Horror Author and Supportive Fan Donna J W Munro:
To start, please introduce yourself:
I write horror, sci-fi, and fantasy, always with a dark element, but usually there’s a real thread of hope. I’ve always written, but just in the past 8 years I’ve really broken through as a short story and now, novelist. I like to think of my writing career as a late second act twist since I’m 53. Hurts to type that! I’m also a high school social studies teacher, mostly teaching government to juniors. No matter what side of the political aisle you are on, you have to see teaching Government in this current political mess is the real-life horror I live in! I love teens though. They are resilient and mostly the kindest people I’ve ever met. I guess that’s why when I write long form, I write about them. I have the obligatory cat herd in my house and a curly-headed puppy, as well as a husband who puts up with my strange cackling dark humor, a brilliant son, and my mama who puts up with us all.
What is horror to you, what makes a work of art one in the horror genre?
Horror is disruption. Disturbance. Anything that takes away your peace can be horror. A mouse can be horror if it terrifies you. Horror has levels as well. Are you mildly unsettled? Did the world just tilt? Horror. Is someone following you? Did your husband just reveal something he couldn’t possibly know? Horror. Thrillers use horror. Sci-fi uses horror. I think true horror really leans into the feeling of being out of control more than the genres that mix horror in for effect. Take Alice in Wonderland for example. There are monsters, a lack of control, a raging murderess taking off heads. But Alice never really succumbs to the horror of the place. Instead, she participates where she can. She plays along and even laughs at the oddities as they present themselves. She has wonder instead of terror. I think that feeling, tone and evoked emotion, make a horror story.
What made you want to work in horror?
I was trained by my dad to love horror. I started with mythology and fairy tales, then read Scary Stories We Tell in the Dark and any other spooky book I could find. Dad got tired of me blazing through $3 books in an hour, so he started handing me his books. Steven King, Ray Bradbury, F. Paul Wilson, TED Klien, and my favorite–Theodore Sturgeon. I watched Twilight Zone and Night Gallery when most kids were asleep. Later, I decided that I like horror on a page better than the horror of the real world. I never read thrillers. I don’t like actual serial killer movies or books. I only tolerate “slasher” flicks. It’s too real. Give me a tentacled, hairy, moon-eyed soul sucker any day. Besides, writing and reading horror is like an exorcism. It gets the dark out. Those thoughts everyone has that are scary and intrusive? I just write them down and sometimes people pay me for them. Neat, huh?
Where do you get your inspiration?
I love to use images. Deviant Art gives me tons of ideas. Sometimes, something will just occur to me. There’s always something scary lurking in my brain.
What would you like your legacy to be in the genre (or elsewhere)?
I’d like to be the modern Ray Bradbury–a master of short stories. He’s really my writing hero. If nothing else, I’d just like to be remembered for telling dark tales that made people happy (in a very dark, cathartic way).
What is Women in Horror Month to you and why is it still important this many years later?
It’s nice to be seen as a group of impactful people contributing to the genre. Often, during these wonderful focus months, we can discover new voices. I am so excited to be a part of the modern horror genre and to know so many amazing women bringing new ideas to the fore.
Who are some of the Women in Horror who you look up to and who do you want to bring attention to in your field or others?
There are so many women of horror who deserve tons of accolades.
Lee Murray is an amazing writer who lifts up every writer she meets. Linda Addison, L. Marie Wood, Lisa Morton– all of these women are forging paths and lifting up new writers.
As far as new writers go, EV Knight is an amazing voice unafraid to show you the darkness that people are capable of. Her novel “3 Nights in the Pink Tower” will mess you up. Carol Gyzander writes beautiful shorts and she works within HWA to get new chapters established across the US. Carina Bisset teaches about dark fairy tales and writes lyrical stories. Sara Tanglinger, Lucy Snyder, Sarah Hans, Stephanie Wytovich, Gwedolyn Kiste… There are really too many to list.
What are you currently working on that you can tell us about?
My Poppet Cycle YA series is wrapping up this year with the third novel, REVOLUTION, coming out this summer. Anyone interested in short stories should check my website at https://www.donnajwmunro.net/copy-of-books-and-stories. Freebie stories are marked with the wee Cthulu. I’m on Facebook (acebook.com/donna.wagenblastmunro) and Blue Sky (@donnajwmunro.bsky.social).
Thank you for taking the time to do this with us!
Thanks for doing this with me!
