Horror Author Katrina Monroe Interview
Katrina Monroe Interview
1. Congratulations on your upcoming release They Drown Our Daughters! Without giving away any spoilers, could you please tell us a little about this book?
Thank you! I’m so excited for July!
On the surface, They Drown Our Daughters is about a curse that follows a line of women along several generations, which lures them into the murky water that surrounds their small town of Cape Disappointment. But at its core, the book is about the complex nature of mother/daughter relationships. It’s about how hard it is to be a mother, how frustrating it is to be a daughter, and the harm that can manifest when we think we’re protecting each other.
2. What inspired this story?
It all started with a setting. I went to visit my brother when he was still living in Seattle, and I asked him to show me the west coast. Growing up in Florida, I’d had this preconceived notion that all beaches are sunshine, white sand, and palm trees. But then we visited a beach in northern Washington, and it was just… gray. Gray sand, gray water… the place was practically deserted, and scattered along the shore were dozens of dead, dismembered crabs. It felt haunted. And then I thought, well, what if it was?
3. How would you describe your writing/brand as an author?
My CP and I have this joke that my work, in the beginning, is “all vibes, no plot.” I’m an atmospheric writer. I love to center the reader in a sense of place, to really ground them in the story while I pull them along. As a brand, though, I would describe it as feminist horror. There’s something particular about female fear. It’s subtle. It lingers. It unsettles. It lends nicely to my writing style.
4. For writers trying to break into publishing, could you please explain how you went about getting your agent?
Like most writers I know, I was plucked from the slush pile. At the time, I thought that was the biggest hurdle crossed (spoiler: it wasn’t). I’d been querying for several years, and the manuscript my agent signed me with wasn’t the first (or the second or third) manuscript I’d sent out. It’s a daunting process but, as cliché as it sounds, it only takes one “yes.” As an aside, They Drown Our Daughters wasn’t the book my agent signed. It was the second manuscript I delivered to her, and then it was initially rejected by the editor who ended up signing it almost a year to the day after. This business is likely to give you whiplash if you let it.
5. How long does it take you to write a book?
After the first couple of false starts (heartbreaking and imperative to my process, as my CP likes to remind me), I usually complete a first draft within 4-5 months. The dreaming stage before writing can last days or weeks. After the first draft, I let it sit for at least a couple of weeks before diving in for edits. When all is said and done, I think it’s a 9 month gestation for a book baby.
6. When did you first decide you wanted to be an author?
Author Katrina Monroe
I’ve been writing stories since I was probably seven or eight. I remember a babysitter teaching me how to use quotation marks for dialogue when I showed her a story I’d written about a little girl and a leprechaun. I don’t think I ever decided to be an author. It just kind of… happened. My first full-length manuscript was a disaster, written just for the sake of writing it, but I’m a perfectionist so I sought out writing groups to help me bash it into shape. The rest, as they say, is history.
7. What is your favorite horror trope?
There’s something wrong with the house.
I adore a good haunting, especially when there’s intricate back-story involved. Give me bleeding walls and whispering pipes or give me death.
8. Thank you for joining me! Could you please tell readers where they can find you online?
Thank you! I’m on Twitter and on Instagram at @authorkatm. My website is www.katrinamonroe.com.
Horror Author E.V. Knight #Interview
E.V. Knight Interview
1. Congratulations on your 2020 debut novel The Forth Whore! Could you please tell us a little behind the inspiration for this book?
Horror Author E.V. Knight
When I began writing this novel in the summer of 2016, Lilith (the villainess) was not a part of the book. In fact, it was a different story entirely. But then, after the November 2016 Presidential election, I attended the Women’s March in January 2017 and met so many amazing people who’ve lived through so much. It was then that I heard Lilith’s name brought up time and again. When I studied her history, I realized that she’d been vilified and degraded all for simply asking to be equal. That’s when I knew I wanted to say something about the horrors that come with being a woman (or identifying as one). I also lived through some of my own personal traumas while writing the novel. It became experimental therapy for me. I wanted to see what would happen if I let the women in this novel act on their anger and frustration. I wanted a horror novel with well-rounded women characters who were just as bad ass, just as crazy, just as blood thirsty as their more mainstream male counterparts.
2. If The Forth Whore was made into a movie, who would play the lead?
I am so glad you asked this question! There has never been a doubt in my mind that Kenzi Brooks would be played by Natasha Lyonne. I love the characters she plays—so strong willed and sassy but with the weak, fragile core. She’s perfect for Kenzi. Plus, I modeled Kenzi’s look after Natasha’s.
3. Are you a plotter or a pansters?
I want to be a pantser so bad, but I plot. I plot an overview outline and character studies. Then as I go, I plot the next scene. I do this over and over as my characters sometimes revolt and do their own thing. But I am always planning ahead.
4. I love your creative and unique podcast Brain Squalls! Can you please tell readers a little about it?
Brain Squalls is a podcast where we (my husband and cohost) challenge each other with a writing prompt and then work together to tell a story in real time over an hour. Basically, exposing the creative story telling process and hoping our audience would play along and maybe make up their own story too. I found my writing voice and style by using prompts to write little short stories once a day for a year. So, we hope it will help spark creativity in our listeners. We changed Brain Storm to Brain Squall because it’s just a short little burst of creativity once a week.
5. If you could co-author a book with any writer, living or dead, who would it be and why?
This is the toughest question because I know so many amazing writers that I would be thrilled to co-author with. So, I’ll go with my celebrity fantasy co-author and say Neil Gaiman. First of all, I love his voice and versatility. I am enamored with the worlds and characters he creates and the way he paints a scene. But also, he seems like a genuinely nice person. A good human being. If I am co-writing with someone, I need to like and respect them too.
6. If you weren’t a writer, what job would you have?
In my other life right now, I work in medicine but in a fantasy world where I could rewind and do anything else, I think an historian specializing in either colonial American history or English Tudor history, I’m fascinated by both. Plus, I’m a nerd and I love research.
7. What book(s) are you reading right now?
I just finished Ania Ahlborn’s Brother which I enjoyed very much and am turning my attention to those on the preliminary list for the Stoker Award. I try to read as much from the list as I can before the awards. Luckily, this year, I’ve already read many of those on the list so I should be able to get through them all. It’s going to be a tough competition this year, especially in the First Novel category. A lot of great work there.
8. What is next for you? Anything in the works?
I’ve just completed the draft of my next novel which will be the first in a trilogy. This book series is about a disregarded deity, a vanished hippie commune and an ambiguously haunted house. It’s a little softer than The Fourth Whore with much less gore and more creep-factor. I’m really excited about the project and am working hard with the hopes of release sometime next year.
9. Where can people find you online?
I am on Twitter and Facebook and my website and you can hear my real voice once a week on the Brain Squalls podcast which you can find on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox, Stitcher, Google, and anywhere you find podcasts. You can also find us on youtube where we sometimes share a video as well as the audio.
10. Thank you so much! This is your chance to say anything that wasn’t asked. Closing thoughts? Thank you so much for inviting me on your blog and asking fun and insightful questions. I really hope lovers of horror will give The Fourth Whore a read. I’m quite proud of it.
A little about The Fourth Whore:
Kenzi Brooks watched The Scribble Man collect her brother’s soul after a hit and run when she was seven. He gave her a present that day—a lucky rabbit’s foot. Sixteen years later, she no longer believes in The Scribble Man, she believes in survival and does what she has to in the slums of Detroit. When thugs kill her mother and beat Kenzi to near death, she accidentally releases Lilith from her prison within the time-worn keychain.
And Hell hath no fury…
Lilith is out for revenge. Revenge against God, Sariel (Angel of Death and Kenzi’s Scribble Man), and all of mankind for relegating her to nothing more than a demoness for refusing to submit to her husband. She’s put together an apocalyptic plan to destroy everyone who has forsaken her. Forget the Four Horsemen, Lilith is assembling the Four Whores.
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