Born: 25 November 1951 (age 65), Tunica, Mississippi, United States
Education: Rhodes College Awards: Anthony Award for Best Paperback Original, more Parents: Robert Harris, Jean Harris Show: True Blood Charlaine Harris Schulz (born November 25, 1951) is an American New York Times bestselling author who has been writing mysteries for thirty years. She was born and raised in the Mississippi River Delta area of the United States. She now lives in southern Arkansas with her husband and three children. Though her early work consisted largely of poems about ghosts and, later, teenage angst, she began writing plays when she attended Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. She began to write books a few years later. Her later books have been in the urban fantasy genre. She is best known for The Southern Vampire Mysteries series, which HBO later adapted for its dramatic series entitled True Blood. 1. Who has been the biggest influence on you as a female horror writer?
My biggest influence has been my horror loving family, particularly my husband. Halloween is the best time of year for most of our family. It's our favorite holiday and it's my husband's birthday. With that kind of birthday, horror and creepy things is sure to be high on the radar. The first horror story I ever wrote was a short story called "They're coming to get you, Brandon", a play on the famous line from "Night of the living Dead". Before that story, I wrote fantasy fiction. My husband challenged me to write a horror story and that was the beginning. All of my work is Dark Fantasy/ Paranormal/ Horror that always tries to focus on the humanity of the characters, despite how inhuman they can be. I have incorporated my love of all things creepy into my brand as an author, with a side of femininity. My stories are all "Sweetly Twisted". Hopefully my fellow Creepy Chicks and Gents approve. 2. Do you think the style of horror differs between women and men authors? E.g. psychological vs gore? I think the style between women and men horror authors definitely varies. It has been my experience that female horror tends to focus more on the emotion and the motivations while male created horror focuses more on the visceral and the senses. That's not to say women cannot write good gore, because we can and do. That is also not to say that men cannot skillfully wield emotion and create empathy in their readers, because they certainly do. Nobody should feel their art is confined by their gender or that they should not create this or that because of their gender. 3. Do you have a main subject that your write about? I.e. certain bad guys or themes? My most successful work to date has been my "Being Mrs. Dracula" series, which is obviously about vampires. I tend to write female leads who are equals to their male counterparts. I think the overlying theme of my work is Dark Fantasy/ Paranormal with a very distinctly female flavor. My stories are told by women but I strive to give souls and depth to all of my characters, good or evil, male or female. 4. If you could have dinner with a famous horror writer, living or dead, who would it be and why? I would want to have a huge, roundtable feast with the women of this anthology. These women inspire and encourage me somehow every day with their stories, their work ethic and talent, their business practices, sense of humor, and fearlessness. What more could you ask for? 5. Favorite female horror writer? Why? I don't think I can pick just one. It is my genre of choice. I love Skye Knizley and Lily Luchesi modern kickass heroines. My vampire stories are still set in the past, although we are moving forward through history. I love their modern spin views and big city settings. I think most people would have to give a nod to Anne Rice. She has written amazingly sexy, strong vampires for decades and has influenced millions, myself included. Another one of my favorite female horror authors is Carmilla Voiez. Her mix of darkness, horror, and sex appeal is irresistible. 1. Who has been the biggest influence on you as a female horror writer?
Kathryn Meyer Griffith. She publishes books similar to mine (lighter horror with paranormal elements and complex characters), she is an Indy author like me, has a solid reader base, and has been publishing her books for over 40 years (24 published books). To me, she is a real inspiration, because while Kate’s not a household name like Ann Rice, her level of success is far more realistic and obtainable, and she did it writing the kind of books I like. 2. Do you think the style of horror differs between women and men authors? E.g. psychological vs gore? No, not really. Maybe in the old days, but not anymore. I don’t think women feel as trapped by society’s expectations as they once did, and most authors (men and women alike) use writing to express their own inner voice, which is a reflection of the real person, something that has nothing to do with sex, sexual preference or physical characteristics. These days, writing is truly the great liberator. 3. Do you have a main subject that your write about? I.e. certain bad guys or themes? I call my stories Trick-or-Treat Thrillers because I try to keep a Halloween flavor to everything. My books and stories almost always contain a mashup of common Halloween elements (witches with dinosaurs, vampire ghosts, zombies and haunted houses, etc.) I also try to make sure the characters are very complex with very real problems and fears. In the end, all writing should reflect the human experience, even if the character isn’t human. 4. If you could have dinner with a famous horror writer, living or dead, who would it be and why? Well, this is a cheat, but I’d have dinner with Jack the Ripper (wrote letters to police describing his horrific acts). Mostly, because I’d want to know who she or he was. Oh, and yes, I’d insist there was a glass wall between us, haha. 5. Favorite female horror writer? Why? That’s a tough one, I know so many amazing authors, but Kathryn Meyer Griffith is the one I must go with again. Her stories are similar to what I write (as I mentioned earlier, lighter horror, paranormal elements, and complex characters). It’s getting harder to find this style of writing these days as extreme horror gets more popular. Don’t get me wrong, plenty of amazing authors out there writing amazingly beautifully yet shocking novels, but a person tends to read the kind of books they like to write. 1. Who has been the biggest influence on you as a female horror writer?
Really high up there on the list are Mary Shelley, Anne Rice, and Shirley Jackson. They not only helped introduce me to the genre, but they showed me that it was okay for women to write horror, it wasn’t just a genre for men, and they left quite the impression on me, but I do have to admit my biggest influence has been Charlaine Harris. Reading the Sookie Stackhouse Series I was able to connect with her writing in a way that made me feel at ease with my own. She has a quirky charisma, a way of speaking to the reader and sucking them into her world. What I love most is that she brought classic monsters into modern day in a way that was believably terrifying, yet still fun. That’s a balance I seek to achieve when I write, I want it to be scary, but I also want to make you chuckle from time to time. 2. Do you think the style of horror differs between women and men authors? E.g. psychological vs gore? I don’t really see that men and women are very different in this sense. There are plenty of women out there who have no trouble writing gore and there are plenty of men who have no trouble writing a psychologically driven piece. Some might argue that women in horror tend to write in more romance, which I’m not sure is the case either, because looking at male writers such as Seth Grahame-Smith (Author of Pride & Prejudice & Zombies) and Isaac Marion (Author of Warm Bodies), we see that men write romance into horror as well. Style doesn’t differ between genders, it just differs between authors. What I do find is women are often overlooked in the genre; there is still a stigma that women aren’t made to write horror. Director Guillermo del Toro addresses this in his film Crimson Peak with his character Edith Cushing, an aspiring writer and lover of scary tales told to simply write “romance.” I truly feel Edith embodies this mash-up of Jane Austen and Mary Shelley, and that, in a way, del Toro was saying…women can absolutely write both! 3. Do you have a main subject that your write about? I.e. certain bad guys or themes? I absolutely LOVE zombies! People ask me all the time, “what is your fascination with those things?” Sometimes I’m not sure how to answer. I guess it started with Halloween, it’s still my favourite time of year. I always gravitated towards classic monsters as a child, never once asking to dress as a princess. I would watch Beetlejuice and Are You Afraid of The Dark, and read Goosebumps. Later it was Blockbuster video that was to blame, my brother and I would always flock to the horror section and pick up films like Evil Dead, Army of Darkness, Leprechaun, Chucky, the list goes on, but what I always loved, without fail, were the zombie films. I guess there is something about coming back from the dead that appeals to me, it’s a curiosity that I can’t quite explain. While I don’t wish zombie-form on anyone, (it seems like a nightmare) I do tend to sympathize with the zombie in my stories, there’s something tragic about them, they were human once, there must be some humanity lingering around in there right? I wanted to explore that in my Zombie Girl Saga. 4. If you could have dinner with a famous horror writer, living or dead, who would it be and why? I would absolutely love to have dinner with Anne Rice, I just find her to be a class act and full of light. She always makes time to connect with readers and just seems so down to earth. Her name is also attached to one of the best parties of the year, so that could be fun! Perhaps I’ll get over to The Vampire Ball one of these days. I would just love to ask her questions about the industry and her writing process and her life, perhaps over tea in a gothic castle, with baroque décor…clearly I’ve thought about this far too much! 5. Favorite female horror writer? Why? This is a really tough question to answer. I feel as though my favourite horror writers change all the time! My favourite is always based on my new obsession and right now that’s authoress Lily Luchesi and her Paranormal Detective Series. I really feel she is the future face of female horror, or as her tagline says “horror with heart,” something I can relate to heavily. I think a lot of our influences are similar, which is why her writing really speaks to me. I also really love how she brings pop culture so fully into her work, tying her worlds into our reality and breathing life into the text. The characters are terrifying, yet realistic, and as you can already sense, I also have a soft spot for vampire stories. www.poeticzombie.com 1. Who has been the biggest influence on you as a female horror writer?
I read books from a young age by King, Koontz and Herbert but I really love the Women of the Otherworld series by Kelley Armstrong which I started reading when I was sixteen. It was my first look at urban fantasy horror and I loved the idea of monsters living in the every day world. 2. Do you think the style of horror differs between women and men authors? E.g. psychological vs gore? I think men do tend to write more about gore but women do too. I prefer psychological horror myself. 3. Do you have a main subject that your write about? I.e. certain bad guys or themes? I write about demons quite a bit in my Daemon and Queen of Hell series but i do write about other things too like zombies. 4. If you could have dinner with a famous horror writer, living or dead, who would it be and why? Stephen King, but I would probably annoy him with a million questions. 5. Favorite female horror writer? Why? Kelley Armstrong. She writes great characters with fantastical lives but they still live in normal settings and have jobs so if you met them you would never know what they are. Born: 30 August 1797, Somers Town, London
Died: 1 February 1851, Chester Square, London Spouse: Percy Bysshe Shelley (m. 1816–1822) Buried: St Peter's Church, Bournemouth Parents: William Godwin, Mary Wollstonecraft Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (née Godwin; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist, short story writer, dramatist, essayist, biographer, and travel writer, best known for her Gothic novel Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus (1818). She also edited and promoted the works of her husband, the Romantic poet and philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley. Her father was the political philosopher William Godwin, and her mother was the philosopher and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft. 1. Who has been the biggest influence on you as a female horror writer?
I am a big fan of Kelley Armstrong and Stephen King. I think I have always been interested in horror fantasy for as long as I can remember. 2. Do you think the style of horror differs between women and men authors? E.g. psychological vs gore? I think both are capable of writing both kinds, but a lot of male authors that I have read do have a lot of gore. I prefer a healthy mix of both. 3. Do you have a main subject that your write about? I.e. certain bad guys or themes? Yes, I write about witches and werewolves. My latest book has a witch as the main character who finds a genetically engineered werewolf on her doorstep. As for themes, I tend to write about characters who don't belong. They are outcasts or loners. I think they make the most interesting people to write about. 4. If you could have dinner with a famous horror writer, living or dead, who would it be and why? Maybe Mary Shelley - to ask her what it was like being a female writer back in her time. 5. Favorite female horror writer? Why? I would say Anne Rice. She writes some really good books. I remember reading her books at a young age, although I probably wasn't old enough to be doing so. www.werewolvesandwitches.co.uk 1. Who has been the biggest influence on you as a female horror writer?
I don't think anyone has particularly influenced me or my writing. I would say that my friends have encouraged whatever twisted stories my mind comes up with. I watch movies and listen to music for inspiration, so you could say that a lot of things have influenced me. 2. Do you think the style of horror differs between women and men authors? E.g. psychological vs gore? I haven't noticed a difference between how men and women write horror. I think it depends on the author as an individual. I prefer a nice mix of both. 3. Do you have a main subject that your write about? I.e. certain bad guys or themes? I like to dabble in all genres, but I think my favorite is paranormal. The possibilities are endless and most times I'm able to take my stories further than they would have gone in any other genre. 4. If you could have dinner with a famous horror writer, living or dead, who would it be and why? I would have to go with Stephen King. I think his work is really interesting and I'd like to pick his brain, and, of course, get some advice. 5. Favorite female horror writer? Why? I know this might be an unpopular answer, but I don't read very much. I used to, but like many other things, it distracted me from my own work. I use all kinds of excuses not to get any writing done. Years ago, I decided that I would rather be writing my own book than reading someone else's. I'll get back into reading one of these days. 1. Who has been the biggest influence on you as a female horror writer?
I would have to say Shirley Jackson. The Lottery was one of the first horror stories of hers which I read, followed by We have always lived in the castle. I was fascinated by her style and how she was able to build creeping suspense mingled with horror. The House on Haunted Hill just capped it for me when I read that novel. I was captivated by her from then on. 2. Do you think the style of horror differs between women and men authors? E.g. psychological vs gore? I don’t believe so. I’ve read some female horror writers that put men to shame when it comes to the gore category. I believe we female authors can be very versatile, and can get down in the mud with the bad boys anytime we so choose. On the other side of the coin, I’ve read some pretty creepy psychological horror done by men; i.e., Edgar Allen Poe, Dean Koontz. I believe that within each writer - male or female - there is the capability to write any style of horror. It just depends on which style that particular person feels they excel at is what they bring forth. 3. Do you have a main subject that your write about? I.e. certain bad guys or themes? I really can’t say. I’ve written a variety of different themes, and I guess I could say that my main subject is the supernatural intertwined with a warped twisting of the psyche. As for certain bad guys – I would have to say real life sociopaths and psychopaths. They have always fascinated me, and that is worked into a lot of my characters. 4. If you could have dinner with a famous horror writer, living or dead, who would it be and why? I would really love to have dinner with Edgar Allen Poe. He was one of the other horror writers who also influenced me, but, for some bizarre reason, his death has always intrigued me. What actually happened to him prior to the time he was found in the street gutter to his passing away two weeks later? That actual answer is one I would give my eye-teeth -won’t go as far as selling my soul! LOL - for. 5. Favorite female horror writer? Why? I would have to say the most recent one whom I have read: Catt Dahman. Man, she brings psychological horror as well as actual horror to the next level! I began reading her novels after I was accepted at JEA Press, and had wished that I’d heard of her before then! I love her style, and the way she interweaves plotline and almost fate-like situations among her characters. She is definitely my favorite at this time in my life. 1. Our biggest influence came from those classic horror films. The universal movies were what we watched when we were little girls, before we could read or write, they introduced us to horror. We still love them! 2. We don’t think horror style differs between men and women, style come from individuals, from their influences, and what they prefer writing. 3. Our only main theme in our writing is to leave people feeling creeped out, not necessarily grossed out because we write different levels of gore, but to leave people horrified. 4. If we could have dinner with anyone in horror it would probably be Brian Keene because he’s a fantastic writer that inspires us and also a really awesome person. 5. Favorite female horror writer would be either Mary Shelley or Shirley Jackson due to their early influence on us and showing us that girls can share the darkest things in their imaginations just as men can. |
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About the Author:S. K. Gregory is an author, editor and blogger. She currently resides in Northern Ireland. “Description begins in the writer’s imagination, but should finish in the reader’s.” Archives
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