Horror Author Jessica Guess #Interview
Jessica Guess Interview
1. Congratulations on your novel Cirque Berserk! How did you come up with the concept of a haunted carnival?
Thank you! The premise actually started with a character. I had this image in my head of someone doing something really terrible to the tune of Rhythm of the Night by Debarge (I can’t say anymore because spoilers) but the image so bizarre that I had to write it. I had to put together why this person was doing this bad thing and the idea of the carnival was the only logical place to me. Once I had the place down, everything else came pretty easily.
2. Did you ever have any first-hand run-ins with ghosts? Do you believe they exist?
Yes. When I was around 6 or 7, I saw an angel while I was sleeping over at my cousins house. No, it was not a dream. I literally pinched myself to make sure. Not quite a ghost but it the same realm, right? Also, I’m pretty sure my childhood home is haunted. I’ve personally never seen anything, but my mom and I smell coffee and tobacco in the early hours of the morning and late at night when nobody is cooking and neither of us smoke.
3. Cirque Berserk promises the reader “brutality, bloodshed, and betrayal”, which certainly feels like a recipe for an amazing horror book. If you had to describe the type of horror you love to write in only three words, what words would they be?
Crazy Killer Girls
4. Your website Black Girl’s Guide to Horror highlights a common problem in the horror community. As you state, “Horror is for everyone, but it doesn’t always feel that way with the lack of representation in the genre.” As horror continues to evolve, what changes do you hope to see?
Oh, man. So much. I want more black women as final girls and villains. Do you know how few black female villains we have? I want to see more Indigenous people in horror movies, and more LGBTQ+ people in horror. I want more horror movies directed by women. I want to see a plus sized final girl. I want to see voodoo and Pan African mysticism that isn’t filtered through a white lens or portrayed as “evil.” I want more black witches.
5. You’ve estimated yourself to have watched over 1000 movies, so this question is going to be tough. What is your all-time favorite horror movie?
The Descent. It has almost everything I love in a horror movie: blood, a tasteful amount of gore, an all-female cast, terrifying monsters, and there’s some heart to the story.
6. What book(s) are you reading right now?
Two. Wonderbook by Jeff Vandermeer. I haven’t read it all the way through, but I open it whenever I need a pep talk about creativity and not sacrificing that wonder and silliness we’re born with. I also just started There Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins. It’s really good so far.
7. If you could co-author a book with any author, living or dead, who would it be and why?
Gillian Flynn. She doesn’t exactly write horror, but thrillers are close enough in my opinion. She has a style that I love and identify with and I think she also has an affinity for crazy killer girls, so we’d probably mesh well.
8. What is next for you? Anything in the works?
I’m re-working my novel right now. It was my thesis for my MFA, but I have some ideas I think will make it stronger. I’m also working on a short story about South Florida’s iguana infestation. They’re literally everywhere down here. Picture The Walking Dead, but instead of zombies it’s iguanas.
9. Where can people find you online?
You can check out my website, Black Girl’s Guide to Horror, at and follow me on Twitter HERE and HERE
10. Thank you so much! This is you chance to say anything that wasn’t asked. Closing thoughts?
Thank you for having me! There are some awesome novellas being published this year by Unnerving Magazine as a part of their Rewind or Die series. My novella, Cirque Berserk, will be out February 20th, 2020, but all of them look really cool. Check out @UnnervingMag for updates and release dates.
BUY CIRQUE BERSERK ON AMAZON HERE