Do you have you a reason for doing so?

 

The main reason why I try other genres is to accommodate submission calls or competitions.

 

What genres do you read? Is it all horror or have you eclectic tastes?

I’m an English teacher so I have to read a variety of genres as part of my job, but I always pick a horror novel or short story collection to relax – nothing else holds my interest like horror does. I think there is a depth to horror that many people miss – most horror books I’ve read have an exploration of the human condition at their heart. The existential terror of realising we know absolutely nothing about what life is and why we’re here forms the very foundation of many a horror story.

How much do you value reading the work of other authors?

It is essential to read the work of other horror writers. I find it insulting that someone would pick up a pen and write a horror story without familiarising themselves with the horror greats. I think it’s equally essential to keep up to date with new horror writers – recent additions to my bookcase have been Chelsea G. Summers, Ross Jeffery, Catriona Ward and Lucie McKnight Hardy. I am always inspired and motivated when I’ve read something that makes me wish I’d written it.

Does reading other people’s work affect the way you write?

I’m always learning from great horror writers (and sometimes reading a particularly bad story can be just as illuminating).

What are your favourite and/or least favourite tropes?

I can’t stand the man saves stupid/weak/ vulnerable woman trope for obvious reasons. I think the days of the ‘slutty’ girl getting what she deserves are well and truly over, and if they’re not, there should be a communal book burning of any books that have this cliched trope within their pages. Serial killers pursuing their female quarry, love triangles, women alone in the house when the baddie comes are other cliches that bore me. (Wow – I honestly didn’t think I was as opinionated as this!) However, I think that creepy kid/doll/clown tropes are always fun and even though the naïve couple moving into a haunted/possessed house has been done to death, it’s still a great story.

Which authors inspire you? 

As well as the writers mentioned above, I am inspired by the works of Edgar Allen Poe, Anne Rice, Shirley Jackson, Ramsey Campbell, Neil Gaiman, Ray Bradbury, Poppy Z. Brite and Kathe Koja. I’m reading A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers at the moment which is deliciously horrible!
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