Women in Horror Spotlight #2 Click Here
Welcome to the February Women in Horror Spotlight Project, co-hosted by David Spell at The Scary Reviews, and Erin Al-Mehairi, Hook of a Book Media. We will be featuring many women over a short period of time with mini-interviews in which all were asked the same three questions. We urge you to get to know them and delve further into their work, whether they are a writer or editor. We will feature about three women each day that we have a post, and hopefully, we will end the month with one big Facebook party, so stay tuned.
Women in Horror Spotlight #3
Fiona Dodwell, Author
How do you define horror and what drew you to it?
To me, horror is anything that unnerves, frightens or creates tension within a reader (or indeed, a viewer, when it comes to film in the genre). It is that realm where you can explore the darker side of human experience – whether it is ghosts, vampires, or even evil deeds committed by man himself.
I find it very hard to specify what drew me to horror initially, because for as long as I remember I have had a love of it. Even when I was a young kid, I’d sneak into my brother’s collection and watch scary movies. I rented books from the library about hauntings and all manner of creepy things. Some of my earliest memories consist of me sharing ghost stories with friends during sleep-over parties. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t love the genre.
What sub-genre(s) do you write in?
I have a lot of paranormal elements in my stories, because I have a morbid fascination with life-after-death and spiritualism. I have studied courses on Demonology and Exorcism, as well as having attended various talks and demonstrations on mediumship. All of this has helped inspire my stories – even when it comes to the things I am skeptical of, or don’t believe in. I use it in my stories and I hope I bring some authenticity to them as a result.
What is your personal favorite part of writing or reading horror?
I just love to be thrilled, to be scared, to be held captive by a dark and eerie story. To me, there is nothing like the high I get from being made nervous and tense by the book in my hand. Of course, as time goes by, the more you read the harder it is to find something that genuinely scares you. There is an element of being “hardened” to the genre once you have read so much, like I have. So there is also the chase – reading and searching for the one that creeps under your skin and frightens you. That’s a magic moment, right there, when it happens.
In terms of my own writing, my favourite part of the process is seeing a character come to life – evolving and changing and making choices of their own. That can be an almost eerie experience at times, when a character takes on a life of their own. I am guessing this is a magic part of writing for people who are involved in all genres, though – not just horror.
Fiona Dodwell, Biography
Fiona grew up in Buckinghamshire in the UK. She has had a passion for the written word since she was a child, and found herself a regular visitor of local book stores and libraries from a young age. Growing up, Fiona became a big fan of the supernatural and horror genre – in both film and literature. She devoured Susan Hill, Dean Koontz and Stephen King novels with relish, and soon realised she wanted to create dark fictional worlds of her own.
Fiona has studied a variety of subjects in recent years, from Theology and Psychology, to Film Studies and Drama. Her passion for writing, though, is what she focuses on now. In 2011, she released her debut horror novel, “The Banishing,” and then went on to publish “Obsessed” and “The Shift.” These novels were published with Double Dragon Publishing and Damnation Books. She has also released several more called “The Redwood Lodge” and “Nails,” but the list grows further.
Fiona also enjoys writing articles and has written for “Paranormal Underground Magazine,” “Pinched Literary Magazine,” “Supernatural Magazine” and also runs her own website, which contains various selections of her articles, interviews and reviews.
In September of 2015, Fiona signed a contract with Media Bitch Literary Agency where she is now represented. She has recently finished several short stories and is working on her new novel, The Risen, which she hopes to release in 2016.
Fiona currently lives with her husband, Matthew, and her unruly ginger cat, Oscar.
Twitter: @angel_devil982
Facebook Author Page
Sara Brooke, Author
How do you define horror and what drew you to it?
Horror is anything that defies the norm and makes a person uncomfortable. It is truly a subjective thing and that’s why it is such a fascinating topic. Some people are horrified by spiders, while others are horrified at the idea of having to go somewhere that is extremely crowded. To write good horror novels, you really have to tap into the subtle things that horrify people and sometimes those topics are unlikely and not easily discovered by the naked eye.
What sub-genre(s) do you write in?
My novels run the gamut of supernatural horror, suspense, mystery, erotic horror “I’ve been labeled Horrotica” by some, and there’s even a bit of Zombie/Medical Gore thrown in for good measure.
What is your personal favorite part of writing or reading horror?
I write what I enjoy. So, the ability to entertain while expressing the darkness within my mind is a true thrill. The escape into the dark underbelly of our reality keeps you on your toes. J
Sara Brooke, Biography
Sara Brooke is a horror and suspense novelist living in South Florida. A lifelong avid reader of all things scary, Sara’s childhood dream was to write horror books that force readers to sleep with their lights on.
Her first novel, “Still Lake,” was released Spring 2012 and she’s published many more since then. Sara’s influences and favorite authors include Bentley Little, John Saul, William Blackstone, and Joe McKinney.
You can learn about Sara, and see her book bibliography, online at www.sarabrooke.com.
Lori R. Lopez, Author, Poet, Artist, Actress, Activist
How do you define horror and what drew you to it?
Horror for me encompasses a lifelong attraction to the macabre, to eerieness and spooky fun. It’s part of me. The genre is about very strong emotions like apprehension, fear, wonder. I am drawn to the tenseness and underlying tingle of anticipation, as well as the darkness. I’m not into the really gory stuff, but I do enjoy an edgy quality. I like old-fashioned horror, also humorous or offbeat terror. I think it can include a broad range of elements . . . as long as they combine to create the atmosphere of a horrifying or ghastly, even grotesque situation.
What sub-genre(s) do you write in?
I like to write many types of Horror, from Dark Verse to Weird. It goes so well with comedy, with fantasy, with psychological suspense and thrills. I have written Monster Horror, Y.A. Horror, Historical Horror, Sci-Fi Horror, Eco Horror, Feminist Horror, even Epic Horror. The category lends itself to such a range of approaches. It’s kind of unlimited.
What is your personal favorite part of writing or reading horror?
Writing it, I get to challenge myself through the characters by placing them in difficult or seemingly impossible circumstances. The ending might be a way of confronting and dealing with anxieties in my own life or from my past. It might be a warning to others, a statement or my point of view.
Reading, it’s very similar. But I have no control, whereas when I write I do most of the time. Except when the story takes over and goes where it wants or the characters do as they please. That can happen.
Lori R. Lopez, Biography
Lori R. Lopez wears many hats, literally and otherwise. She dips her pen in Speculative Fiction, Horror, Fantasy, and any number of genres combined. A resident of Southern California, she is an author, poet, artist, actress, songwriter, musician; also an activist for conservation, children and animal rights. You can find her “Poetic Reflections” column at Fairy Fly Entertainment, a website shared with two talented sons.
Lori has received various honors for her writing and art. She was named on an Examiner.com list of “92 HORROR AUTHORS YOU NEED TO READ RIGHT NOW” for WOMEN IN HORROR MONTH 2014, and was featured on Horror Addicts and Promote Horror.com for WOMEN IN HORROR MONTH 2015. She unapologetically takes pride in creatively bending and reshaping the rules of writing when it suits her style.
Lori is the author of THE DARK MISTER SNARK, ODDS AND ENDS: A DARK COLLECTION, CHOCOLATE-COVERED EYES, AN ILL WIND BLOWS, THE MACABRE MIND OF LORI R. LOPEZ, POETIC REFLECTIONS: THE QUEEN OF HATS, DANCE OF THE CHUPACABRAS, OUT-OF-MIND EXPERIENCES, THE FAIRY FLY, MONSTROSITIES, JUGULAR and more.
Her stories and verse have appeared on Hellnotes and Halloween Forevermore, Servante Of Darkness and Verto Publishing; in THE HORROR ZINE MAGAZINE, THE SIRENS CALL E-Zine and anthologies such as JOURNALS OF HORROR: FOUND FICTION, DEAD HARVEST, HWA POETRY SHOWCASE VOLUME II, TERROR TRAIN I and II, TOYS IN THE ATTIC: A COLLECTION OF EVIL PLAYTHINGS, CURSED CURIOSITIES, CELLAR DOOR III: ANIMALS (Editor’s Choice Award winner), BONES II, UNDEAD LEGACY, GHOSTS: REVENGE, WE ARE DUST AND SHADOW, INDIANA HORROR REVIEW 2014, MIRAGES: TALES FROM AUTHORS OF THE MACABRE, MASTERS OF HORROR: DAMNED IF YOU DON’T, DARLINGS OF DECAY, I BELIEVE IN WEREWOLVES, THIRSTY ARE THE DAMNED, and SCARE PACKAGE: 14 TALES OF TERROR. Fifteen of Lori’s poems were published for an anthology titled IN DARKNESS WE PLAY.
LINKS to a couple of her latest books:
ODDS AND ENDS: A DARK COLLECTION E-Book
Where to Find Lori:
The Scary Reviews 