Interview with Horror Author Chloe Spenser

1. Hello Chloe! Thanks so much for joining me! Let’s begin with an introduction. For those who don’t know you, can you please tell us a bit about yourself?

Howdy! I’m an author, filmmaker, and game developer from Minnesota. I have two cats who are my absolute world, Kiwi and Coconut, and when I’m not writing, you can probably find me in front of my computer playing video games (probably The Sims.)

2. Your latest book CodeSkull is coming out July 2025 and will be published by Mad Axe Media. Congrats! Having read the book myself, I know it’s a killer YA sure to electrify readers, but how would you describe it? What can readers expect?

You can expect some serious stuff, but you can also expect to laugh! The three main characters play off each other really well, and they have some sweet moments together even as they’re trying to save their town from a terrifying, technological monster.

3. I’m going to go out on a limb and say your desire to write a book with a rouge video game villain has something to do with being a game developer 😊. Have you ever considered making CodeSkull into an actual game and when can we expect it to hit our computer screens (no pressure, but seriously, it’d be an INCREDIBLE game since the book is filled with amazing storyworld building!).

I would definitely say that my passion for making games influenced me to write this book. I haven’t considered making CodeSkull into a game yet, but that could be so fun! In all honesty, I’m working on an adult dating sim/survival horror RPG called FEVER. My computer broke about a year ago and I just recently got it replaced, so development’s been on hold for a while, but I’m hoping to get back into the swing of things. However, I have thought of a sequel to CodeSkull already. Let’s just say it involves ghosts, Gatorade, and leave it at that. 

4. Let’s shift to another one of your talents. Not only are you a writer of fiction books and a game developer, but you’re an award-winning filmmaker, which is so awesome, and it sounds like you’re really busy! Outside of your own books, what would be a dream book-to-movie adaptation you’d love to create and why?

Oh gosh, there are so many! I would love to work on an adaptation of Terry Moore’s graphic novel series Strangers in Paradise, but that would need to be a TV show, not a movie. I think Hailey Piper’s Benny Rose the Cannibal King could be such a fun adaptation, too.

5. Who is your favorite author and why?

I think everyone should be reading Tiffany D. Jackson. I don’t care which book you pick, anything of hers is a banger, and I can’t put it down once I start it. She is so masterful with prose. I remember doing a signing event, and I said, “I’ll read a metaphor in one of her books, and be thinking about it for days.” Just that metaphor. Just the way that she put it together. There are many amazing writers, but few writers whose sentence construction and word choice sticks with me long after I close the book, rather than the story … although if you read Allegedly, I mean, good luck not being sick to your stomach for days on end afterwards.

6. Okay, let’s move to some hard-hitting questions. Would you rather have spiders crawl from your mouth whenever you start to speak or have maggots come out of the shower whenever you’re trying to bathe? Why?

Chloe Spenser

I had to talk to my girlfriend about this one for advice because to be honest, it depends on the size of the spiders. If I think about it, I have long hair and I’m constantly pulling it away from my face or out of my mouth, so that’s kinda like having spiders in my mouth already, so I think I’d be okay with that. With maggots, I mean, their whole job is to burrow inside your body, right? I’m thinking about every single possible way they could get inside my body if they were coming out of a shower spigot, and I don’t like my chances.

7.     If you had to live in one of the following haunted houses, which would it be: the house on haunted hill or the house from the Conjuring? Why?

Honestly I’d pick the house from The Conjuring. Based on the movie-specific lore, Bathsheba the ghost tends to only haunt women with children. I have no children other than my cats, and cats tend to ward off paranormal influence well. Other people have stayed in the house, and aside from reporting some strange activity, they seem to have had a decent time. Even the Perron family has admitted that no spirit was violent, at worse they were “unpleasant” or “mean-spirited.” The house I grew up in had those sorts of hauntings, so that’s pretty on par for me.

8. Who would you consider the scariest horror villain of all time?

This is so basic, but I think it must be Pennywise. Pennywise is a truly heinous creature that preys upon children regardless of their age. Worse, he’s basically immortal and it’s difficult to kill him, and on top of that, he shape-shifts? He can be the physical manifestation of any one of my fears? Count me out, bro. Count me out. I’m clocking in and clocking out.

9. Thank you so much for joining me! Do you have any final thoughts? Where can readers find you online?

I can’t wait for y’all to read CodeSkull! You can get it from any major retailer, but please please PLEASE consider supporting your local indie bookstore! Go to Bookshop.org to find them. You can also get e-books there now, too.

It’s critical to support local, independent bookstores instead of major retailers because these are often the places that are going to host live events for authors or will order stock of our books that we can come in and sign for you. You can also preorder directly from Mad Axe Media’s website if you prefer and get some cool swag that way!

Aside from that, you can find me online @heyitschloespencer on Bluesky, Instagram, and TikTok. Right now, I’m hosting a fundraiser for the Animal Humane Society of Minnesota, so if you feel so inclined, please contribute!  And if not, follow me, because I might have some cool giveaways and prizes planned for those who donate.