{"id":43410,"date":"2024-03-31T22:30:42","date_gmt":"2024-04-01T02:30:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=43410"},"modified":"2024-03-31T20:46:50","modified_gmt":"2024-04-01T00:46:50","slug":"jessicadwyer-wihm2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2024\/03\/31\/jessicadwyer-wihm2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Journalist and Writer Jessica Dwyer Interview [Women in Horror Month 2024]"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Journalist and writer Jessica Dwyer:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

To start, please introduce yourself: <\/strong>
\nJessica Dwyer<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What is horror to you, what makes a work of art one in the horror genre?
\n<\/strong>Horror can mean a lot of different things to people. It\u2019s really about feeling and emotion. Some horror is simply about dread, a sense that just hangs around. Some is visual like body horror. Some can be based on the levels a person will go to get what they want. Being able to convey and make someone feel this with images be they movies, comics, or within the description of words or a poem is what makes horror art.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What made you want to work in horror?
\n<\/strong>I\u2019ve always been drawn to the monsters and the dark side. I think it comes from being a pretty loner kid growing up but also just being introduced to horror films at a young age (in some instances way too young.) I felt a kinship with the monsters and I just loved all the mythology and story there. I found my tribe with my fellow horror fans. Like knows like. Just as in Nightbreed, we all find our own Midian together in the familiar landscape of a theater or at the hallowed halls of a Horror Con.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Where do you get your inspiration?
\n<\/strong>I\u2019ve written fiction and non-fiction as well as produced and cast projects. I really enjoy introducing people to amazing art they may not have heard of or seen. Giving the history of films and speaking about new and exciting work too. I grew up reading Famous Monsters<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

of Filmland and Fangoria. Uncle Forry always made you feel welcome and like you were talking to a friend. That\u2019s what I like to have come across when I\u2019m writing about films etc.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When it comes to my writing in fiction I have a couple of ways I go about it depending on the subject as well as length. Short stories are always a fun challenge because I\u2019m very wordy. But I love finding a flow, almost like music to the words where they just pop along the page. I love Clive Barker\u2019s way with words. I love Joss Whedon\u2019s way with dialog.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I also will always look to Debra Hill and what she created with her work in the genre world as an inspiration for women in this industry to be unafraid to go for it.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

What would you like your legacy to be in the genre (or elsewhere)?
\n<\/strong>I hope I inspired other young oddballs who didn\u2019t know what to do with their love of the weird. That you can find your own people and make what you love. Even if it is just fanfiction that you and one other person read, drawings, what have you\u2026make it and bring it to life. I come from a place that didn\u2019t know what to do with me and I know how lonely that can be.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

14-year-old me wouldn\u2019t know what to say to all the amazing things I\u2019ve had the honor to be a part of. Helping create documentaries, casting films, producing, writing, interviewing, even getting nominated a few times for a Rondo. I\u2019ve met people I never thought I would, worked with people who were like family to me, and I\u2019m still here.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What is Women in Horror Month to you and why is it still important this many years later?
\n<\/strong>It celebrates a genre that was, in a way, really set fire to by a woman in Mary Shelley. It shows that women are just as much a part of the industry and can get just as scary and terrifying as the boys. It feels like it is getting better for us with creators and writers who are being recognized for what they bring to the table. A prime example would be Lisa Frankenstein which had a female director and a female writer that was inspired by Mary Shelley\u2019s work and focuses on a young woman and the horror show that is her life. And that movie managed to be fantastic and as twisted as anything you\u2019d find out of the fine folks at Troma. Never underestimate a woman who knows how to use an axe.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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?
\n<\/strong>I definitely look up to Debra Hill. Technically she was also the first Michael Myers. She also helped usher in some of the best horror movies of the 80s. Cassandra Peterson is a<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>legend and took Elvira and horror hosts to a mainstream level no one could imagine. And she did it while being smart and savvy about her image and keeping control of it. She writes and produces her own work and embraces the horror community wholeheartedly.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Zelda Williams I\u2019ll reference again. She\u2019s got a flair for the genre that glories in the absurd and over the top aspects of it. Her directing style is amazing and her eye for details and design is great as well. I can\u2019t wait to see what she does next.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019d want to use those examples for other women in the industry. They can inspire anyone know matter their gender, but for women especially.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What are you currently working on that you can tell us about?
\n<\/strong>I continue to keep working on everything Fangirl that I produce. I\u2019m sadly behind on a lot just due to how busy I am. Fangirl Magazine on YouTube this year had added my Q&A with Nick Cage.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m working on multiple series as part of JoBlo on their horror and Originals channels including the WTF Happened To This Horror Celebrity series which includes interviews with Kane Hodder, Doug Bradley, and more from the realms of the horror genre.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

HorrorHound Magazine just hit its 100th issue milestone and I continue to write and host for them. I\u2019m also continuing to produce and assist on film and series projects as they come and (phew) all of this while trying to work on my fiction writing. You can get the first book in my Sweeney Todd series on Amazon called Silver and Rubies (there are two more I need to finish which will eventually happen\u2026eventually I promise.) I have a goal of having my short story Red Brew also recorded as an Audiobook possibly this year.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I work a lot\u2026that\u2019s what I\u2019m saying.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Journalist and writer Jessica Dwyer:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1284,8,2673],"tags":[477,1550],"class_list":["post-43410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-festivalsevents","category-interviews","category-wihm","tag-horror","tag-women-in-horror"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43410","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43410"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43410\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43411,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43410\/revisions\/43411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}