Author Dana Hammer answers our questions:
To start, please introduce yourself:
I’m Dana Hammer. I write horror and horror-comedies, usually dealing with the human body. The human body is garbage, and most of my writing reflects this troubling reality.
What is horror to you, what makes a work of art one in the horror genre?
Horror is anything that deals with the macabre. It doesn’t have to be intellectual or stupid or serious or wacky — it just has to have dark subject matter.
What made you want to work in horror?
It’s the very best genre, filled with the very best people. No other genre lets you be your weird and twisted self and rewards you for your freaky thoughts.
Where do you get your inspiration?
Everywhere.
What would you like your legacy to be in the genre (or elsewhere)?
I hope people remember me as a writer who wrote funny, thought-provoking works of genius for sick fucks and weirdos.
What is Women in Horror Month to you and why is it still important this many years later?
Well, we all know that women are underrepresented in horror, which makes no sense, because women are uniquely qualified to create scary art. Women know what it’s like to be told that the creepy dude who lives in that cabin is just a nice old man, and the evil is in our imaginations. We know what it’s like to be told to calm down, when there are good reasons to freak out, we know what it’s like to be hunted and stalked. Women in Horror is a celebration of the women who use fear to make art, and who take control of our fear and make it serve us.
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?
So many! The Soska Sisters, Jessica Hobbs, Shirley Jackson, Gigi Saul Guerrero, Gillian Flynn, Anne Rice, Mira Grant, just to name a few.
What are you currently working on that you can tell us about?
I’m currently working on a middle grade novel that is getting very dark and is probably going to turn into a YA novel. It’s about a girl whose father is the pastor of a religious cult, until aliens come to earth and start converting people to their “religion”. I’m almost halfway done with it. We will see if it turns out OK. My middle grade novel, Fanny Fitzpatrick and the Brother Problem was just released on February 6th, but that’s not horror. My most recent horror novel is called The Cannibal’s Guide to Fasting. I have many short stories and plays you can check out, as well. Links to most of my stuff can be found at www.danahammer.com, or at https://www.facebook.com/ danahammerwriterofthings.