Nate asked Alexandra Sokoloff:

Hi, Alexandra. Thank you for taking questions. Is there a specific author or authors that inspired you to write supernatural/horror themed books? And are there any contemporary horror authors that you think people should be reading?

Alexandra Sokoloff Hey Nate! Wow, how long do you have? :) It seems like all I read as a child was supernatural and horror (and some mysteries and sf). My dad was a huge fan and had all the classics, so I grew up on Poe, Christie, LeFanu, Bradbury, Saki, Shelley, Stoker... you get the picture.

I read everything Stephen King wrote, too, and early Thomas Harris. But the authors who really influenced my own horror writing were Shirley Jackson, Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Daphne du Maurier - women who write psychological horror from a specifically feminine point of view. I think women have a lot to say about horror - we live it on a much more intimate, daily basis than most men (in non-warring countries) do.

As for contemporary horror, I think Mo Hayder has written some of the most chilling books I've ever read, crossing crime just a hint of the possibly supernatural - which is of course my favorite combination. I've reread most of her books but can't even bear to revisit The Treatment, it's so raw. Tana French is brilliant at this, too, though less horrific. I loved Dan Simmons' The Terror. And Sarah Waters' The Little Stranger, for a more Gothic read.

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