I started writing at the age of 6. My first story was about a group of kids that stumbled onto a haunted house at the end of a cul-de-sac. It was my way of coping with growing up in a real haunted house. I’ve been writing horror ever since.
Q: What troupes do you like to explore in your writing?
Oh I love all of them. My recent collection is a love letter to tropes and monsters. I love exploring creepy houses: the scratching under the bed, the closet doors that should have been closed, the lights that flicker, the thing that lives under the stairs. Those are some of my favorites. I also love anything that deals with possession or losing control of one’s one body or faculties, ala the Exorcist.
Q: Inside your book, They Hide, what themes will readers find?
I explore a number of themes in They Hide: Short Stories to Tell in the Dark. Some of the most common are themes around powerlessness, grief, loss, losing control and of course, fear. I was processing a lot of my real fears around Covid when writing my collection in 2020, so those themes were the feelings I was struggling with at the time.
Q: Who are some of the characters that stuck with you as writer from your collection, They Hide?
Oh, I love me some Lucifer. He’s in the last story I wrote, and I had way too much fun writing him. He’s so suave, charming and cunning. He’s devilishly easy to write and I might need to go back and explore him further. I also fell in love with Spreckles, my little elf that saved the world by slaying Santa. Her strength and courage and overall badassness was a joy to uncover. I would love to see Spreckles action figures. That would be a thrill!
Q: Where did you find the inspiration for this short story collection?
My library is filled with themed anthologies around subjects like ghosts, hauntings, vampires, witches, zombies and the like. I love reading different authors take on well-worn tropes. I can read a collection of 40 different vampire stories, and they are all uniquely different. I often wondered if I were to contribute to one of these anthologies, what would my vampire story be, what could I say about zombies that I haven’t seen done before? So, this collection is my attempt to tell my version of all the monsters I love in a unique and hopefully compelling and entertaining way.
Q: How did you decide to become an author for horror stories?
See my first question above about growing up in a haunted house ;). I don’t think it was ever a conscious decision of, ‘I think I’m going to write horror’, it just sort of happened. I think it started primarily to do with my need to express what I was feeling at the time.
Growing up in a haunted house was truly terrifying and I wasn’t allowed to talk about it so I the only avenue I had was to write. I’ve been writing as a form of catharsis to process my fears ever since. My collection came out of my real fears during Covid. It was how I coped.
It empowered me to write about things where I got to control the characters, I controlled the outcome and the narrative. Writing has always been my safe place to work through my fears.
Q: Tell us, readers, about one of the short stories inside of They Hide that you enjoyed creating the most.
This is like asking me to pick a favorite child, impossible! I will say that the last story in the collection, The Gathering, was really fun to write. It takes place in a small hollow on the longest night of the year when ghouls and goblins gather around a campfire to tell their most horrific human stories. And there are prizes for the best stories told. There were several monsters and tropes I was able to squeeze into this mini-novella that I just love. I was able to explore different voices and narratives and I felt my writing muscles really flex with this last piece.
Q: How many short stories are inside of They Hide?
Lucky 13!
Q: How would you describe your writing style?
No idea honestly. I will leave it up to the readers to answer that. I will say that even though I write primarily fiction, I always try to include real authentic feelings and emotions. I want to pull the reader into a story and have them be invested in the outcome.
Q: What are the best parts of being a writer?
I get to create something out of nothing. It’s like magic. I look at a blank page and after a few hours, there’s a person, a place, a story and more. It’s a very powerful and God-like feeling to create these worlds and characters. Intoxicating really.
Q: Is it easier or harder to write short stories?
For me I love the short story. It’s my wheelhouse so it’s easier for me. The economy of words and space helps me to stay focused and get to the point! Writing full novels terrifies me.
Q: What other books are you currently working on at the moment?
I’m working on the 4th issue of my comic book series entitled Black Cat Chronicles: Portland’s Underground. This series are true tales of terror narrated by a mystical black cat. This current issue takes place in Portland, Oregon in the 1850s where several people were kidnapped and forced into slave labor onto ships for years at a time. It’s all true which makes it all the more terrifying.
I’m also working on a second collection of short stories themed around strong female heroes and villains as well as a few novellas.
Q: Where can readers find you and your books online?
The AR Critique 