Rebecca Besser's Blog, page 69

Meet Christine Sutton - WiHM

Bec: Welcome to my blog, and thank you for participating in WiHM 2013! Please start out by telling everyone a little bit about yourself…
 
Christine Sutton: Thank you for having me! I am thrilled to be a part of it. I am a horror writer, but horror tends to find its way into every aspect of my life. I am a custom cake designer, as well as an artist. I live in the dead center of California with my husband.

Bec: What do you absolutely love about creating in the horror genre? Why?

Christine Sutton: I love the broadness. I love that horror is an almost all encompassing genre. It allows me the freedom to express myself in so many different ways without the potential of being ostracized by 'purists'. There is no such thing as 'pure horror', because fear is different for everyone.
 
Oh, and I also love to be scared! In turn, I absolutely love scaring the hell out of other people.

Bec: What’s your favorite horror creature? Why?

Christine Sutton: I actually pondered this question for quite some time. It has to be a three-way tie. Pennywise the Clown, Jaws and Alien.
 
Pennywise, because he is a sort of tailored monster. Whatever scares you the most, that is what he will be.

Aliens (Of course, from the movie…Alien) because they are just freaking scary as hell. Enough said.

Jaws, because I have always had an almost irrational fear of things in the ocean that can eat you. The thought of being eaten alive ranks right up there with being roasted alive, which is pretty high up on my list of things to never do.

Bec: Blood splatter or smears?
 
Christine Sutton: Smears, definitely. Splatter implies quickness. Smears imply the possible hope of an escape or the possibility of surviving. Hope, I think is the cruelest thing in any horrific situation.

Bec: Have you been received well in the horror community?

Christine Sutton: I have been extremely well received. The horror community is very supportive and, in most cases, exceptionally nice. Almost too nice. It makes me a bit suspicious, in fact.
 
Actually, the community is wonderful. There are, of course some exceptions, but overall they are wonderful. There are still a few stigmas attached to females in the genre, but several of us are working to break the misconception that women can't write amazingly gritty horror.

Bec: What do you create to infest the world with horror?
 
Christine Sutton: I am a horror author. I write about everything from serial killers to ghosts, to killer bugs, to werewolves and evil witches. My concentration would be serial killers.
 
I am also a sculptor and artist. I make horror inspired jewelry and sculpture, as well as book related accessories.

Bec: What inspires your creativity?

Christine Sutton: Anything and everything. The most innocuous item or situation can easily become the inspiration for a story or a sculpture. I have written stories around single words or a regular mundane object that I just happened to notice at the time. Whatever catches my attention.

Bec: Is there anything I haven’t asked you about that you would like to share?
 
Christine Sutton: I would love to take a moment to dole out a bit of praise to some of my fellow sisters in horror. I am so honored to be a part of the horror community on the whole, but especially to be a female in the community and in such amazing company. Women like Jaime Johnesee, Suzi M, Billie Sue Mosiman, and of course, yourself along with many others are such an inspiration to me. I certainly hope that we have somehow paved the way for more women to let their horror flags fly.


Find more about Christine!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChristineSuttonAuthor

Her website: http://christinesutton.webs.com/

 

 

Meet Kizzy Lee - WiHM

Bec: Welcome to my blog, and thank you for participating in WiHM 2013! Please start out by telling everyone a little bit about yourself…
 
Kizzy: Hi, and thank you very much for inviting me, I am 47 married with four beautiful children and two dogs and happy with my life. I love to write and I indulge in drawing, painting, sewing, and many other activities at every given opportunity, my hands like to be kept busy creating.

Bec: What do you absolutely love about creating in the horror genre? Why?
 
Kizzy: The one thing I love the most about writing horror is that it is the one subject I can have full freedom for my imagination, I also love to write or read a good story that has me both scared and obsessed at the same time, I love be frightened yet having to keep looking or reading because I need to know what happens, I am not a fan of gory horror, my stories will never fall into the slash 'em up subgenre of horror, but I love psychological horror, I absolutely love situations that are sinister, scary just by what you think might happen, to me a good story is taking something ordinary and turning it on its head and then being surprised by something unexpected. I haven't really analyzed why so much but I would guess I like to be taken out of the comfort zone I love the element of surprise, not jumpy, to me that's rather a cheap thrill it's easy to, for instance, throw a dead body at the audience and yes they will all jump, but it's predictable and overused. I much prefer to see a typically safe and comfortable situation being turned into something that shows that even in these comfortable areas we are not safe from scary and unexpected happenings.

Bec: What’s your favorite horror creature? Why?
 
Kizzy: For a long time I loved the slender man idea it was unfortunately not taken to its ideal though I think that was part of my writing Saudade at the beginning I have even put inspired by the slender man myth, because I felt it important that anyone who read it knew, I remember when I first came across him and was hooked and I obsessively read everything I could find and then in one forum where I had searched any mention of him I found a statement stating it was all a hoax and I was gutted! obviously I knew it had become something of celebrity and therefore many would distort the story but part of me wanted him to have been borne from legend or myth or even old wives tales anything but when it turned out to be the idea of a bloke who entered two pictures in a competition of some sort well I was very dismayed, my full respect to that bloke though he invented a true urban myth, from his imagination came a worldwide hit and I would be very proud if I was him. After him would be anything ghost like, I love the idea that there could still be a whole world we have no control over and especially when poltergeists get involved then we have a world we do not control or understand and can do nothing about, for once the human is not all powerful and that's great.
 
Bec: Blood splatter or smears?
 
Kizzy: Neither, the correct term is spatter, my oldest daughter is studying forensic science and never fails to correct me, but I am not keen on gore, to me it is too human, I prefer ghosts and the unexplained, that is not to say I haven't used it in some of my stories, I have, but I prefer to be challenged psychologically I prefer to be made to think about situations that are either hard to explain or would be out of the ordinary.
 
Bec: Have you been received well in the horror community?
 
Kizzy: I am not aware of any community as such, I have only found one other horror writer so far that reached out to me and have not had any chance to either talk with them properly or read their work, I am still very new to being an author and I have to say in the blog world I have been very lucky and met the most wonderful people, I have also been quite lucky and met some nice people through facebook and they are just about all authors but in my experience the world seems to be over run with erotica writers and I often feel out of place.
 
Bec: What do you create to infest the world with horror?
 
Kizzy: A feeling of auto suspicion, ^_^ I just try to find an uneasy and unexplainable or unpredictable edge to every day situations enough to make a person think, or even better worry, of course if I can make them run screaming from the room then I am chuffed to bits.

Bec: What inspires your creativity?
 
Kizzy: Everything, most of my stories are either already in my head or I find triggers in everything, I have to keep notebooks in my bag or next to my bed to write down everything, even though I am still editing Saudade I have six other books outlines all scribbled down waiting to be written, if I find I have had a hard day and I need to relax and find the right head space needed to write then I have collections of inspiring pictures that I look at (I never use music in fact I like it to be very quiet when I write); usually atmospheric photographs of trees and mist or graveyards, especially old Victorian pictures, I have collected every memento mori picture I could ever find, I adore all things Victorian and the atmosphere of foggy Victorian London streets is enough to set me off scribbling stories all night.

Bec: Is there anything I haven’t asked you about that you would like to share?
 
Kizzy: Well I always like to talk about my favorite authors both of whom are nothing to do with horror, I adore Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams, and I own every book they have produced, both have written books which I can read again and again and still love them, I have collected Douglas Adams from being a very young girl and one of my only nice memories of when I was a child is listening to the radio show of hitchhikers guide to the galaxy and loved the books so much I bought more than one version just to have the different covers or notes etc, and even though they do not write horror I still feel they influenced my style and voice of my work. They both address situations that are unusual and they find humor in them- which is brilliant, I find horror and that is good too. I also adore Lewis Carroll and own every book he wrote, even the ones with math problems, again it is a world of fantasy and I felt lucky growing up with a world I could escape too that would put in front of me unexpected and surreal situations I constantly have a feeling of being Alice falling down the rabbit hole and if I could emulate that feeling in my stories I would be the happiest girl on the planet.

 

Meet Rebecca Snow - WiHM

Bec: Welcome to my blog, and thank you for participating in WiHM 2013! Please start out by telling everyone a little bit about yourself…

Rebecca: I live in a 1940s bungalow in Virginia with a collection of inherited geriatricats. I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. My super power is invisibility, just ask anyone. I tend to disappear quite easily. At the moment, I feel a bit more broken than usual.

Bec: What do you absolutely love about creating in the horror genre? Why?

Rebecca: Being able to use everyday, run of the mill objects to scare the willies out of people. As for why I love it? I was born this way.

Bec: What’s your favorite horror creature? Why?

Rebecca: My dad. No, really. He’s the most wonderfully scary creature I know. On Halloween when I was 5, Mom dressed me as some innocuous girly thing (perhaps Raggedy Ann, perhaps Betsy Ross, I don’t remember), and I led my dad around by a chain while trick or treating. She made him up to look as though his face had melted. We even went into one of the local convenience stores and had a blast scaring the cashier and all the people in line. There’s more to the story, but it will remain campfire family lore.

Bec: Blood splatter or smears?

Rebecca: Definitely smears. Splatter evokes violence. Smears speak of lasting pain.

Bec: Have you been received well in the horror community?
 
Rebecca: I don’t know. I haven’t checked. It would be nice to say, “Yes, they love me!” But I can’t because I have no idea if they do.

Bec: What do you create to infest the world with horror?
 
Rebecca: Nothing. Everything horrible is already out there. I just have to find it, collect it, and paste it together in story form or an occasional photograph.

Bec: What inspires your creativity?

Rebecca: Everything as long as I take the time to see it.

Bec: Is there anything I haven’t asked you about that you would like to share?

Rebecca: I’ve got an online journal thing online cemeteryflower.blog.com and a twitter feed @cemeteryflower. I even have a Facebook page to like. Look for the bloody handprint.

Meet Chantal Noordeloos - WiHM

Bec: Welcome to my blog, and thank you for participating in WiHM 2013! Please start out by telling everyone a little bit about yourself…

Chanti: My name is Chantal Noordeloos and I’m a Dutch writer, wife and proud mother of one future super villain, who is now hiding in the shape of a very cute five (almost six) year old girl. I am rather new to writing (of course I dabbled my whole life, but I have only recently decided to turn it into my profession) So far I write mostly short stories and a bit of flash fiction, but I am working on my debut novel as we speak. My work has mostly been featured in anthologies and magazines.

Though not all my stories belong to the horror genre, it tends to be my ‘go to’ genre. It’s where I feel most comfortable.

Bec: What do you absolutely love about creating in the horror genre? Why?

Chanti: I think I want to ‘pay it forward’ when it comes to fright. Being afraid is a powerful emotion and if my work scares people, I see that as a big reward. I believe all writers would like to get some form of emotions from their readers. I like to be scared too.

For me it’s that I am a masochist. It is that simple. I am the biggest scaredy cat out there, (though in Dutch we are called Angst Bunnies) and somehow I am fascinated by horror. You know that person who misses half of the horror film because they were hiding behind a pillow? That’s me. I am the infamous girl who cried: “Tell me what is going on?!”and “Is it over yet??”
 
Yet there is something very satisfying about being afraid. And it is something that I like to share with others.


Bec: What’s your favorite horror creature? Why?

Chanti: I am particularly partial to the “creepy little girl.” She comes in many shapes and sizes, but there is something truly awful about innocence gone dark. I especially love little girls with 19th century dresses and ringlets in their hair. They feature often in my stories and I love it when I find them in the stories of others.

Bec: Blood splatter or smears?

Chanti: Smears… far more sinister. Even better: panicked blood handprints. That indicates that someone died slowly.

Bec: Have you been received well in the horror community?
 
Chanti: I’m rather new to the writing world, so my audience isn’t that vast yet. So far people have called me sick and twisted, so I take that as a compliment.

Bec: What do you create to infest the world with horror?

Chanti: For now I have only created short stories and flash fiction in the horror genre. I am working on a novel right now, which technically isn’t horror, but will still have some horror elements (I just can’t help myself) Another part of the world that I have infested with horror, is the LARP (live action roleplay) Together with my husband I run an event called “the Awakening” where we try our best to terrify people for a weekend of fun.

Bec: What inspires your creativity?

Chanti: Anything really. It can be obvious things like: “Reading a book” or “Watching a scary movie,” but I can also get inspired by the little things. I can even get inspired by a remark someone makes, by a picture I saw on the internet or by walking to the bathroom in the middle of the night in the dark. Today I was inspired by the storm moving the swings in our garden. One swing was moving faster than the other. That’s a story for me right there.

My rule to write horror is that I write what frightens me. If I have to turn on all the lights at night after I have written a story, I feel more confident that other people will find it scary as well.

Bec: Is there anything I haven’t asked you about that you would like to share?

Chanti: It’s nice to have a little light shone on the underrepresented. Being a writer is not an easy job and you have to deal with a lot of bumps in the road. Projects such as WiHM are a lot of fun. We get to see other writers who have similar interests. Also it’s a fantastic feeling to be interviewed, really gives a spit and polish to the old ego.






A short story by Chantal Noodeloos:

A taste of darkness

There was a time that I feared the darkness. Now, I welcome it.

The darkness means I don’t have to see what I have become. There is silence in the darkness, and a certain calm. It gives me the opportunity to reflect on the life I once lived. There is nothing I wouldn’t do to go back to that life, but it is a life lost. I will never be the same. Not after what I suffered through. Not even if I were to make it out of here alive; which I won’t. I am not going to survive this, of this I am certain. To be honest, I don’t think I want to survive this. ...

Finish reading this story on Chantal's blog: http://www.chantalnoordeloos.info/?page_id=332

 

Copyrights to story owned by Chantal Noodeloos, 2013. All rights reserved.

Meet Berenice Wakefield - WiHM

Bec: Welcome to my blog, and thank you or participating in WiHM 2013! Please start out by telling everyone a little bit about yourself...

Berenice: Thank you for including me, it's an honour to be interviewed for WiHM 2013. My name's Berenice Wakefield, I'm 23 and I live in Yorkshire. I write horror books for children and horror poetry for adults. Poe and Lovecraft are my heroes, and in 2012 my poetry was selected to be bricked inside a wall of the Poe Cottage as part of a restoration project.


Bec: What do you absolutely love about creating in the horror genre? Why?
 
Berenice: I love monsters, they're definitely the reason I enjoy the horror genre so much. The misunderstood ones and the ones that are just evil. It's like an escape from every day life.

Bec: What's your favourite horror creature? Why?
 
Berenice: Zombies, no question. They're so horrifying. Rotting corpses chasing you through the streets? I don't think anything could be more frightening. There's so much creative freedom there, too. There are so many different types of zombie, so many theories... Thery're just so much fun. I always wanted a Zombie friend when I was a kid. I still do, to be honest.

Bec: Blood splatters or smears?
 
Berenice: Oh, blood splatters, definitely. Nothing says 'Run. Run very, very fast.' like blood splatters everywhere.

Bec: Have you been well received in the horror community?
 
Berenice: I have, everyone's been really kind and supportive, my work has been featured in anthologies like The Spirit of Poe and magazines like Gorgeous Freaks Magazine. Everyone I've spoken too has been more than happy to spread the word about my writing. I'm really thankful for it.

Bec:What do you create to infest the world with horror?
 
Berenice: I write Children's horror books, but writing horror poetry for adults is definitely my favourite thing to do. I have a series of poems about Monsters that can be found in various anthologies and magazines such as The Art of Darkness and Autoeroticasphyxium Zine. Granted, usually the horror in my poems come from the humans doing awful things to the monsters, but I kind of think that if Monsters existed, we would be crueller to them than they would to us.

Bec:What inspires your creativity?

Berenice: Lots of things. I do love graveyards. Cliche, but true. I love the Sea, too. The last time I was in Wales I found a old graveyard in a really quiet spot on a hill overlooking the sea. I took so many photo's, whenever I'm stuck for ideas I look at them, they never fail to spark my creativity.

Bec:Is there anything else that I haven't asked you about that you would like to share?
 
Berenice: I don't think so, I think I've pretty much covered everything. Thank you again for interviewing me!




A poem by Berenice:

Restless Spirits

No longer do I wish to toil beneath these eeries groves
Or want to see the restless spirits wander to and fro
The darkness sets and I am weak- too tired to stay out in this cold
I only wish to venture home back to my bed now I am old

The spirits flood the graveyard both in daylight and at night
Visible only to those who have the second sight
And even then they’re easy to mistake for a tombstone
Until the angel starts to move slowly or weep and groan

They pine over the living- over children and lost love
The sad and hollow spirits who choose to reside above
But there are those who do not rise for fear they will see
Those who they loved the most in life- their friends and family
They weep in silence but the sound! It sounds so loudly above ground
And as I work it scares me so to think of those rotting below

The bereaved come and how they cry! With weeping spirit by their side
They do not know they stand so close to those poor desperate wretched ghosts

They think their visits please the dead while they sleep soundly in dirt beds
Instead it tortures them to see those that they loved but had to leave

My bones stopped digging long ago
They’re silent- buried in some hole
In death I work and toil still-
I long to rest but never will

(c) Berenice Wakefield 2012

 

Meet Courtney Rene - WiHM

Bec: Welcome to my blog, and thank you for participating in WiHM 2013! Please start out by telling everyone a little bit about yourself…

Courtney Rene: Thank you so much for having me! What do you need to know about me? I’m a chick. I am a writer. That stuff you probably knew. I’m also a wife and mother. I write fantasy and I horror. I read fantasy and horror. Actually I read just about anything I can get my hands on, but I prefer fantasy and horror. If you want more specifics, go to my blog: www.ctnyrene.blogspot.com. There is a plethora of information there.

Bec: What do you absolutely love about creating in the horror genre? Why?
 
Courtney Rene: The no holds bar expectation of the horror genre. There are no rules to horror other than scary. It can be bloody or all in your head scary. It’s a fun trip into the darkness of the world where in the end, even with the chills still running down your spine, you know that you are safe…or are you?

Bec: What’s your favorite horror creature? Why?

Courtney Rene: Demons. Why? Well, why not? There are so many different aspects to a demon and many more that I just haven’t had the time to think up or research yet. There are the demons of hell. There are the fallen angel demons. There are the ethereal ones, or the hoofed and furred. The possession types and the aggravating ones that just want to annoy. They are fun to write but also so much fun to research. How can you not love them?

Bec: Blood splatter or smears?

Courtney Rene: Splatter. You can get more coverage and more dimension and maybe even emotion from a splatter, like when it polka dots a face full of fear or anger, or when it drips down a wall. Yeah, the splatter is such an eerie effect.

Bec: Have you been received well in the horror community?

Courtney Rene: So far. Nothing bad, yet. Give me time though, I am sure I will offend someone one of these days. It’s in my nature. In all seriousness, the horror community is fantastic. We all want the same things in our reading of it. As long as we give the readers what they want, then you or me or whoever the writer is, should be good to go.

Bec: What do you create to infest the world with horror?

Courtney Rene: Darkness. I create fear within the darkness. I have an unreasonable fear of my own, of the shadows. I fear the things that move in the night or the things that I can’t see in the black emptiness. I write of those elements that live within the shadows. They wigs me out and gives me the chills. I know I’ve got a decent story going when my feet are tucked up under me safe where nothing can get them, and the little hairs on the back of my neck are standing up at attention.

Bec: What inspires your creativity?

Courtney Rene: I have a bit of a quirky imagination and I tend to freak myself out with simple things, thanks to a real belief in the paranormal (thanks Mom). Creaks in the night or shadows that move in an eerie fashion, bats taking off in the glooming, my brain will take off and weave a tale of terror just for me. Some are good, some are stupid, and some are down right freaky. Those are the ones I write.

Bec: Is there anything I haven’t asked you about that you would like to share?

Courtney Rene: Not that I can think of. Just another quick thanks again for having me with you and letting me take part in your event.

Links for Courtney Rene:
Blog: www.ctnyrene.blogspot.com
FB: www.facebook.com/Ctnyrene
FB Page: www.facebook.com/pages/Shadow-Dancer/164433473646449
Twitter: twitter.com/ctnyrene

My Turn To Deal: A Poem by Rebecca Besser - WiHM

My Turn to Deal by Rebecca Besser

Don’t smile at me with that mocking light in your eyes.
I’m tired of your games, of all your tricks and your lies.
Your cruelty washes over me and my innocent heart dies.
Today you will pay for it all, and we’ll hear your cries!

Does the sight of the knife in my hand excite you?
You laugh because you think you know what I’ll do.
Your eyes shift nervously as I step forward, one step, two...
I’m smirking, but inside I’m raging–this side of me is new.

Don’t run, you fucking coward! Turn and face what you’ve made!
Did you just realize I want your blood, and not mine, on the blade?
After all your bullshit and abuse, I still loved you and stayed!
Now my pain driven vengeance, my revenge, will not be swayed!

You’re cornered! How does it feel to be in my place?
The one where torture will be dealt at a extremely slow pace?
I have to say, I’m enjoying the look of fear on your face!
Is this rush of power what you felt? Adrenaline laced?

Is the blade cold? Did you feel that, you little prick?
Don’t worry, the wounds won’t show, isn’t that the trick?
Injuries no one can see–you thought you were so slick.
They may not see the wounds, but your blood will run thick!

With each thrust into your flesh, I glory in your terrified screams.
Your tears and blood blend together in flowing, dancing streams.
Joyous relief and pleasure coarse through me and my heart beams.
I never knew I’d be capable of these demented, soiled extremes...

Standing over your prone, quivering body–knife dripping your blood.
Relief and peace wash over my soul in an intense, healing flood.
I dug a grave for you, far away in the woods, in the darkest mud...
Unmarked graves are reserved for such as you–the worst of life’s crud.

No one even suspected me–I’m too timid, innocent, and shy.
I didn’t even have to try too hard to convince them of my lie.
And as time went dragging slowly forward and weeks went by,
they stopped looking for you and I went on with life, breathing a relieved sigh.





Hi, I'm Rebecca Besser and this is my blog. As you've prolly gathered... I'm hosting a Women in Horror Month event, introducing you to a variety of talented women involved in the horror genre. Yes, I'm one of them! LOL Above I've shared a poem of mine that was published in a 2012 issue of The Stray Branch Literary mag/ezine. I hope you've enjoyed it.

I'm not going to bore you with all my details, but I will tell you where you can find out more about me if you'd like to: my website. To go there click on my picture!

If you'd like to find me on social media sites:

My Facebook Page

Me on Twitter

And, since today is my bday, I've decided to give everyone who has visited and read this post a present (Feb 6 only)! My short story, "Hall of Twelve," is free to download from Amazon today!

Link: http://www.amazon.com/Hall-of-Twelve-ebook/dp/B00B14OLD6/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1

UK Link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hall-of-Twelve-ebook/dp/B00B14OLD6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1360128845&sr=8-1

**NOTE: The free promo is on Pacific time, so it may take a couple hours after this post goes live for the "free" to kick in. Please be patient.***

Also, I was going to answer the same questions I've been, and will continue, to ask the lovely scary ladies who have been gracious enough to join my event, but then I decided that wouldn't be any fun. I've asked each of them to send me 1-3 questions that I'll answer on the last day in Feb to wrap up the event. Stop by and see what they've asked me - I'm thinking it could get interesting.

Thank you for stopping by and for supporting amazing women in horror!




Copyrights owned by Rebecca Besser (poem) & WiHM (logo), 2012/2013.
 All rights reserved.

Meet Kim Sofia - WiHM

Bec: Welcome to my blog, and thank you for participating in WiHM 2013! Please start out by telling everyone a little bit about yourself…

Kim: I’ve loved horror most of my life, my grandfather said he used to rock me to sleep to old b&w horror flicks. A few years ago, I was given a book called Creepy Cute Crochet. It had patterns for amigurumi monsters, and since I loved monsters, my friend thought it perfect for me. The patterns are for what I call “weebles,” the round bottomed dolls, and I made 4 of those, not quite like the pattern, and decided they needed real legs. Then a friend commissioned me to make some Left4Dead zombies for his fiancé for Valentine’s Day, because nothing says ‘I love you’ like zombies, I guess. I kept getting folks asking me to make zombies of them, so I did, and got a bit of money, and folks loved them. Then a vendor for ZombiCon in Seattle in 2011 wanted to sell some, so I made 75, and I was completely hooked. After making some zombies I made other monsters, and that’s kind of where I am now. I love to make monsters, it gives me creepy-happiness.



Bec: What do you absolutely love about creating in the horror genre? Why?

Kim: I love horror, it is the one genre that makes me happy always. Every time I look at a doll, I wonder what the creepy version is, I kind of see the zombies and monsters I make of people as the creepier version of them. I used to draw on my dolls, save dolls from the bin that someone threw away because it was missing an arm, I used to have a small bag of extra arms and legs… When I’m making zombies, my favorites are the ones I get to make “look” like zombies, with wounds, exposed brains and bits missing, I LOVE THOSE!



Bec: What’s your favorite horror creature? Why?

Kim: When I was 5 I had a dream in which my house was on fire, and I couldn’t get out. Frankenstein’s monster walked up the stairs and carried me to safety, I think he’s my most favorite monster.



Bec: Blood splatter or smears?

Kim: Definitely smears, slightly thick ones.



Bec: Have you been received well in the horror community?

Kim: I have been, which always amazes me, and I am so appreciative! Still in my head sometimes is, “No one is going to like that.” But that has never happened, and I feel very lucky!



Bec: What do you create to infest the world with horror?

Kim: I crochet dolls, most of them have wire so they can pose and hold stuff. I mostly make zombies, most often zombie dolls of specific folks,people send me pictures of themselves or the recipient and ask me to make them a zombie. I also make some zombie animals, and other monsters, including a Frankenstein’s monster, the old b&w version, and other movie characters. Some of my movie characters come with weapons, the ones from the movie, so I make small knives, hatchets, or machetes, depending on the character. Some of the characters I make are more fantasy than horror, but there’s almost always some dark aspect to the character.



Bec: What inspires your creativity?

Kim: Other horror art, painting and drawings, I read as many horror novels and short stories as I can, it’s kind of all I read, music, horror flicks. I have a steady diet of an hour of reading most mornings, and horror movies on while I work.



Bec: Is there anything I haven’t asked you about that you would like to share?
 
Kim: (nothing, I’m cool)




To find more of Kim's creations, visit her Facebook page: Kim's Sticks and Strings

Meet Crystal Connor - WiHM

Bec: Welcome to my blog, and thank you for participating in WiHM 2013! Please start out by telling everyone a little bit about yourself…

Crystal: Thank you so much for your time today and congratulations on becoming one of Women in Horrors new ambassadors. That’s awesome. Ok about me, umm well basically I love Monsters, Bad Guys, Rogue Scientific Experiments, Jewelry; Sky High-High Heeled Shoes & Unreasonably priced Hang Bags. That’s pretty much sums me up in a nutshell!

Bec: What do you absolutely love about creating in the horror genre? Why?

Crystal: The first thing people notice is that I always have a strong female lead who, 90% of the time is a woman of color, another thing that has become a signature of my work is not clearly defining which character is the true villain and which one is the hero. I don’t intentionally pick up my pen with a woman in mind but I always muddy the waters when it comes writing stories that forces the reader to pick between the lesser of two evils or leaving a reader feeling uncomfortable and manipulated … those are the actual words of reviewer, btw =D

Bec: What’s your favorite horror creature? Why?

Crystal: I love good old fashion monsters but the creatures I love most are people. Monsters are restricted per se by their abilities but the atrociousness unleashed by man is only limited by his imagination.

Bec: Blood splatter or smears?

Crystal: It depends. I’m not a gore hound but if the story calls for it, then it doesn’t bother me. For example the 2007 French film À l'intérieur is extremely brutal but is has to be, there was no other way around it, and remains after all this time on my top ten all favorite horror movies list. But if there’s blood splatter all over the screen because someone broke a nail then I don’t take it seriously and loss interest pretty quickly.

Bec: Have you been received well in the horror community?

Crystal: I think very well. Slowly but surely I am growing my fan base and for the most part the reviews for all of my books so far are really encouraging.

Bec: What do you create to infest the world with horror?

Crystal: Easy breezy … strong female leads and ambiguous villains and heros!

Bec: What inspires your creativity?

Crystal: Every single thing: parts of an overheard conversation, the awesome unguarded things little kids say, the horrible way in which we as adults treat each other, a sentence read from a book. The list is never ending.

Bec: Is there anything I haven’t asked you about that you would like to share?

Crystal: Nope I can’t think of anything. I do want to thank you for your time today because I know how busy you are.

www.facebook.com/notesfromtheauthor 

www.wordsmithcrystalconnor.blogspot.com

The ‘Church’ responds to …And They All Lived Happily Ever After! 

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=507766482577074&set=t.100000311795084&type=3&theater

 

WiHM Kickoff - What it is!

www.womeninhorrormonth.com
www.facebook.com/WomenInHorrorMonth
womeninhorrormonth.tumblr.com


THE MISSION

Women in Horror Recognition Month (WiHM) assists underrepresented female genre artists in gaining opportunities, exposure, and education through altruistic events, printed material, articles, interviews, and online support. WiHM seeks to expose and break down social constructs and miscommunication between female professionals while simultaneously educating the public about discrimination and how they can assist the female gender in reaching equality.


THE VISION

A world wherein all individuals are equally given the opportunity to create, share, and exploit their concept of life, pain, and freedom of expression.

IT’S THE YEAR 2012, NOT THE 1950’s. IS THERE REALLY A NEED FOR WiHM?
Absolutely. Otherwise, WiHM would not exist. Women are still not offered the same pay and opportunities as their male colleagues in many industries, particularly the arts. Discrimination runs rampant in Hollywood and its very difficult for females (even well-known actresses) to get their films funded by major studios. Statistics prove that women are still not offered the same opportunities as men due to an array of reasons from discrimination to female professionals accepting less than they are worth in order to receive the same opportunities as their male colleagues.

In other parts of the world, women are still stoned to death for speaking their minds, excommunicated when they are sexually violated, and not offered proper education. Atrocities continue to happen that force the female gender to be subservient to a patriarchal system that tells them how to dress, who to marry, and what they should do with their lives. All discrimination must be exposed and obliterated for the female gender to truly achieve equality.

WiHM focuses on supporting the achievements of women who utilize the most extreme mirror available in storytelling: horror. We encourage women to explore and represent these horrors constructively, in positive environments.


WHAT ARE THE INDUSTRY’S STATISTICS?

• In the 1920s there were no more than 10 women working in Hollywood in leadership positions.
• In 2009, the mainstream film industry’s ratio was 16% women to 84% men.
• In 2011, women made up only 5% of directors working in Hollywood.
 

SO WiHM IS ALL ABOUT WOMEN. WHAT ABOUT MEN?

WiHM was created with no exclusion. Men play a vital part in the female gender reaching equality. There are many male WiHM Ambassadors and artists who choose to assist and work with professional and talented underrepresented females. Be a guiding example of a male who respects both genders equally.
 

WHAT CAN THE PUBLIC DO TO ASSIST WOMEN?

Personal Responsibility.

We all must take personal responsibility in our beliefs, values, and actions. Participating in positive, constructive environments that encourage and provide a safe platform for women to share and explore is vital.
Education.

Education is essential for both genders. Knowledge is power. Understanding history and where that puts us today politically and socially demonstrates how we are interpreting each other and ourselves.
Work with Women.

Finding professional females to work with in leadership positions is one of the most important actions you can take to assist the movement. Don’t just work with a female because of her gender, work with her because she has a lot to bring to the table.

Banish social constrictions.

Stereotyping, judging, cattiness, competitiveness, comparing, and gossip. All of these actions hurt both men and women. We are all on our own path in life, careers, and personal relationships. Both genders are encouraged to play into these cultural expectations when they are young, which can create judgment of those who are different. Stop it.

Be a WiHM Ambassador.

Every February, WiHM Ambassadors host charity events (blood drives, film screenings, art shows), write blogs and articles, conduct interviews, and create videos and podcasts for mass consumption. All of these events and content specifically represent and assist the underrepresented female genre artist and are for philanthrpopic reasons only. No profit is made from WiHM, or the Viscera organization.

Participate.

Go to the events, read the articles, watch the videos. Be conscious of the fact that you are consuming different perspectives of a movement that is assisting a struggle that women have experienced for at least the last four thousand years: equality. We have incredible potential right now to destroy discrimination. It deserves your attention.

Donate.

Donate to WiHM. All funds go directly into the organization to improve the events, materials, and outreach. WiHM needs the support of the public.

Support other organizations.

Organizations such as CARE, Women for Women International, RAINN, and WIF. All these organizations work hard all year round to assist women in achieving equality. Visit their websites and educate yourself.


THE BOARD

The Board of Directors for WiHM is comprised of women from all facets of the horror film industry, including WiHM founder Hannah Forman, Debbie Rochon, Jovanka Vuckovic, Heidi Honeycutt, Jen and Sylvia Soska, and Shannon Lark.


THE ORGANIZATION

WiHM is a service provided by the Viscera Organization, a 501(c)3 non profit organization expanding opportunities for contemporary female genre filmmakers and artists by raising awareness about the changing roles for women in the film industry.

www.viscerafilmfestival.com