husband and to cope with the changes in his personality. Jack is convinced this house is not his home, that his home is elsewhere: perhaps somewhere in the woods. Walters’ story balances a very real fear (Jack’s health and eventual full loss of memory and cognitive function) with a slow-growing dread that something is very wrong in the woods. Of course, something is, or this wouldn’t be a Lovecraftian story. The relationship between Helena and Jack is drawn so indelibly by Walters, it is easy to see the love that underpins the strangeness and discomfort; scenes with their child and grandchild add to both the poignancy of Jack’s situation and the tension of the mystery of the woods. Helena does eventually learn what’s lurking just out of sight and why it is affecting Jack – but thankfully the author does not use it as an explanation for Jack’s declining mental acuity. That would have been a bit too precious for an otherwise realistic look at the horror of Alzheimer’s and similar diseases.

 

“The Black Azalea” by Wendy N. Wagner

The protagonist of Wagner’s story is Candace, a recent widow whose marriage to Graham was not a happy one especially in the later years. Before he passed, Graham had planted an azalea bush in the shadow of an elm tree that succumbed to Dutch elm disease, leaving room for sunlight to kill the azalea. The dead azalea blocks Candace’s view of her garden, so she decides on the last nice day of autumn to dig the bush out. Which is when she discovers strange rot at the bush’s core … strange rot that seems to be incredibly contagious to all the other plant life on Candace’s property. And eventually to more than just the plants. Wagner is an expert at moving a story from subtle unease to full out horror, and “The Black Azalea” is yet another example of that skill. The story also does not skimp on characterization in favor of horror; Candace’s life as a widow, and her life before becoming a widow, are just as central to the story as the rot is (and, in fact, I began to consider that this (supernatural? extraterrestrial?) rot is something of a metaphor for the course of Candace and Graham’s marriage.

 

“A Shadow Passing” by Daniel Mills

“A Shadow Passing” is one of the most fever dream-like short stories I have read in recent memory. A young boy’s mother leaves their house each day, dressed in widow’s black, to track down “them” – winged batlike shadows that speak to her, taunt her, are leading her to something. Something the boy seems tied to, with his strange fevers. Something the boy’s aunts and grandfather don’t seem to want him to be a part of, seeking medical assistance for him while his mother is away. Mills’ prose is perfect for the story’s overall sense of disconnection from logical reality, of a sick child’s inability to understand why the adults in his life seem to be at odds, of the way fevers especially steal time from us and cause us to hallucinate. I might have been reading too much into the story, but it also feels like an investigation of how adults who get caught up in cults will sacrifice everything, potentially even their own children, for the sake of their new beliefs – and how difficult it is for family members outside the cult to save the ones who have been sucked in.

 

I love short fiction in all its forms: from novellas to novelettes, short stories, flash fiction, and drabbles. Sunday Shorts is the feature where I get to blog about it.