Dangerous Dames: Women Who Write Horror

I started writing seriously in high school after reading several of Stephen King’s novels; I got hooked on horror at the tender age of twelve when an aunt gave me a copy of Cujo. I’ve been reading Stephen King’s books ever since. Growing up during the 1980s, I noticed there weren’t very may women writing scary stories. Inspired, I set out to change that. Why should men have all the fun, writing frightfully good fiction? After all, women are highly attuned to emotions — clearly capable of delivering subtle scares, as well as visceral visions that linger long after the reader turns the final page.

Horror is such a primal emotion. Humans have always endured dread — it’s enmeshed in our subconscious — the very essence of our being. Countless stories have been told about what scares us; an innumerable amount await.

When I first submitted my stories for publication, I encountered lots of rejection. Uncertain if this was because I was a woman, or due to the fact I was new to the genre, I eschewed self-doubt and quickly progressed from form rejection letters to the inclusion of personal comments, which proved quite useful. Fears unfounded. As the submission process evolved from via snail mail — don’t forget to include a SASE — to email, and ultimately Submittable, I grew bolder, grateful for Editors’ comments and fresh perspective, which enabled me to grow as a writer and submit my…