Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Homage to Women of Horror - Part 2

Continuing my tribute to Women in Horror Month, today I am following on by mentioning some of the women of horror I have met, and who have inspired me, over the years:

Sally Spedding: I first met Sally at the Winchester Writers' Conference a few years ago. Part of your delegate ticket when you register is the opportunity for three one-to-ones, two of which can be with agents or editors. I picked Sally for my third non-agent/editor one-to-one because she was another writer who crossed the genres of crime and horror. I sent her the first chapter of DEATH SCENE. When I sat down for my fifteen minutes with her, she told me it was the best thing she'd read all weekend and I'd really made her day by sending it to her. Well, she made my week - nay, my year - by telling me so, and we've stayed in touch ever since.

Sarah Pinborough: Sarah is a versatile writer who writes in many genres, including YA, sf, horror and crime - or combining all of the above. I can particularly recommend her "Dog-Faced Gods" trilogy. Set in a near-future dystopian London, the main character is a paranormal investigator looking into a series of crimes. It becomes clear that there is something supernatural involved. I feel like I've known Sarah for ages, because I run into her at every convention I go to. But I think we first met at the World Horror Con in Brighton, less than two years ago.

Lisa Tuttle: Many years ago, in my first job as book shop assistant, an anthology of horror stories written by women came into the shop. Published by Women's Press, it was called THE SKIN OF THE SOUL and Lisa Tuttle gave the introduction, making the argument that horror had been erroneously considered a man's domain for far too long and it was high time to acknowledge all the fine women horror writers out there. I've been a fan of Lisa's ever since. I got to tell her how inspiring I found that anthology at World Horror Con in Brighton - and it seems I wasn't the only woman to do so, as she makes reference to it in a blog post on her livejournal blog.

Next, a shout-out to some Women of Horror I've connected with online, but haven't met in person:

Rita Vetere: Rita's WHISPERING BONES is a thrillingly scary horror tale.

Diane Dooley: Diane is also honouring Women of Horror on her blog this month, so go check it out.

Fiona Dodwell: Fiona is another Writer of Damn Scary Books.

Sealey Andrews: Sealey is also honouring Women in Horror Month on her 'Girl in the Soapdish' blog.

Jenna M Pitman: Jenna's horror fiction can be found everywhere, it seems, going by her list of publishing credits.

Last but by no means least, I want to give a shout-out to the lovely ladies who are my co-bloggers here. They are all fabulous writers, and you should go read their books:

Sonya Clark
Nerine Dorman
Pamela Turner

Seeing as how February has an extra day this year, next Wednesday will be the third and final part of my homage to women of horror, so be sure to come back next week.

1 comment:

Rita Vetere said...

It's great to see women horror writers celebrated. The perception that women can't/shouldn't write in this genre unless the story has romantic elements is one that is slow to dissolve. On a personal note, thanks for the shout-out--and after checking out some the of the links, I've added several books to my TBR pile.

Cheers,

Rita