Horror Author Eve Harms #Interview
Eve Harms Interview
Congratulations on the release of your successful series The Demonic Diaries! Can you tell us a little about these books?
Thank you! The books are a mix of occult horror and suspense, with humor thrown in, told in blog format. With the blog format, there is a lot of emphasis on the character's voice, in this case a twenty-something horror writer named Kendra Temples. The first book was actually posted online as a blog and written under the pen name of the main character, but I've since transitioned to writing under my real name. Probably a good thing, since Kendra tends to be a polarizing character!
Without giving away spoilers, do you have a favorite out of the three books?
Definitely the third book, Shadow Puppet. It's more conceptual than the first two, and has more twists and turns. I let myself run a little wild with it, but I think it still nestles into genre fiction and doesn't get too literary. But you have to read the first two to get the most out of it!
On your website, you describe yourself as writing “freaky fun horror fiction.” What inspired this brand?
It encapsulates my writing style. Whatever I write ends up being some ratio of weird, dark, and goofy. Practically, my brand has sort of morphed into being about the occult, which is a passion of mine, but I don't want to be pegged into any specific subject matter.
How much of your work is autobiographical?
There will be snippets of my actual experiences throughout my life inserted into some of the books, but the characters are never meant to be me or anyone I know. For example, in Shadow Puppet, Kendra goes to an experimental, noise music show. Readers who aren't familiar with those kind of shows might think I made all of those weird details up, but at one point in my life, I would often go to shows almost exactly like that.
But the most autobiographical aspect of my work is theme. Book 2, Hellcrafter, is all about loss and trauma, and my experience of the sudden loss of my brother drove the thematic aspect of that work. Shadow Puppet has a theme of losing and striving to regain bodily autonomy. There aren't any trans characters in the book, but retrospectively, it's a narrative highly informed by my experiences transitioning, as well as my history with chronic illness and pain.
How would you like to see the horror writing industry evolve in the next ten years?
More diverse voices!
Please tell us a little about The Cornfield Creeps and Other Stories, which is the free book given to those who sign up for your newsletter.
The Cornfield Creeps is a Kendra Temples novelette that is her sort of origin story, and explains how she got exiled from her hometown and ended up in Los Angeles. I included additional short stories so readers can get a taste for my non-Kendra work.
I send out a newsletter twice a month, one is an original article on an occult or esoteric topic of my choosing, and the other is highlights of esoterica around the web and book recommendations. If you don't mind me dropping my sign up link, here it is: http://eveharms.com/free-book/ :)
What is the most fascinating piece of information you’ve learned from your occult studies?
Right now, I've been diving deep into Kabbalah and Jewish Mysticism. It is the most fascinating, and spiritually nourishing aspect of my studies so far. I love it so much, and want to share it with others, but I have no idea how to distill it into a single tweet and/or article.
When it comes to folklore, one of my favorite figures is Aicha Kandicha. She's a half-jinn from Moroccan folklore, who appears as a woman with camel hooves, and lures men into the desert to kill them. Theories of her origin range from a Phoenician Fertility deity, to a real noblewoman, or even an anti-colonial resistance fighter. I consider her a part of a club of misunderstood female "demons", along with Lilith and Medusa, that I have a special affinity for.
What’s next for you? Any projects you can discuss?
My next series is going to be based on the Kabbalah! It's going to be a sort of metaphysical dark fantasy series with aspects of neo-noir, and will take place in the spheres of the Qliphoth, the demonic shadow realms of the tree of life. It may take awhile, because I'm researching heavily, and I have no idea how many books it will be. I'm still in early stages. I may release some standalone books and short stories in the meantime.
Where can people find you online?
My website as well as twitter and instagram.
Last chance! Anything else you’d like to say?
Thank you so much for the interview!
Horror Author Azzurra Nox #Interview
Azzurra Nox Interview
1. Congratulations on your success as a multi-published author! Let’s talk a little about your books. Cut Here is about a sixteen-year old named Lena Martin whose mom dies in a hit and run. What inspired this book?
Horror Author Azzurra Nox
The concept of CUT HERE, all began with a dream I had in the summer of 2008. It wasn’t really a dream, but more of a nightmare. It was Christmas time in Catania, Sicily and a girl sees a book on display at a bookstore kiosk entitled CUT HERE. The book’s cover had a bloody line across a faceless person’s neck, bleeding the title. Shortly after, sounds of sirens invade the dream, and as the girl rushes to the sounds, she sees a trail of blood on the asphalt and a mink coat on the ground. Everything is red. Flash forward to me seeing the same girl again, but this time she’s in a bookstore, holding a copy of the book, CUT HERE, waiting for it to be autographed by a Japanese author. But the girl is in danger, and so she runs away. I soon wake up with a sense of dread. I usually don’t often write down my dreams, but that time I did cause it left me with a haunting feeling. At the time I didn’t know if I’d ever use that dream for a short story, poem, or novel. It sat there gathering virtual dust on my computer for three years before I decided to re-read that dream, one night in January of 2011. Soon, that dream would become Lena Martin’s tortured past.
2. Your book Doll Parts is a collection of three short stories. Which is your favorite and why?
My favourite short story from that collection is, “Scared of Girls,” it's one I wrote while I was in college. It explores homophobia and gender identity and poses the question, Do we fall in love with a person or a gender and what happens when your soulmate doesn't conform to a specific gender identity? Even after all these years, the social topics that the short story explores are very timely. Plus, that short story is set in Catania, Sicily where I was born so that's another reason why that story in particular has a special place in my heart. Plus the two protagonists, Marzio and Viola are just characters that I really cared about a lot. They ultimately were very passionate and kind.
3. Bleed Like Me is a book of poetry “for the broken”. How autobiographical is this piece?
They say that there's a piece of the author in every book they write, and to some extent it's true. However, Bleed Like Me is the most autobiographical one of the bunch. 96% of the poems in the collection were written between the ages of 13-20. That age bracket is when you react most emotionally to life. A broken heart as a teen is the end of the world. As you grow older, one begins to see things with more hindsight and realize that many of the people you put up on pedestals and adored at that age, were only bringing out toxic elements in yourself.
4. I consider myself a feminist horror author, but that term has different meanings to various people. Do you consider yourself a feminist horror author, and if so why?
I do consider myself a feminist horror author, even if I have dabbled in other genres throughout the years. But if I am writing horror, I rather have the female be strong than simply be the victim. And sometimes, women are also the villains in my stories, cause to make women appear as only the hapless victim or final girl is kind of saying women can only fit in those two spots. That's why I really love books like Audition, where in the novel it's the woman who is far more twisted than the men who peg her as sweet and docile, could ever imagine her to be.
5. Where did your love of horror come from?
It started at a very young age. Probably around two years old. I think my dad noticed that I had a flair for watching horror movies and so would always have me watch them (he always told me I shouldn't be afraid as it was all “Hollywood” so I never had nightmares over the movies I viewed). So horror has pretty much been a part of my life since I can remember. Which the earliest memory I have of watching horror is seeing Elvira presenting the horror movie of the week.
6. When you’re not writing horror, what are you up to?
Writing DOES take up a lot of my time, because when I'm not writing fiction, I'm writing blog posts for my lifestyle blog that I update twice a week. But, when I'm not doing that, I pretty much live at the theatre where I'll check out any new horror, thriller, or drama films, plus I love to dance, read, and I'll admit that I have a skincare and cosmetic obsession so I'm always looking for new products to try out.
7. What is one tip you wish you knew about writing and the publishing world before you got started?
The biggest tip I can give aspiring writers is to read, read, read, and read some more, especially read the genre that you're planning to write about! My reading background is very classical, meaning I grew up reading a lot of Shakespeare and Dickens, which is awesome, but as a teen when I was writing short stories rereading them now, I know they have more of a Victorian feeling to them, which wouldn't have been terrible if the stories were taking place in Victorian England and NOT in contemporary time! As far as the publishing world goes, I think it would've been helpful to have known how important marketing yourself was going to be. Many novice writers have this idea that writing the book and having it appear in bookstores or online stores is enough. That it's going to sell itself or that your publisher will roll out tons of money to promote you and send you off on a book tour around the nation. And all of those things are wrong, cause sure, authors like Stephen King will get that sort of support because he's popular, but for a newbie you have to do a lot of the legwork to get noticed.
8. What is next for you? Anything in the works?
My newest anthology that I edited, Strange Girls: Women in Horror Anthology will be out on February 18 during Women in Horror Month. It's a collection of short stories featuring many talented women authors that explore the meaning of what it means to be a strange girl. So the collection features stories about vampires, selkies, succubus, mermaids, and creepy dolls just to get an idea of what you may find.
9. Where can people find you online?
Twitter, Instagram, Website, Blog, Goodreads
CHECK OUT STRANGE GIRLS: WOMEN IN HORROR ANTHOLOGY HERE
PURCHASE CUT HERE NOW