Cursed Morsels

V. Castro (author of "The Cucuy of Cancun," Hairspray and Switchblades, Maria the Wanted), and I talk about tourism as colonialism, Fright Girl Summer, and her story "The Cucuy of Cancun" from the Worst Laid Plans vacation horror anthology. The first half of our discussion is spoiler free, and the second half has spoilers for "The Cucuy of Cancun."

Part 1 of 3 in the Worst Laid Plans episode series.

Kathe Koja (author of Velocities, The Cipher, and Dark Factory) and I talk about immersive fiction, the nature of evil, and how artists can push the boundaries of their craft. The first half of this discussion is spoiler free, and the second half is a spoiler-full discussion of her story "At Eventide" from her collection Velocities.

Max D. Stanton (author of the short story collection A Season of Loathsome Miracles) and I talk about mysticism, the relationship between humor and horror, and his unsettling story "The Penance Lake Roadside Wax Museum." The first half of this discussion is spoiler-free and focused mainly on his new short story collection. The second half has spoilers for the aforementioned "Penance Lake" story -- I provide a warning beforehand.

Jessica Guess (author of Cirque Berserk) and I talk about reimagining the slasher genre, the downsides of immortality, and navigating the anti-genre biases of MFA creative writing programs. We also dive deep with Cirque Berserk, so beware -- SPOILERS!

Gwendolyn Kiste (author of And Her Smile Will Untether the Universe) and I talk about what makes body horror so appealing, why traditional family structures are so terrifying, and how to update fairy tales for the modern era.

Shaun Hamill (author of A Cosmology of Monsters) and I talk about what scares him, how to craft timeless characters, and how he writes about intergenerational mental illness through the lens of horror.

Eric and Sam discuss Livia Llewellyn's story "Stabilimentum" from her collection Furnace, touching on the exploitative landlord-tenant relationship, the danger of peak experiences, and spider people (not the Marvel kind).

Livia and I talk about effective uses of ambiguity in writing, the craft of weird fiction, and her eight-legged short story "Stabilimentum" from her collection Furnace. Look out for part 2 of this episode - an analytical discussion and comedy sketch about the story - coming next week!

Eric and Nicole talk about Brian Hodge's phenomenal supernatural mystery story "We, the Fortunate Bereaved," and a reality TV competition ensues for who can win the heart of a mysterious scarecrow possessed by an unknown soul.

Eric and Dizzy (a writer and advocate for victims of domestic violence) discuss Gwendolyn Kiste's thematically rich story "Skin Like Honey and Lace." They also discuss their experiences with Skinder, a new app pairing people who have too much skin with people who have too little.

Note: apologies for our mispronunciation of Kiste's name!