Chris talks about starting his first novel at 38 after seeing Interstellar, landing his debut The Phlebotomist through Angry Robot's open door submissions after about 90 agent passes, and balancing a trial lawyer career with ADHD he calls a surplus of focus. We dig into Shitshow, his dark carnival hidden inside a porta potty, and the latrine technician caring for his mother with dementia. Then we get into the StokerCon Death to Tropes panel and Neil McRobert advice that sparked Worry Box, a twist on the haunted house trope built around foster care, sisterhood, and intrusive thoughts. Plus, his witch novel Kill Me With Fire, a demon summoned by book burning, and the wide release of Daytide.

Timestamps:

00:01 – Cold Open: Where All His Humor Starts

00:35 – Welcome to Talking Horror & Meeting Chris Panatier

02:57 – Never Meaning to Write Horror

04:52 – A Self-Proclaimed Scaredy Cat and the Hand Off the Bed

06:24 – Why Dark Fiction Feels Cozy

07:44 – Horror, Metal Music and the Blood and Guts Myth

10:01 – Can Horror Come From Too Much Love

11:43 – Interstellar, Kip Thorne and Starting a Novel at 38

13:48 – A 100,000 Word "Middle Grade" Novel and an Art Trade Edit

14:43 – Janet Reid's Blog and Having Zero Expectations

16:08 – 90 Agent Passes and a Book Deal in His Hotmail Junk Folder

20:26 – Loving and Hating the First Draft

22:26 – 25 Years of Suing Big Corporations

23:51 – ADHD as a Surplus of Focus

27:57 – Finding the Horror Community at AuthorCon

29:34 – Clay McLeod Chapman, Clay Galloping and a Talking Scared Intro

32:31 – Why Horror Has Less of an Old Guard

37:25 – Shitshow: A Dark Carnival Inside a Porta Potty

38:46 – The Bike Ride That Sparked "Portal Potty"

40:31 – 80s Gonzo Horror and Flushing the Teens

41:35 – Sunday, Regina and the Fear of Dementia

44:27 – Worry Box Was Born at a StokerCon Panel

45:35 – Neil McRobert: "Go Write That, Don't Tell Anybody"

46:43 – Worry Box: A Haunted House Done Differently

48:24 – Love Bombing You With a Family

49:32 – His Little Sister and Ride or Die Dru

51:44 – Writing Bold Women the Way Men Write Men

55:01 – Lailah's Intrusive Thoughts and His Own as a New Dad

57:14 – The Moment He Realized the Book Was His Worry Box

59:45 – How Far Love Will Go

1:01:17 – Writing Characters People Love to Hate

1:02:53 – "There's No Limit to the Darkness"

1:03:38 – What's Next: Kill Me With Fire From Shortwave

1:04:46 – So You Wanna Summon a Demon and a Book Burning Demon

1:06:00 – Daytide Gets a Wide Release With Saga Press

1:07:46 – Horror on the Hudson and Rachel's Chewbacca

Grab your copy of Worry Box: https://amzn.to/3VUZFnS

Connect with Chris Panatier:

Website: https://chrispanatier.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrispanatier/

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Taylor talks about a Catholic childhood of cemetery trips and saints' relics, writing Hollow through their own autism and queer identity, and why horror works as a lens rather than a genre. They break down their writing process, from a 2,000 word synopsis to drafting 3,000 words an hour in a three and a half week sprint. We dig into balancing romance beats and horror beats 50/50 in Lethal Kiss, femme rage, and the real Duke professor behind the book's dean. Plus, writing their first smut scene, book bans, and a first look at the queer Arthurian romantasy The Mage and the Liar Knight.

Timestamps:

00:01 – Cold Open: The "Needles in Eyeballs" Feeling

00:46 – Welcome to Talking Horror & Meeting Taylor Grothe

02:54 – Begging Dad for Cemetery Trips as a Kid

04:30 – Saints' Bodies, Reliquaries and a Catholic Creep Factor

05:26 – First Word "Chandelier" and Writing Through COVID Lockdown

07:59 – Why Times of Terror Spark Creation

10:13 – Horror Tells the Truth: A Lens, Not a Genre

13:17 – Goosebumps, High Fantasy and Picking at a Scab

14:17 – A Nonfiction MFA and a Medieval Literature Scholar

15:09 – Autism, Auditory Processing and Failing Out of Catholic School

16:44 – Duke, Academic Corruption and Owning a Brewery

21:47 – 175,000 Words of Historical Fiction and an Icelandic Horror Novel

22:19 – Writing Hollow for Their Undiagnosed Autistic, Queer Teen Self

25:31 – Why Taylor Stopped Reading Reviews

29:16 – Meet T.G. Laine: Why a Second Pen Name

31:48 – Seven Book Ideas in One Email to Their Agent

32:22 – Goblin Mode: Drafting a Book in Three and a Half Weeks

33:55 – From Pantser to a 2,000 Word Synopsis

36:47 – The "Needles in Eyeballs" Test for a Wrong Turn

38:11 – 3,000 Words an Hour and Cat Therapy

41:35 – Lethal Kiss: Lacie Is Who They Were, Marcella Who They Wished to Be

45:50 – Their First Happy Ending (Still Bloody)

46:27 – Threading Horror Beats Through Romance Beats

48:42 – The Mortifying Ordeal of Being Known

49:54 – The Real Duke Professor Behind the Dean

52:44 – Girl Dinner and Storming a University Campus

54:19 – Writing Their First Smut Scene (and Hiding It From Dad)

58:12 – Why Romance and Horror Are Embodied Genres

1:00:56 – Writing, Coming Out as Nonbinary and Book Bans

1:05:53 – What's Next: Monstrous Beautiful Things and The Mage and the Liar Knight

1:07:22 – A Secret Mushroom Horror Romance for Fall 2027

Grab your copy of Lethal Kiss: https://amzn.to/3TtRvSx

Connect with Taylor Grothe:

Website: https://www.taylorgrothe.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taylorlgrothe/

Newsletter: https://hallowedwords.substack.com

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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelreddreads/

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Delilah S. Dawson is the New York Times bestselling, Bram Stoker Award winning author of The Violence, Guillotine, Bloom, and the new sapphic botanical horror novella Monstera.

Delilah opens up about using horror to process domestic violence, sexual trauma, and being roofied on a date night, and how that shaped The Violence and It Will Only Hurt for a Moment. She breaks down how writing comics differs from writing novels, and what it takes to write franchise tie-ins for Star Wars, Dungeons and Dragons Ravenloft, Minecraft, and Disney. We dig into eat-the-rich rage in Guillotine, Bloom as a female Hannibal in cottagecore, and why horror novellas hit like a stab. Plus, how Olympic weightlifting, a Savannah Victorian, and COVID houseplants grew into Monstera.

Timestamps:

00:01 – Cold Open: Why Horror Felt Safe When Home Didn't

00:38 – Welcome to Talking Horror & Meeting Delilah S. Dawson

03:25 – Growing Up With Domestic Violence and Finding Comfort in Horror

04:53 – Blockbuster Box Art and Basement Sleepover Scares

06:14 – Writing Her Own Trauma Into The Violence

10:09 – Sleepless New Mom Hallucinations and "Just Write a Book"

14:49 – A Zeus Ferry Romance Written Out of Spite (and 57 Rejections)

16:03 – Book Four Sells at Auction: Wicked as They Come

23:29 – Readers Who Found Healing in The Violence

25:57 – Novels vs. IP Books vs. Comics: How the Planning Changes

26:53 – ADHD, a Chapter a Day and Seven Comic Pages

30:09 – How Comic Scripts and Artists Actually Work Together

37:20 – Seventeen People in the Phasma Comments

37:51 – Keeping D&D Spells Legal on the Page

44:09 – Bloom's Cover Started as Delilah's Own Artwork

45:21 – Bloom: What If Hannibal Were a Cottagecore Woman

48:17 – Why Horror Novellas Hit Like a Stab

53:32 – Going Undercover at a Wellness Retreat for It Will Only Hurt for a Moment

1:01:28 – Olympic Weightlifting, Savannah and COVID Plants

1:04:17 – From People Pleaser to Unhinged Heroines

1:08:45 – What's Next: Shannara, a Slasher Novella and It's Only Forever

1:09:44 – A Bram Stoker Win for Ride or Die

Grab your copy of Monstera: https://bookshop.org/p/books/monstera/ea30b8a7de5d1aff

Connect with Delilah S. Dawson:

Website: https://www.delilahsdawson.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/delilahsdawson/

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/delilahsdawson.bsky.social

Threads: https://www.threads.com/@delilahsdawson

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Neil shares how a Vulture reading list for True Detective: Night Country led to Good Boy, a Northern Weird folk horror novella about a man, his dog, and a child-eating monster in a small English town. He explains why Good Boy is his answer to Stephen King's It, and what it really says about bigotry and getting stuck in your hometown. He gets honest about imposter syndrome at StokerCon, perfectionism, and why every podcast host should read the damn book. Plus, first details on House of Butterflies, set in a 1964 leaded gasoline refinery, and Bad Home, a violent home invasion novel about economic inequality.

Timestamps:

00:01 – Welcome to Talking Horror & Meeting Neil McRobert

02:44 – Harryhausen, Norse Serpents and a Lifelong Love of Monsters

04:31 – Dad Telling Him the Plot of Carrie on Holiday in Greece

05:19 – Point Horror and Getting His Mum Called Into School

07:00 – A Working Class Kid Who Wanted to Be a Film Director

08:47 – A PhD in Gothic Studies (and Horror Metafiction)

10:06 – Manny in Switzerland, Llama Farmer, Michelin Star Kitchen

13:10 – Why Writing Is Torture: Perfectionism and Type 2 Fun

15:32 – Imposter Syndrome and Not Feeling "In the Club"

17:52 – Quitting His Job in Lockdown and Emailing Paul Tremblay

21:30 – Fearless on Stage, Terrified of Rabies

24:25 – The Thrill of the Chase: How He Landed Stephen King

27:35 – A Rocky Mountain Horror Camp and Finding Your People

30:57 – Social Media Dopamine and Performative Rage Online

33:59 – The StokerCon Moment That Finally Made Him Write

37:43 – A Vulture Article, Bear Season and the Northern Weird Series

40:58 – 1,500 Words a Day: Writing Good Boy in Three Weeks

41:46 – Ted the Jack Russell and the Tree That Started It All

45:16 – Stephen King's It in a Small English Town

47:24 – Small British Towns, Bigotry and the Real Jim Howarth

50:35 – Doing Good Without Posting About It

52:18 – Growing Up on the Knee of Stephen King

57:33 – Why You Need to Read Dolores Claiborne

58:39 – Spinning Plates: Podcast Scripts and Reading Until 2 a.m.

1:02:53 – "Read the Damn Book": Why Hosts Have to Do the Homework

1:04:31 – The Day Stephen King Sent Him the New Talisman Manuscript

1:07:56 – House of Butterflies: Leaded Gasoline Horror in 1964 New Jersey

1:08:54 – Bad Home: Writing a Cruel Book With Heart

1:14:18 – Neil's Underrated Pick: The Hill in the Dark Grove

Grab your copy of Good Boy: https://www.wildhuntbooks.co.uk/books/p/goodboy/9781068563102

Connect with Neil McRobert:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkscaredpod/

X: https://x.com/TalkScaredPod

Talking Scared Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-scared/id1530064310

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Isabel shares how an "air quotes too Mexican" rejection on her honeymoon in Mexico City led to The Hacienda, and how she defended her PhD in medieval Islamic history the day before it came out. She reveals the 1850s quote from Rio Grande bandit Juan Cortina about "flocks of vampires" that turned Vampires of El Norte into a story about settler colonialism. She connects The Possession of Alba Díaz to pregnancy, bodily autonomy, and the fall of Roe v. Wade. And she opens up about the real family story, her grandfather's abusive stepmother counting tortillas, that opens The House of Gardenias.

Timestamps:

00:01 – Welcome to Talking Horror & Meeting Isabel Cañas

06:25 – A Self-Proclaimed Scaredy Cat Reading Dracula Under the Desk

09:12 – The YA Fantasy Books by Women of Color That Cracked Her Brain Open

10:14 – "Too Mexican": Two Novels That Died on Submission

11:34 – A Honeymoon Rejection in Mexico City and the Birth of The Hacienda

14:59 – Writing for Your Id: The Secret Lecture Passed Between Writers

19:44 – Kitchen Table Storytelling and the Grandfather Who Inspired The House of Gardenias

24:33 – The Turkish Grammar Tense Made Just for Gossip

25:48 – Becoming a Published Author and a Doctor in 24 Hours

28:25 – A Medievalist's Research Obsession (and Why the Embroidery Has to Go)

32:56 – Would She Ever Write a Modern Gothic?

36:33 – "Lol, It's Actually Colonialism": Why Humans Are the Real Monsters

43:17 – Vampires of El Norte and the One-Sentence Pitch That Sold It

48:12 – The 1850s Post Office List Where She Found Néstor

53:46 – The Real "Flocks of Vampires" Quote Behind the Book

57:52 – The Possession of Alba Díaz: Pregnancy, Control, and Who Owns a Woman's Body

1:06:56 – The House of Gardenias: A Nightmare, a Grudge, and Her YA Comeback

1:12:51 – Grief, Loss, and the "Flesh and Blood" Editing Passes

1:20:19 – 200,000 Words and What's Coming Next

Grab your copy of The House of Gardenias: https://amzn.to/4qvK89l

Connect with Isabel Cañas:

Website: https://isabelcanas.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/isabelcanas_/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@isabelcanasauthor

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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelreddreads/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rachelredd

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Noelle breaks down how the real case of serial killer Israel Keyes shaped the stalker terrorizing a women's rafting retreat in The Last to Drown, and the true story of an Olympic athlete's abduction behind Grey After Dark. She talks about ghostwriting fiction before her own career, self-publishing her debut The Thicket after fifty rejection letters, and the cover redesign that turned Ask for Andrea into a BookTok phenomenon. Noelle also opens up about the Ted Bundy documentary that inspired the ghosts in Ask for Andrea, and how she protects her creative process from online criticism.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Cold Open: "A Little More Empathy for Victims and Survivors"

00:57 – Welcome to Talking Horror & Meeting Noelle Ihli

02:59 – A Childhood Drawn to "the Scary, the Spooky" and Watching Censored Horror at "Clean Flicks"

07:28 – Inside the Secret World of Ghostwriting Fiction

16:18 – Why True Crime and the Chowchilla Kidnapping Shape Her Fiction

22:15 – Fifty Rejection Letters Before Self-Publishing The Thicket

25:40 – The Cover Redesign That Turned Ask for Andrea Into a BookTok Avalanche

31:35 – Setting Boundaries With Reviews (and the Shirt With Her Best and Worst Ones)

38:49 – The Ted Bundy Documentary Behind Ask for Andrea's Ghosts

48:08 – The Real Late-Night Car Chase Behind Run on Red

52:01 – The Olympic Athlete Abduction That Inspired Grey After Dark

56:49 – Israel Keyes, the Serial Killer Behind The Last to Drown

1:05:16 – First Look at Her Darkest Book Yet, Coming in 2027

Grab your copy of The Last to Drown: https://amzn.to/45weT4w

Connect with Noelle Ihli:

Website: https://noellewihli.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noelleihliauthor/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@noelleihliauthor

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Leopoldo breaks down the true, horrifying history behind Pinata, how Spanish conquistadors forced Aztec children to break piñatas containing their own gods. He talks about the real artifact repatriation lawsuits reclaiming stolen Mexican heritage from Europe that inspired Rooted's archaeologist lead, and his mission to reverse engineer the trope of the evil witch into a protector. Leopoldo also opens up about writing as a dyslexic author, his unusual "photographic scent memory," and the real history behind the word abracadabra.

Timestamps:

00:01 – Welcome to Talking Horror & Meeting Leopoldo Gout

02:52 – "I Don't See Horror as Spooky, I See It as Beauty"

04:13 – Day of the Dead vs. the James Bond Carnival Version

08:03 – Discovering Horror as Social Commentary Through Night of the Living Dead

14:42 – Losing His Home and Studio to a Fire He Believes Was Arson

20:56 – His "Photographic Scent Memory" and How It Shapes His Prose

37:10 – The True, Horrific History Behind Pinata's Piñatas

41:00 – The Real Lawyer Fighting to Reclaim Mexico's Stolen Artifacts

44:19 – Reverse Engineering the Witch: Rooted's Central Idea

1:05:15 – First Look at His New Anthology Story, Luz e Fer

1:17:22 – "I Don't Believe There's a Genre Called Horror"

Grab your copy of Rooted: https://amzn.to/4bUk95u

Connect with Leopoldo Gout:

Website: https://www.leopoldogout.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leopoldoleopoldo/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@leopoldogout

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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelreddreads/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rachelredd

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He talks about being a hybrid author, splitting his work between Crystal Lake, Wicked House, his own imprint Spooky WV, and now Zando's new horror line Evil Twin. Nick breaks down structuring The Exorcist's House: Genesis like The Godfather Part II, and building suspense the way Stephen King does in 1408. He opens up about writing addiction and recovery into Anathema and Mean Spirited, and the dog named Conehead who ended up hijacking the latter. Plus, a first look at his possession anthology Haunted Minds with a foreword by Stephen Graham Jones, his next novel Can You Help Me With an Exorcism?, and his story in the Shining anthology Views from the Overlook.

Timestamps:

00:48 – Welcome to Talking Horror & Meeting Nick Roberts

02:33 – The "Is Nick Roberts Okay?" Reaction Readers Have to His Books

04:26 – Falling in Love with Horror Through Library Book Covers and Goosebumps

07:01 – Did Horror Ever Scare Him? Renting Pulp Fiction and Discovering the Craft

09:26 – The Writer-Director Dream That Fell Apart Before Film School

11:00 – Teaching English While Sneaking In Horror Film Electives

16:36 – Why Every Nick Roberts Book Starts as a Movie in His Head

17:37 – Being a Hybrid Author: Balancing Crystal Lake, Wicked House, and Self-Publishing

23:18 – From Anathema's COVID Release to Quitting Teaching for Full-Time Writing

30:44 – Why He Pantses Instead of Plots (and the Stephen Graham Jones Line That Inspired Him)

32:10 – The Stephen Graham Jones Outline He Wrote Just to Throw in the Trash

34:16 – Winning the Horror Authors Guild Debut Novel Award for Anathema

37:16 – Writing Recovery and Addiction Into Anathema and Mean Spirited

43:34 – Building Scares Like Stephen King's 1408

48:45 – Structuring The Exorcist's House: Genesis Like The Godfather Part II

54:01 – Falling In Love With a Character Before Something Horrible Happens

56:16 – Writing From the Killer's POV in My Corpse Has a Heartbeat

59:34 – First Look at the Haunted Minds Possession Anthology With Stephen Graham Jones

1:05:15 – A Tease of His Work in Progress, Appalachian Chainsaw

Grab your copy of The Exorcist's House: https://amzn.to/4zoEcmB

Connect with Nick Roberts:

Website: https://www.nickrobertsauthor.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spookywv/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@spookywv

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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelreddreads/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rachelredd

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She talks about subverting the classic final girl trope in her new wedding-weekend time loop novel, and why she pushes back on being boxed in as a "feminist horror" author. Rachel opens up about landing her literary agent through a Twitter pitch contest called PitDark, and releasing her debut, The Return, during the first week of COVID lockdown. She also breaks down the shower epiphany about lady werewolf mythology that became Such Sharp Teeth, and the Blink-182 song that sparked Kiss Slay Replay's time loop. Plus, a first look at her next book and her nerves about her first ever European tour.

Timestamps:

00:01 – Welcome to Talking Horror & Meeting Rachel Harrison

01:47 – Horror as a "Will They or Won't They" Rom-Com: Her Path Into the Genre

06:09 – From a Screenwriting Major to a PA Job on The Newlywed Game

09:58 – The Persistence Advice She Swears By

10:42 – The Return, a Bram Stoker Nomination, and Chasing Traditional Publishing

11:42 – The Twitter Pitch Contest, PitDark, That Landed Her Literary Agent

14:02 – Debuting a Novel in the First Week of COVID Lockdown

18:02 – Creep Away Camp, Barbie Girl Karaoke, and a Duet With Nat Cassidy

20:08 – Why Humor Is Baked Into Every Rachel Harrison Book

21:32 – Her Two Kinds of Protagonists: Sad Sacks and Women Who Have Their Shit Together

24:21 – Character Never Comes First: How She Actually Builds a Story

25:48 – The Applebee's Line That Unlocked Black Sheep's Vesper

32:58 – On Bristling at Being Labeled a "Feminist Horror" Author

40:45 – Prioritizing Art Over Content Before It's All AI Slop

44:43 – The Shower Epiphany Behind Such Sharp Teeth's Werewolf Body Horror

51:13 – Growing Up in Enormous Families and Building Play Nice's Three Sisters

57:54 – The Blink-182 Song That Sparked Kiss Slay Replay's Time Loop

1:02:52 – Subverting the Final Girl Trope With a Protagonist Who's Just Fucked

1:04:45 – Why Horror and Joy Aren't Opposites for Her

1:08:05 – First Look at Her Next Book: The "Emo, Sepia-Toned" One

1:10:28 – Gearing Up for Her First-Ever European Tour

Connect with Rachel Harrison:

Website: https://www.rachel-harrison.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelharrisonsghost/

Follow Talking Horror Podcast:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelreddreads/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rachelredd

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Timestamps:

00:01 – Welcome to Talking Horror & Meeting Caleb Stephens

01:41 – Rachel's 2 AM Reading Marathon and the Twist She Didn't See Coming

07:04 – From Alan Dean Foster to Stephen King: A Childhood Built on Fantasy and Horror

10:32 – Ten Years as a Corporate Accountant Before Taking the Leap

12:48 – Five Years, One Unpublishable Novel, and a Verdict From the Guy Who Wrote Jumanji

14:41 – Short Stories, Craft Books, and a Writer's Digest Honorable Mention

21:38 – The Fool's Cap Method and Why Gillian Flynn Can Pants a Whole Thriller

29:58 – The Girls in the Cabin's Two Year Agent Rollercoaster

32:27 – Getting Picked Up by the UK's Largest Indie Publisher and Discovering BookTok

34:02 – Why Feeders Flopped and He Became "The Dad Thriller Guy"

38:30 – Making Colorado's Deadly Weather a Character in The Girls in the Cabin

43:48 – Rewriting a Book Seven Times and Turning the Dad Into a Bigger Jerk

46:31 – Missing a Publishing Deadline and Self-Publishing If You Lie Out of Fear

48:26 – Writing Through Sciatica and a Full Manuscript Rewrite

53:39 – Building a Gone Girl Tribute Twist Into You'll Never Know

1:02:34 – First Look at Don't Hesitate: A Dad and Son Hunting Trip Gone Wrong

1:05:02 – Why Grief Keeps Showing Up in Every Book He Writes

1:07:45 – The Paperback Pre-Order Problem No One Talks About

1:10:21 – Book Recommendations: S.A. Cosby, John Boyne, and More

Grab your copy of The Girls in the Cabin: [LINK]

Connect with Caleb Stephens:

Website: https://www.calebstephensauthor.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/calebstephensauthor/?hl=en

Follow Talking Horror Podcast:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelreddreads/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rachelredd

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Adam opens up about the small video rental section that scared him as a kid, and how a legendary horror editor's small press, his own self-publishing hustle, and a Big Five pickup fifteen years later all led to Mercy House getting "orphaned" pre-launch and later rewritten from scratch. He also confesses he genuinely likes the Clown in a Cornfield sequels better than the original, Bram Stoker win included. Plus his near-academic obsession with Frendo's mask and a first look at Bloodsick, his 14 POV vampire epic coming in January.

00:01 Welcome to Talking Horror & Meeting Adam Cesare

03:41 The Origin Story: A Supermarket Video Rental Aisle on Long Island

05:55 Running Out of Two Different Wes Craven Movies as a Kid

07:56 Stephen King on Cassette Tape and an Early Obsession With Spawn

13:53 Writing Video Night in College Before He Could Legally Drink

17:05 Chasing Down an Editor and Landing at a Small Horror Press

19:58 From Self-Published Oddity to a Big Five Book

22:56 The Used Car Salesman Theory of Surviving Publishing

28:37 If You Can't Love It, Quit: His Advice for Writers

34:15 Video Night: A Melancholic Alien Invasion Love Letter

40:22 Mercy House and Getting Orphaned by Random House Hydra

44:06 Rewriting Mercy House From Scratch Eleven Years Later

51:08 Confessing He Loves the Sequels More Than the Original

54:43 Lights, Camera, Frendo: Book Four Is Finally Out

59:04 The Auteurist Theory Behind a Long-Running Slasher Franchise

1:03:01 Why He Obsesses Over Every Detail of Frendo's Mask

1:08:37 A First Look at Bloodsick, His 14 POV Vampire Epic

1:15:45 Why Horror Is Living Through a Genuine Golden Era

Grab your copy of Lights, Camera, Frendo: https://amzn.to/4wKDUUW

Connect with Adam Cesare:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adamcesare/?hl=en

Follow Talking Horror Podcast:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelreddreads/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rachelredd

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Grab your copy of Intercepts: https://amzn.to/4vA1IKb

Timestamps:

00:01 – Welcome to Talking Horror & Meeting TJ Payne

02:13 – From Romantic Comedy Screenwriter to Reluctant Horror Writer

04:42 – Jaws, Aliens, and How American Pie Sparked a Screenwriting Dream

08:32 – Stanford, a Film Program That Wasn't, and a Korean War Screenplay

09:52 – Driving Down the I-5 to Hollywood and Seven Years Fetching Coffee

17:11 – Ghostwriting Other People's Dreams and Hitting a Breaking Point

19:37 – The Self-Publishing Itch That Became In My Father's Basement

39:26 – Waking Up to a Stranger Who Read His Debut Overnight

41:11 – Writing Intercepts and the Slow-Burn Word of Mouth That Followed

43:14 – The Cold Email From a Literary Agent That Led to Crown

47:25 – Turning Hollywood Bureaucracy Into a Terrifying Government Facility

48:49 – The Absent Father Story Hiding Inside a Sci-Fi Thriller

55:31 – Table 19, Weddings, and the Slasher Comedy Born From The Venue

1:01:30 – A New Two-Book Deal and His First Novel in Six Years

1:04:06 – Deep-Diving 1980s Satanic Panic Books for Research

Connect with TJ Payne:

Website: https://tjpayneauthor.wixsite.com/tjpayne

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tj.payne.author

Follow Talking Horror Podcast:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelreddreads/

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Keith opens up about discovering at age ten that he'd been legally blind his whole life, and how that diagnosis turned into a twenty five year career illustrating punk album covers and band merch. He talks about dropping out of art school twice, getting 97 rejections from literary agents before his debut sold, and writing Fever House during COVID lockdown while fostering and adopting two toddlers during the George Floyd protests in Portland. He breaks down the phone call from Random House editor Caitlin McKenna that changed his career, why he set Coffin Moon in the 1970s so his vampires could still warp in mirrors and cameras, and how he trimmed his cast down to just a handful of characters after Fever House's sprawling ensemble. Plus his unflinching take on killing off main characters, the question his editor asks to keep violence from feeling gratuitous, and a first look at his upcoming novel Crone, based on a real unsolved disappearance that's haunted him for decades.

Grab your copy of Coffin Moon: https://amzn.to/4gLNCBV

Timestamps: 00:01 – Welcome to Talking Horror & Meeting Keith Rosson

 03:34 – How a Stephen King Paperback at Age Ten Started It All 

06:06 – Legally Blind: The Diagnosis That Shaped His Art 

08:08 – Designing for Punk Bands and the Cover He's Proudest Of 

12:06 – Art School Dropout Twice Removed 

14:20 – From Punk Zines to 97 Rejections Before His First Yes 

26:31 – Fever House: Writing Through Lockdown While Fostering Two Toddlers 

31:05 – The Call From Random House That Changed Everything 

36:06 – Why He's Not Afraid to Kill a Main Character 

37:19 – Earning the Violence: What Makes Brutality Land 

40:31 – Coffin Moon: Turning Vampires Into a 1970s Western Revenge Story 

48:33 – Trimming the Cast: Why Coffin Moon Went Smaller 5

0:55 – The Redemption Question Running Through All His Books 

56:11 – Crone: A Missing Daughter, a Biker Gang, and a Real Unsolved Case 

59:09 – His Advice After Ten Books in Ten Years

Connect with Keith Rosson: 

Website: https://www.keithrosson.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rossonkeith/

Follow Talking Horror Podcast: 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelreddreads/ 

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rachelredd

If you enjoyed this episode, please Like, Subscribe, and hit the notification bell to help us grow the horror community!

Timestamps:
00:01 – Welcome to Talking Horror & Meeting Luke Dumas
02:40 – Reading Roots: A Storyteller Before He Was a Reader
03:29 – The Boy Wizard Phase and Falling for Fantasy
04:22 – A Lifelong Jurassic Park & Dinosaur Obsession
06:50 – Discovering Horror: Weekends With Dad and the Haunted Hotel
08:42 – The Comedy Writer Who Wanted to Be David Sedaris
10:27 – Early Writing Dreams and Delusions of Fame
11:55 – Studying Literature and the Master's in Scotland
16:26 – Letting Go of the "Wonder Kid" Pressure
17:58 – The Risk-Averse Path: Writing Around a Day Job
18:29 – Grant Writing, Zoos, and Mining the Day Job for Fiction
21:08 – Book Five: How A History of Fear Found Its Agent
23:00 – The Overnight Offer That Made Him Cry
24:23 – Finding Resilience Through Five Unpublished Books
28:06 – Why Storytelling Is Woven Into His Soul
30:45 – Craft vs. Plot: Refusing to Sacrifice One for the Other
32:46 – The Heavy Plotter Who Loves Outlining Most
34:15 – The Two Wolves: Beautiful Writing vs. Getting It Out
37:37 – "I Hate Research": Faking It for The Paleontologist
40:32 – Interstitial Documents and the Book-Within-a-Book
43:43 – A History of Fear, Edinburgh, and Scottish Demonic Lore
46:02 – The Walk Through the Meadows That Sparked the Story
47:57 – Religious Trauma, Identity, and the Harm of Repression
50:13 – The Paleontologist: Excavation as Metaphor
51:31 – From "I Just Love Dinosaurs" to Ghosts in a Haunted Museum
53:55 – The Grim Ending and the Horror That Makes Him Giggle
56:46 – Raving About Nothing Tastes as Good
59:22 – Knowing When It Was Time (and Stephen King's Thinner)
01:00:20 – Weight-Loss Drugs, Ozempic, and Perfect Timing
01:01:19 – Writing Fatness From a Male Perspective
01:02:52 – Emmett: The Monster You Can't Help Rooting For
01:07:11 – Lisette, Body Positivity, and a Cousin Named Rachel
01:11:16 – Sitting With the Discomfort of "Just Change"
01:12:11 – First Look at We Don't Call Them Cages (Spring 2027)
01:13:53 – "Madagascar for Adults": Rewriting Childhood as Horror
01:14:56 – Wrap-Up & Thanks

Grab your copy of Nothing Tastes as Good:  https://amzn.to/4fnO7PY

Connect with Luke Dumas:

https://www.lukedumas.com/

https://www.instagram.com/thenewdumas/?hl=en

Follow Talking Horror Podcast:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelreddreads/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rachelredd

If you enjoyed this episode, please Like, Subscribe, and hit the notification bell to help us grow the horror community!

Chuck opens up about the surprising life-or-death story behind the pink mask and how it eased his chronic pain, why he never writes to market and has hit the jackpot twice by following his soul, and how believing humanity is innately good lets him write villains you actually understand. Plus the Collateral-meets-monster idea that sparked Fabulous Bodies, why he builds novels like screenplays as a self-taught outsider artist, and a gratitude practice built on succulents and Cheetos.

Timestamps:
00:01 – Welcome to Talking Horror & Meeting Chuck Tingle
04:32 – Baby Chuck: A Storyteller From the Start
09:32 – Dungeons and Dragons at Four and the Primal Urge to Tell Stories
12:16 – Drawn to the Taboo: Horror, Erotica, and Punk Rock Art
15:00 – Horror as the Metal of Writing (and Why Dark Romance Is Wilder)
18:39 – Self-Publishing the First Tingler
22:00 – Building a Utopia: The Politics of the Tingleverse
25:08 – Where Chuck Feels Most Artistically Fulfilled
26:38 – Hope as Innate, Not Intentional
30:12 – Never Writing to Market: Hitting the Jackpot Twice
33:57 – Authenticity on the Page and Art as Subconscious Communication
36:32 – The Pink Mask: Safety, Anonymity, and Coming Out
39:29 – How the Mask Eased Chronic Pain and Saved His Life
44:51 – The Mask as Amplifier: Becoming a Symbol
50:11 – Talking Camp Damascus and the Cost of Apathy
53:41 – Why Chuck Believes Humanity Is Innately Good
56:13 – Fabulous Bodies: Writing an Unlikable Hero and a Fun Villain
59:34 – The Slow Burn of Lucky Day and the Power of a Deep Cut
01:04:16 – Hit Singles vs. Art House: Reading His Own Catalog
01:07:47 – The Outsider Artist Who Writes Novels Like Screenplays
01:08:36 – Collateral Meets a Monster: The Origin of Fabulous Bodies
01:10:38 – Where Does Love Come From? The Heart of Fabulous Bodies
01:16:06 – Succulents, Cheetos, and a Daily Gratitude Practice

Grab your copy of Fabulous Bodies: https://amzn.to/4fNjB2z 

Connect with Chuck Tingle:
Website: https://www.chucktingle.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chucktingle/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@realchucktingle
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/chucktingle

Follow Talking Horror Podcast:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelreddreads/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rachelredd

If you enjoyed this episode, please Like, Subscribe, and hit the notification bell to help us grow the horror community!

Key Topics:

• Brian's horror origin story, from Goosebumps to Are You Afraid of the Dark to Evil Dead
• How watching Scream at age ten sealed his fate as a horror writer
• His path from NYU film school to working as a WGA screenwriter in Hollywood
• Why he thinks the slasher is the purest form of horror
• Turning a rejected screenplay into his debut novel, Curse of the Reaper
• The reality of querying agents and selling a first book in traditional publishing
• Crafting psychological dread on the page without relying on constant action
• Using Alzheimer's and addiction as parallel character struggles in Curse of the Reaper
• Toxic wellness culture as the setting for Breathe In, Bleed Out
• His take on the final girl trope and rewriting it on his own terms
• What's next, including his upcoming Renaissance fair slasher, Fairly Bad Ways to Die

Timestamps:
00:01 - Introducing Brian McAuley, USA Today bestselling author
01:37 - Stoker Con and the surprising warmth of the horror community
05:14 - Brian's horror origin story: Goosebumps, Are You Afraid of the Dark, and Evil Dead
09:17 - Discovering slashers through Scream at age ten
12:15 - Studying screenwriting and film at NYU
14:04 - Breaking into Hollywood and becoming a WGA screenwriter
17:24 - The transition from screenwriting to novel writing
20:55 - Querying sixty agents and selling Curse of the Reaper
24:35 - How the horror publishing boom has changed since he started
25:43 - Teaching screenwriting at Arizona State University
28:07 - Building Howard and Trevor's relationship in Curse of the Reaper
34:13 - Crafting claustrophobic psychological dread on the page
36:39 - Using Alzheimer's and addiction as mirrored character struggles
41:39 - Writing Candy Kane Kills for the Killer VHS series
49:05 - Toxic wellness culture and the inspiration behind Breathe In, Bleed Out
56:20 - Choreographing kill scenes in novels versus screenplays
59:18 - Rethinking the final girl trope
67:14 - Brian's next book, Fairly Bad Ways to Die, a Renaissance fair slasher

Resources & Links:

• Brian McAuley on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22356963.Brian_McAuley
• Breathe In, Bleed Out on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3R2jFmw

Connect with Brian:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brianmcwriter/
• Website: https://www.brianmcwriter.com/

Follow Talking Horror Podcast: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelreddreads/

TikTok:

https://www.tiktok.com/@rachelredd

If you enjoyed this episode, please Like, Subscribe, and hit the notification bell to help us grow the horror community!

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rachelredd

If you enjoyed this episode, please Like, Subscribe, and hit the notification bell to help us grow the horror community!

Grab your copy of The Place Where They Buried Your Heart: https://amzn.to/4vbTAQG

Christina opens up about writing her first novel longhand in a notebook at age 12, why she still writes every single book by hand, and the discovery-based process that lets her pants her way through nearly two decades of publishing without ever plotting. We dig into her Gen X horror origin story (Ouija boards, slumber party slashers, and a Freddy Krueger fear that genuinely haunted her) and what eventually shifted horror from scary to fascinating. Christina also gets into why she fought hard not to be typecast as "the retellings girl," how a Guillermo del Toro interview sparked The House That Horror Built, the single image of a house where three boys went in and two came out that became The Place Where They Buried Your Heart, and the tiny black needle appearing under a baby's arm that started Pinfeathers. Plus: the best piece of advice she ever got about bad reviews, what it was like to get a three-book deal while her toddler climbed a slide at Gymboree, and why she's patiently waiting for the right zombie novel idea to arrive.

Timestamps:
00:01 – Welcome to Talking Horror & Meeting Christina Henry
04:21 – Starting in Urban Fantasy: Black Wings
05:17 – A Gen X Girl's Horror Origin Story
11:59 – Writing Every Book by Hand: The Process Explained
14:45 – Pantsing 19 Novels: How Her Brain Works on Simmer
18:14 – The Road to Publication: Writing Black Wings During Nap Time
22:18 – Three Editors, Same Publisher: 16 Years with Ace/Berkley
25:32 – The Urban Fantasy Boom and Bust
26:24 – Writing Alice and Changing Her Own Career
27:23 – Jumping Genres and Writing for Herself
29:02 – Don't Do It If You Don't Love It
30:20 – Why Bad Reviews Aren't Really About Your Book
36:04 – From Retellings to Horror: Not Wanting to Be Typecast
42:23 – The Real Horror: Vulnerability and Poverty
44:15 – Building Dread Without Jump Scares
46:31 – When the House Is the Villain
47:25 – The Place Where They Buried Your Heart: Moving from Forest to Buildings
54:27 – Pinfeathers: Coming November
55:15 – A Baby, a Pin Feather, and Body Horror
58:47 – Juggling Multiple Books at Once
59:46 – What Comes After Pinfeathers: Dark Humor Returns

Grab your copy of The Place Where They Buried Your Heart: https://amzn.to/4vbTAQG

Connect with Christina Henry:
Website: https://www.christinahenry.net/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorchristinahenry/

Follow Talking Horror Podcast:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelreddreads/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rachelredd

If you enjoyed this episode, please Like, Subscribe, and hit the notification bell to help us grow the horror community!

Grab your copy of Reliquary: https://amzn.to/3Q2bTbZ

We dig into her childhood as a "spooky little kid" sneaking Goosebumps into her school desk, why Buffy the Vampire Slayer is "in the bedrock of her soul," the religious-trauma threads running through her work, and the Ready or Not-inspired spark behind Reliquary. Whether you're a fan of lush gothic atmosphere, slow-burn dread, a love triangle where everybody wins, or a theater kid who loves a dark twist, this conversation is for you.

Timestamps:
00:00 – Buffy in the Bedrock: Where the Whimsy Comes From
00:37 – Welcome to Talking Horror & Meeting Hannah Whitten
02:18 – A Spooky Evangelical Kid Sneaking Goosebumps Into Her Desk
05:31 – Best House on the Block: Halloween & Vintage Goosebumps
07:57 – Writing Since She Could Hold a Pen
09:27 – Postpartum Depression & the Birth of For the Wolf
12:44 – Meeting Erin Craig, Edit Letters & Rewriting the Book Four Times
15:46 – From YA to Adult: The Five-Year Road to Publication
18:56 – Advice for Writers: Finish It & Be Your Own Audience
23:13 – Building the Wilderwood Duology
25:01 – Becoming a TikTok Sensation (Without Being on TikTok)
27:09 – Trolls, Doom Scrolling & the Spider-in-the-House Rule
30:48 – Melting Fairy Tales & Balancing Whimsy With Horror
35:09 – Monsters, Grief, Religious Trauma & Female Power
39:01 – Going Darker: The Nightshade Crown & a Love Triangle Where Everyone Wins
43:23 – Lore the Performer & the Theater Kid Confession
46:13 – Soft Power vs. Hard Power in Romantasy
48:14 – Writing Her First Horror: The Ready or Not Spark & a Secret 55K Draft
52:43 – Meet Claire: Her Most Challenging Protagonist
53:54 – "She's Drew Barrymore in Scream" & the Art of the Slow Burn
57:10 – Anxiety, ADHD & OCD on the Page
59:04 – A New Era? Second Horror & Hawthorne and Oak
1:01:15 – Book Recs: The Starving Saints & Coffin Moon
1:02:39 – Dark Fantasy This or That
1:05:02 – Goodbyes & Reliquary Out August 11th

Connect with Hannah Whitten:
Website: https://hannahfwhitten.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hwhittenwrites/

Follow Talking Horror Podcast:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelreddreads/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rachelredd

If you enjoyed this episode, please Like, Subscribe, and hit the notification bell to help us grow the horror community!

We discuss his childhood memories of browsing graphic VHS covers at Blockbuster, the intentional choices behind writing a premenopausal female protagonist in Mary, and what it was like to receive a dream-come-true foreword from Stephen King. Whether you're a fan of slow-burn body horror, action-packed thrillers, or a theater kid who loves a dark twist, this conversation is for you.

Timestamps: 

00:00 – Podcasting Interventions & Questioning Authors 

00:38 – Introducing Nat Cassidy & The Messiness of Being Alive 

03:14 – Childhood Monsoons, Macabre Textbooks, and a Mother’s Horror Legacy 

07:18 – The Magic of 80s Video Stores & Unexpected Scares in Kids' Movies 

16:02 – Discovering Shakespeare's Macbeth & The Hyperactive Child Actor 1

9:49 – Writing Stephen King Knockoffs Set in Maine 

22:39 – How Playwriting Teaches Authors to Capture and Keep an Audience 2

8:37 – Designing Tension in a Sunken Submarine with a Low Budget 

35:09 – Writing Mary: Tackling Invisibility and Hormonal Thresholds 

42:31 – Sensitivity Readers, Toxic Patriarchy, and the NIH Reading List 

53:54 – When the Wolf Comes Home: Moving from Slow-Burn to Terminator 2 Action 

1:00:08 – Receiving the Ultimate Blessing: The Stephen King Foreword 1:11:36 – I Know a Place: Public Restrooms, Squids, and Live Violin Performances 

1:19:18 – The Album Experience: Why You Must Read Short Stories in Order 

1:21:20 – The Ultimate Literary Bromance: Appreciating Clay McLeod Chapman 

1:26:36 – Why Horror People are the Best and Most Welcoming People in Fiction

Grab a copy of "I Know a Place": https://amzn.to/43VW6ih

Connect with Nat Cassidy:

Website: https://www.natcassidy.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natcassidy/

Twitter/X: https://x.com/natcassidy

Follow Talking Horror Podcast:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelreddreads/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rachelredd

If you enjoyed this episode, please Like, Subscribe, and hit the notification bell to help us grow the horror community!

We discuss her childhood love for unlimited reading and media, the process of writing an unapologetic female Patrick Bateman, and exploring the dark realities of purity culture and religious trauma. Whether you're a fan of extreme splatterpunk, a romance reader who loves a dark twist, or just looking to dive into an immersive void that processes grief and loss, this conversation is for you.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Grad School Revelations & Discovering Horror 

00:09 – Introducing CJ Leede & Her Unapologetic Characters 

03:58 – CJ's Horror Origin Story & Media Freedom as an Only Child 

13:59 – Unexpectedly Landing in the "Extreme" and "Splatterpunk" Horror Space 

26:30 – The Inspiration Behind Maeve Fly & Finding Catharsis in Anger 

32:48 – Balancing Maeve’s Monstrous Actions with Empathy and Relatability 

36:12 – The Double Standard of Justified Violence for Women vs. Men in Literature 

43:44 – Exploring Purity Culture and Religious Trauma in American Rapture

48:05 – Horror as an Empathy Machine and Safe Space to Face Reality 

52:30 – Finding Camaraderie and Support in the Welcoming Horror Community 

55:27 – Headlights: Writing a Male Protagonist & Refusing to be Boxed In 

1:01:08 – Guarding Peace and Ignoring the Pressure of External Expectations 

1:03:51 – Processing Grief, Death, and Hope Through Headlights

1:08:45 – What’s Next: A Sneak Peek at Books Four and Five 

1:12:19 – CJ’s Favorite Books to Reread for Inspiration 

Books mentioned:

Headlights: https://amzn.to/43WViJK

American Rapture: https://amzn.to/3QfoCrA

Maeve Fly: https://amzn.to/4dZb3pq

Connect with CJ Leede:

Website: https://cjleede.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cjleede

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@cjleede

Follow Talking Horror Podcast:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelreddreads/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rachelredd

If you enjoyed this episode, please Like, Subscribe, and hit the notification bell to help us grow the horror community!

We discuss her childhood exposure to Resident Evil and Stephen King , the catharsis of surviving toxic male gaming lobbies , and balancing the mentally taxing world of publishing with the physical discipline of Olympic weightlifting. Whether you're a cozy gamer , a powerlifter , or just looking to dive into an immersive void filled with diabolical mushrooms, this conversation is for you.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Horror as a Comfort Genre & Writing for Fun

00:36 – Introducing Tatiana Schlote-Bonne & Her Bizarre, Unsettling Worlds

02:41 – Childhood Tastes: Goosebumps, Dean Koontz, and Resident Evil

04:31 – Chasing Scares & Desensitization in Horror Movies

08:50 – From High School Family Trauma to the Iowa Non-Fiction Writing Program

16:31 – The Pivot from Memoir to Fiction During the Pandemic

19:31 – The Parallels of Writing Horror and Olympic Powerlifting

21:35 – Navigating Toxic Masculinity in Call of Duty Lobbies

27:30 – Cozy Gaming, Brain Rot, and Video Game Inspirations

32:22 – Such Lovely Skin: Demonic Video Games and Horrific Secrets

38:46 – The Mean Ones: Cults, People Pleasing, and 2000s Mean Girls

46:02 – What Feeds Below: Anime Inspiration, Diabolical Mushrooms, and Body Horror

52:23 – Adapting Voice for Protagonists & The Agony of the Publishing Industry

55:06 – Author Confessions Rapid Fire: Ghost Rom-Coms and the Dread of Starting

Connect with Tatiana Schlote-Bonne:

tatiana-schlote-bonne.com

Instagram: @thebuffwriter
TikTok: @the_buff_writer

Follow Talking Horror Podcast:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelreddreads/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rachelredd

If you enjoyed this episode, please Like, Subscribe, and hit the notification bell to help us grow the horror community!

We discuss her childhood terror of reading the Dutch equivalent of Goosebumps, the catharsis of writing unlikable women and sapphic romances in traditional gothic settings, and the bizarre history of bedazzled catacomb saints. Whether you're a lover of dark folklore, a fan of emotionally complex monster-human relationships, or just looking for your next gothic horror obsession, this conversation is for you.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Welcome to Talking Horror & Connecting Across Time Zones

04:10 – Johanna’s Horror Origin Story: Dutch Goosebumps

07:17 – The Family Computer & Learning to Blind Type

10:25 – Drowning Fairies & Mermaid Curses: Dutch Folklore Explained

12:53 – Being a Triplet & Channeling Sibling Dynamics into Middle-Grade Fiction

15:21 – A Modern Millennial Meet-Cute: Tumblr Fanfiction

17:08 – The Tumultuous Road to Publication & Scrapped First Drafts

30:17 – My Darling, Dreadful Thing: Grief, Mediums, and Comforting Monsters

39:54 – Blood on Her Tongue: Vampires, Unlikable Women, and Forms of Hunger

45:54 – Book History, 17th-Century Gratitude Journals, and Puritans

53:28 – Power Structures & Why Queer Romance Belongs in Gothic Fiction

57:33 – Bone of My Bone: The Thirty Years' War and Bedazzled Skeletons

1:06:25 – Future Releases & Rapid-Fire Gothic Game

Connect with Johanna Van Veen:

Website: https://johannavanveen.com/

Instagram: @johannavanveen1997

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/42245290.Johanna_van_Veen

Follow Talking Horror Podcast:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelreddreads/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rachelredd

If you enjoyed this episode, please Like, Subscribe, and hit the notification bell to help us grow the horror community!

We discuss her childhood terror of Dean Koontz, the catharsis of writing "women behaving badly," and why she has to twerk her way through writer's block. Whether you're an oldest sibling carrying the weight of the world, a fan of morally gray characters, or just looking for your next horror obsession, this conversation is for you.

Timestamps:

00:00 – The Pre-Writing Dance Routine & Twerking Through Writer's Block

00:35 – Introducing Neena Viel & Her Debut, Listen to Your Sister

01:48 – Neena’s Horror Origin Story: Dean Koontz’s Phantoms & Resident Evil

06:46 – Childhood Reading Habits: From Large Print Romance to Goosebumps

11:04 – Pursuing the Dream: "Grandma Thinks I'm a Lawyer"

12:44 – The Real-Life Inspiration: Raising a Teenager in Your 20s

14:44 – The Corporate Grind, Pandemic Writing, and "Revenge" Drafting

17:52 – Neena’s Writing Process: Pantsing, Candles, and the "Party Box"

26:22 – Navigating the Sophomore Slump & Reader Expectations

34:57 – Exploring Sibling Trauma, Dynamics, and the Hilarious Character Jamie

43:27 – Character Building: Giving Siblings Distinct Voices Using the Senses

46:37 – Balancing Humor with Dark Themes (and the Famous Shower Scene)

49:59 – The Horrors of Parentification & The Invisible Labor of Women Caretakers

57:56 – A Sneak Peek at I’ll Watch Your Baby: Morally Gray Women Behaving Badly

1:01:47 – Book 3 Preview: The Trail Provides, A Hiking Horror Satire

1:06:05 – Author Recommendations: Tananarive Due, Steven Barnes, and Debuts

Connect with Neena Viel:

Website: https://www.neenaviel.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/49276349.Neena_Viel (Note: As Neena mentions in the episode, she isn't on platforms like Instagram and TikTok!)

Follow Talking Horror Podcast:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelreddreads/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rachelredd

If you enjoyed this episode, please Like, Subscribe, and hit the notification bell to help us grow the horror community!

In this episode, Ashley and Rachel dive into:

The Power of Words: How being a shy "Navy brat" moving every two years led Ashley to find companionship and an innate love for language within books.

• Poetry as a First Love: Why Ashley’s process remains rooted in "painterly" self-expression and the precision of prose, inspired by poets like Richard Siken and Mary Oliver.

  The 10-Year Hiatus: The "lore" of how a traumatic car accident and 12 MFA rejections led Ashley to quit writing for a decade while she worked in the music and TV industries.

  Academic Thick Skin: How the "grind" of earning a PhD in literature finally gave Ashley the resilience to face the criticism inherent in the publishing world.

  The "Revenge" Thriller: How being told her fantasy novel lacked plot motivated Ashley to "revenge write" her debut thriller, In My Dreams I Hold a Knife, in a fugue state.

  Cults and Control: A deep dive into The Last Housewife and how it explores patriarchal submission and the real-life Sarah Lawrence sex cult.

  Faith vs. Fear: Exploring the existential and religious trauma themes in Midnight is the Darkest Hour, where faith often acts as a "bandage" for the wound of uncertainty.

  Grief as a Detective: How the loss of her father fueled This Book Will Bury Me and its exploration of how grief makes us susceptible to obsession and true crime sleuthing.

Whether you are a "prose snob," a fan of "unreliable narrators," or an eldest daughter fueled by spite, this conversation offers a fascinating look at the grit behind the glamour of storytelling.

Timestamps:

00:00 — The car accident and 12 rejections.

02:15 — Intro: Welcome Ashley Winstead to Talking Horror.

03:09 — Growing up shy: Books as an escape for a Navy kid.

05:14 — First Love: Why poetry and Richard Siken are Ashley’s "Bibles".

13:54 — The 10-year break: Music industry, Hollywood, and the PhD grind.

22:17 — Genre Hopping: From YA Fantasy to "Revenge Writing" a thriller.

32:26 — In My Dreams I Hold a Knife: Toxic ambition and 10-year reunions.

42:16 — The Last Housewife: Exploring "tradwives," submission, and cults.

55:43 — Midnight is the Darkest Hour: Religious trauma and faith as a mask for fear.

1:03:54 — This Book Will Bury Me: Processing grief through true crime obsession.

1:14:23 — Coming Soon: A sneak peek at Hot Girl Murder Club.

Follow Ashley Winstead:

Website: ashleywinstead.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleywinsteadbooks/

Follow Talking Horror Podcast:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelreddreads/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rachelredd

In this episode, Diana and Rachel dive into:

The "Psychic" Origin Story: How a chance encounter with a Salem psychic and a vivid dream launched Diana’s career as a YA author.

Horror as a Social Tool: Why "the zombie is never just a zombie" and how horror allows authors to tackle heavy themes without sounding like an after-school special.

The Book Banning Loophole: The surprising reason axe murders are often more "acceptable" in school libraries than stories about identity or romance.

Raising Awareness: Using The Silenced to shed light on the terrifying reality of wilderness programs and therapeutic boarding schools.

Dual Timelines and Gripping Hooks: Why Diana loves crafting "before and after" narratives to keep readers on the edge of their seats.

The Journalist’s Eye: How Diana’s background as a reporter fuels the intense research and factual history woven into her fiction.

Beyond YA: A sneak peek into Diana's upcoming adult horror short story and her "secret project" moving into adult fiction.

Whether you're a fan of 90s classics like Christopher Pike, a writer looking to sharpen your craft, or a reader who loves stories that "push the boundaries," this conversation is a must-listen.

Timestamps:
00:00 — A life-changing career prediction in Salem.
00:26 — Intro: Welcome Diana Rodriguez Wallach to Talking Horror.
02:15 — Double Nominations: Celebrating The Silenced at the Bram Stoker and Thriller Awards.

03:09 — Why Horror? Growing up on Christopher Pike and R.L. Stine.
04:24 — "The zombie is never just a zombie": Using horror to talk about the real world.
05:26 — The Book Banning Issue: Why "bloody axes" get a pass in the Bible Belt.
07:51 — Intentional Storytelling: Raising awareness for the troubled teen industry.
09:44 — The dual timeline obsession: Crafting Hatchet Girls and The Silenced.
12:06 — The Full Story: 9/11, hotel reporting, and the dream that changed everything.
15:59 — You can't take the journalist out of the writer: Research and factual history.
17:28 — What’s Next: Adult horror anthologies and secret projects.
19:01 — The "Training" Phase: Why authors find it hard to look back at old work.

Follow Diana Rodriguez Wallach:

Website: dianarodriguezwallach.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dianawallachauthor/

Follow Talking Horror Podcast:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelreddreads/

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In this episode, Kiersten and Rachel dive into:

• Religious trauma and the "sucky foundation" of being raised in a high-control Mormon environment.
• Dismantling purity culture and the process of "healing the shit out of" trauma through fiction.
• Why Mister Magic serves as a "holy grail" for survivors seeking to reclaim their identity from toxic beliefs.
• The millennial horror of Hide: sacrificing the next generation for a measly $50,000 and the "unlikability" of human desperation.
• Giving Lucy Westenra her groove back: reclaiming Dracula’s most tragic victim through a queer, feminist lens.
• The "T-shirt book deal" and the secrets to writing for iconic franchises like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Star Wars.
• The real star of the show: Kimberly, the 40-pound, "opportunistic omnivore" tortoise living in Kiersten’s backyard.

Whether you're a "self-proclaimed chicken" who loves scary stories, an author navigating the "murky areas" of different genres, or a survivor looking for the hope and catharsis hidden in the dark, this one is for you.

Timestamps:

• 00:00 — Intro: Does horror still scare a professional horror writer?
• 01:47 — Why horror? Taking control of childhood fears.
• 03:16 — Forbidden stories: Growing up in a high-control religious environment.
• 08:33 — The "Twilight" effect and accidentally starting a career in YA.
• 10:50 — Writing for teens vs. adults: Hope vs. "we’re on our own".
• 13:39 — Re-imaginings: Having a creative conversation with Dracula and Frankenstein.
• 18:02 — The "Sunnydale" T-shirt deal and pitching a Ben Solo novel.
• 23:49 — Balancing ADHD, humor, and darkness across different "cookie jars".
• 29:09 — Hide: Greek myths, reality TV, and the horror of the American system.
• 36:50 — Religious Trauma: Why Mister Magic is for the people "crying in the DMs".
• 47:25 — Reclaiming Lucy Westenra: Why the men in Dracula are the real villains.
• 54:26 — The Fox and the Devil: Forensic science, world fairs, and joyful queerness.
• 1:08:17 — Meet Kimberly: The dinosaur-sized tortoise in the backyard.
• 1:10:06 — Upcoming projects: Graphic novels and Wild and Wicked.

Follow the Guest (Kiersten White):

• Website: kierstenwhite.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorkierstenwhite

Follow Talking Horror Podcast:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelreddreads/
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rachelredd

If you enjoyed this episode, please Like, Subscribe, and hit the notification bell to help us grow the horror community!

In this episode, bestselling author Paulette Kennedy pulls back the curtain on her unexpected path to publication, the pandemic grocery run that sparked The Devil and Mrs. Davenport, and why she believes dark fiction isn't just entertainment, but one of the safest ways to explore what makes us human. We go deep on grief, weaponized religion, "punchable" villains, and how her stunning new novel The Two Deaths of Lillian Carmichael is really a story about transformation and what you do with the time you have left.

Whether you're a lifelong gothic fiction fan or just discovering the genre, this one will stay with you.

Timestamps:

00:00 — Intro: Meet Paulette Kennedy & the "punchable" villain

00:43 — How the Brontës, VC Andrews & Stephen King shaped her voice

03:06 — The book that made her want to write (Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier)

04:04 — ADHD, unfinished manuscripts, and not publishing until 46

06:21 — The real (unglamorous) truth about early writing life

07:50 — Her morning ritual: 5 AM, candles, film scores & flow state

09:23 — Where story ideas come from — and when they don't

11:31 — Plotter vs. Pantser: why she now does both

13:40 — Working with a developmental editor & finding your craft

14:50 — Her hardest book to write (and why it became her bestseller)

17:03 — The pandemic grocery run that became The Devil and Mrs. Davenport

19:32 — Faith vs. religion — and how religion gets weaponized

21:30 — Writing grief from the inside: "I've lost pretty much everyone"

24:02 — Feeling like a midlister despite massive success

28:33 — Why writing faster made her writing better

30:15 — The Two Deaths of Lillian Carmichael: toxic families & sibling rivalry

33:29 — Crafting villains readers love to hate

35:33 — Why dark fiction matters more than people think

36:17 — Balancing emotional depth with thriller momentum

37:41 — Why she keeps choosing historical fiction (and how she picks the era)

40:05 — A full year of research: archives, maps, diaries & location visits

42:20 — Writing race, LGBTQ+ oppression & abuse in historical contexts

45:19 — The Death tarot card, transformation, and "what am I doing with my time?"

48:01 — The magic of readers finding themselves in your pages

48:48 — Why readers are drawn to the dark side

50:05 — When to make your antagonist supernatural vs. human

52:16 — What's next: future genres & upcoming projects

📚 Connect with Paulette Kennedy:

🌐 Website:

paulettekennedy.com

📸 Instagram:

@pkennedywrites

Follow Talking Horror Podcast:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelreddreads/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rachelredd

If you enjoyed this episode, please Like, Subscribe, and hit the notification bell to help us grow the horror community!

In this episode, Saratoga and Rachel dive into:

• Seven unpublished books and a decade of rejection before getting the "yes"
• Why social media — not a demon in the well — is the true villain in TradWife
• The ethics of true crime fandom and why victims shouldn't be footnotes to their own stories
• How sobriety, poetry, and a childhood love of murderous nutcrackers shaped a horror career
• What queer and non-binary identity brings to horror's most essential questions of power and self
• A sneak peek at the upcoming A Thousand Monstrous Forms and The Last Time We Drowned

Whether you're a horror skeptic who loved The Hunger Games, an aspiring author surviving the rejection marathon, or a reader hungry for stories that challenge identity and power, this one is for you.

Timestamps:

00:00 — Why readers shouldn't eat while reading Saratoga's books 

00:19 — Introducing Saratoga Schaeffer

01:31 — Horror, genre-blending, and the freedom of the "Dark Side" 

03:26 — Breaking the stigma: Horror is for everyone 

04:35 — Saratoga's origin story: From murderous nutcrackers to middle-grade horror 

08:20 — Poetry, recovery, and inheriting an art form 

11:23 — Writing as a safe space for identity and self-confidence 

14:16 — Reaching back: Writing the books you needed in the past 

17:57 — The "Unicorn" myth: Surviving a decade of rejection 

19:41 — Behind the scenes of Serial Killer Support Group: Revisions and character deaths 

22:55 — Knowing when to bend: Boundaries in the publishing industry 

46:30 — TradWife: Social horror, body horror, and the monster on your screen 

1:04:15 — Sneak peek at A Thousand Monstrous Forms 

1:11:05 — Closing thoughts and cover reveal dates

Follow Talking Horror Podcast:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelreddreads/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rachelredd

If you enjoyed this episode, please Like, Subscribe, and hit the notification bell to help us grow the horror community!

We discuss his "bromance" with Nat Cassidy, his origins in the shadows of Edgar Allan Poe’s Richmond, and why he strives to be "water" in a world of square-peg branding. Whether you're a writer looking for advice on finding your voice or a reader looking for your next terrifying obsession, this conversation is for you.

Timestamps:

00:00 – The Nat Cassidy "Bromance" & the Infamous Werewolf Mask

00:37 – Introducing Clay McLeod Chapman

01:50 – Why Horror? The Genre as an "Emotional Highlighter"

03:40 – Using the "Horror Sandbox" to Process Fear and Grief

04:55 – Clay’s Origin Story: Poe, Campfire Tales, and "Soft Traumas"

07:13 – Growing up in the Shadow of Edgar Allan Poe in Richmond

11:00 – The Visceral Power of a Good Story

14:26 – Writing Across Mediums: From Theater to Comics to Fiction

18:15 – Navigating Self-Doubt and the "Deficit of Confidence"

21:28 – The "Dollop of Water" Philosophy: Finding Your Place in the Industry

26:40 – Handling Reviews: The Grace of the "Two-Star" Feedback

31:50 – Authors on Social Media: Building a Positive Community

34:21 – Paying it Forward: The Importance of Supporting Fellow Writers

37:55 – Exploring the "Darkness": Grief and Trauma in What Kind of Mother

41:30 – The Immersive Magic of Audiobooks

45:00 – Deep Dive into Ghost Eaters: Addiction as a Haunting

52:15 – The Current State of Horror: Indie Presses and New Voices

1:00:10 – Advice for Aspiring Writers: Being a "Student of the World"

1:05:54 – Closing Thoughts & A Final Question for Nat Cassidy

Connect with Clay McLeod Chapman:

Website: claymcleodchapman.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/claymcleod/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@claymcleodchapman

Follow Talking Horror Podcast:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkhorrorpod/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rachelredd

If you enjoyed this episode, please Like, Subscribe, and hit the notification bell to help us grow the horror community!

In this series, host Rachel Redd explores the darker parts of being human through the lens of horror and thriller fiction.

Why horror? Because it is one of the most honest forms of storytelling. It isn't just about being scared; it's a conversation about the human experience that can change the way we view ourselves and those around us.

Subscribe now and join us every Tuesday starting April 7th as we interview the authors who are redefining the genre and creating the greatest stories of our time!

What to Expect:

• Author Interviews: Deep dives into new books and the creative process.
• Genre Insights: Conversations with the voices changing the landscape of horror and thrillers.
• A Community for All: Whether you’re a lifelong reader, an aspiring writer, or just getting started, there’s a seat for you at our table.

New episodes drop every Tuesday!

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