Wicked Women Writers and Masters Of Macabre

For Episode 130 of the Horror Addict podcast we will be highlighting the past winners of our Wicked Women Writer’s challenge and the Masters Of Macabre contest. The Wicked Women Writer’s Challenge started in 2008 by Michele Roger as a distraction to the monotony that can be writing as a woman in a genre dominated by men. It was also meant to bring attention to female horror writers and podcasters.  In 2011 Horroraddicts.net started the Master’s Of The Macabre contest to give male horror writers/podcasters a chance to compete. In each contest the participants are given a theme, a place and object with the goal of writing and reading the scariest story. In celebration of both contests here is a little information on each winner and what they are up to now:

 In 2009 the first winner of WWW was Heather Roulo the theme was doing away with your spouse. Heather’s story was called Graveyard Shift and was published in The Wickeds: A Wicked Women Writers Anthology (Volume 1). Heather is a writer of science-fiction, horror, and fantasy and has  a BA in English from the University of Idaho. Recently she released a new book called Plague Master: Sanctuary Dome.

http://www.heroulo.com/

Our 2010 winner was Rhonda Carpenter. The theme was seven Deadly Sins and Rhonda’s story called Barring Lilith. The Sin in question was lust and gets into what it is like if you are married to the demon of lust Asmodius. Rhonda is the author of the book Mark Of The Druid and was co-host of the podcast Podioracket.

http://www.rhondacarpenter.com/

The winner in 2011 was Laurel Anne Hill for her story Flight Of Destiny. Her story stirs steampunk, infidelity, jealously, and a radioactive poison into a delicious hot-pot of horror. Laurel Anne Hill has been published in several anthologies including How Beer Saved the World. She also has a novel available called Heroes Arise

http://www.laurelannehill.com/

 

In 2012 Killion Slade won the Wicked Women Writer’s Challenge. Killion was assigned a holiday: Passover, a location: A Seashore and an object: A Garden Rake, she submitted Children of Angels. Killion Slade is a loyal reader of dystopian urban fantasy and has written two books in the World Of Blood series: Exsanguinate and Obfuscate

http://www.killionslade.com/

2013’s  winner was Maggie Fiske. In her story called A Quarrel for Jimmy Kills Crow,  the theme was the apocalypse and she had to write about solar flares while hunting in the mountains with a crossbow. Maggie had a lot of fun doing the sound effects for her story and made it sound like a professional radio play. Maggie has also written a novella called The Last Man to Die in the Nebraska Electric Chair. 

DM Slate won 2014’s contest with her story Photo Finish . Her challenge items were a Dragon, Japanese Night Club, Hairspray and Hallucinations. D.M resides in Colorado and has a business degree from the University Of Northern Colorado.  She writes Horror, comedy and mystery. One of her novels is Roots Of Deceit.

http://www.dm-slate.com/
2015’s contest got a lot more difficult with each contestant having to do an audio production with more than one voice involved. Jaq Hawkins won with her story The Sun Child. Jaq is a British author in the genres of Steampunk, Fantasy and the occult. She wrote The Goblin Series along with several other books on magic.

http://jaqdhawkins.co.uk/

 

2011 was the first year that horroraddicts.net hosted the Masters Of Macabre challenge and the first winner was Shaunessy Ashdown for his story Spectrophobia. Shaunessy is a fan of the Wicked Women Writers Challenge and was happy that he had a chance to compete in a challenge for the men and when he won he compared it to being kissed by Elvira. Shaunessy  is an editor for a German school book publisher.

Philip Carroll won in 2012 , the theme was curses and Phillip’s story was The Curse Of The Lottery. Phillip likes to write urban fantasy but took a trip to the darkside with this one. Phillip is an Army trained Certified Orthotist and a master storyteller that has worked on several podcasts. He is also author of the book Flypaper Boy.

http://norvaljoe.com/

The theme for 2013 was haunted houses. Rick Kitagawa included a double wide mobile home and a black and white television for his story Uncle Neal’s House and won the challenge. Rick is a San Francisco-based fine art painter, illustrator, and storyteller who creates paintings, short stories, and illustrations in the horror genre.

http://www.rickkitagawa.com/about.html

2014’s winner was Solomon Archer for his story Surface Tension. The Theme was creature feature and Soloman’s story included New York City, a teddy bear and an Oceanic trench. Solomon is a criminal psychologist by day and writer by night. His short stories have appeared in several anthologies and he is the writer of PsyKu.

https://psykubook.wordpress.com/the-author/
In 2015 Rish Outfield won for his story Miss Fortune. Rish is a writer and a podcaster whose main goal is to scare their children into behaving, into going to sleep, or keeping their mouths shut about what they saw take place in the woodshed.

https://www.amazon.com/Into-the-Furnace/dp/B01FXVT6VO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1468068806&sr=8-1&keywords=rish+outfield

http://rishoutfield.blogspot.com/

HorrorAddicts.net 105, Masters of Macabre Contest

Horror Addicts Episode# 105
Intro Music by: Cancer Killing Gemini
Co-Hosted by Rick Kitagawa and Eve Skylar
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83 days till Halloween!
masters of macabre contest

stephen kozeniewski, ricky cooper, rish outfield, d.j. pitsiladis, solomon archer, creature feature, writing contest

To vote, send an email to horroraddicts@gmail.com
Subject line: MMM
Tell us who you think wrote the best story and why.
One lucky winner will win the HorrorAddicts.net PRIZE PACK!

Find all articles and interviews at: http://www.horroraddicts.net

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Write in re: ideas, questions, opinions, horror cartoons, favorite movies, etc…
horroraddicts@gmail.com
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h o s t e s s
Emerian Rich
s t a f f
David Watson, Dan Shaurette, Marc Vale, KBatz, Mimielle, Dawn Wood
Want to be a part of the HA staff? Email horroraddicts@gmail.com

13 Questions’ Most Horrifically Fun Interviews

Alright Horror Addicts, do I have a special treat for you? Well, let me put it this way…would any woman make a deal with a crossroads demon to spend a night with the boys of Supernatural?  If you don’t know the answer to that question, then you my ex-friend are in the WRONG place 😉

In honor of our upcoming 100^th episode of Horror Addicts, I have wadded through the years of 13 Questions to bring you MY Top 10 favorite interviews!

Whether it be their insane sense of humor, their demonically seductive personalities, or just their undying passion for what they do…Below you will find the 10 Masters and Mistresses Wickeds that have left a mark on me; (Thankfully it wasn’t the black spot! Phheeewww!) as well as my favorite snippet from their interview.

Each author’s name will be a link to the real goodies (a.k.a. their original interview). Now, let’s get this hauntingly exciting review started!!!

10. Kimberly Steele-

[“I feel that my pathetic, obsessive lurking around Emerian’s fabulous site and community becomes slightly more legitimized because I’ve been asked to interview twice.”

You may have heard the rumors going around that Emerian and Kimberly hate each other. After you read what Steele had to say about the rumors you’ll see what’s going on. “She’s my sister by a different mister, I love that chica. Emerian and I share Criss Angel. We get at each other, but it’s really Criss is to blame. He’s a slut.”]

9. Shaunessy Ashdown-

[Shaunessy prefers the “monsters” that are “closest to reality.” “Serial killers, jilted lovers that fly off the handle, the sort of badies you find in thrillers like “Psycho” or “Fatal Attraction.” It’s fascinating to explore what turns a person evil…though in the supernatural realm, witches and ghosts really capture my imagination, maybe because they are the most real to me.”]

8. Patricia Santos-  

[Excitingly enough the “short” Patricia will be sharing with us an excerpt of her novel The Weeping Woman. Not wanting to give away too much information, all I could get out of Patricia was a small description about the excerpt. “It’s what I call my Mexican exorcism scene. A healer is removing a curse from a young girl. Pretty creepy. You’ll never look at a snake the same way.”]

7. Crystal Connor-

[My writing affects everything else. I write at night, so I really don’t have that much of a social life; everyone I love lives normal lives and sleep during the night. The way you’re supposed to haha. But the transition from punching a clock and being financially secure, to trying to carve out a life on the earnings of book sales has really shown me who my friends are. And luckily for me everyone who was around when I was spending money like there was no tomorrow are still with me today.]

 

6. Rick Kitagawa-

[“Hands down, my favorite monster is probably the Creature from the Black Lagoon and other aquatic-based creatures.  While the Gill Man is not the strongest or most terrifying of the bunch, he just looks so frickin’ awesome.  Actually, I’m working on (yet) another comic project that focuses on the Creature and other monsters, but puts them in day jobs and awkward social situations with each other.  It’s actually completely not scary at all (much more slice of life/emo stuff), but that just goes to show how much I like the Gill Man. I’m even willing to do a comic that’s not even remotely creepy because I like him so much.”]

5. Jennifer Rahn-

[“I am a scientist, currently researching brain tumors. I did a stint in the biotech industry after my Msc (sic) in Pharmacology and then did my PhD in breast cancer, so I’ve got quite a wide range of experiences that I could use to build up a story environment. I think it all gave me a lot of background fodder for the first novel, and I have an idea for a scifi whodunit, so it probably will provide me with background again, but the nice thing about writing fantasy is that it doesn’t necessarily have to be scientifically accurate!”]

4. Joshua Heinrich-  

[Josh’s relaxed nature took hold and he began to joke around while explaining his story The Basement to me. “It’s a bit over 1700 words.  Originally written in Times New Roman.  12 pt, I believe.  In English.  There’s a basement involved.  Okay, okay.  I’ll stop.  It’s a story I actually wrote a few years back.  It sort of jumps into the story of a woman locked in a pitch black basement, sort of following her actions and inner narrative as things come into focus.  I’m not sure I really want to give any more away before your listeners experience the story.  I guess that’s the problem with promoting stories with twists or that evolve into something else as the narrative goes along…it’s hard give a summary without spoiling the whole thing.”]

3. Shana Abé- 

[I watched hawks a lot. Eventually I could identify entire families. They’re graceful and deadly, and one afternoon I was watching them slice through the air when I thought, “Dragons! Aha!” Because although hawks are cool, dragons are even cooler. You can say whatever you want about dragons, create any mythology you want for them. They are purely products of our deepest, darkest imagination.

In fact, there’s a scene in The Deepest Night in which Lora and Armand are discussing why they–their species–are so feared by humans. Armand says: “Because dragons are the most formidable creatures of all. Because we exist at the fringes of their imaginations, nefarious and bloodcurdling and never quite fully defined. We can be shaped however they wish, assigned any horrific trait they dare to invoke. We’re the accumulation of all that they fear, most of all themselves.”]

2. Wicked Women Writers/Masters of Macabre-

There really isn’t a specific WWW or MMM that I enjoyed interviewing over the other. In fact, I found that it was the experience of doing a group interview of so many extraordinary authors that makes my WWW and MMM interviews some of my favorite!

And my favorite interview of all time is…dun…Dun…DUUUNNNNNNNNN

1. Emerian Rich-

[As the Horror Hostess that she is, I had to ask what actually got Emerian into the horror genre in the first place? “Horror and dark beauty inspire me to create, to live, to be. It sounds like a rather strange thing to say, that things usually involving death or terror inspire you, but I think it is the key to horror culture that outsiders will never really understand. I think it is a true test of the soul when someone is tortured or brought to the brink or death. There is a beauty when a character decides to accept the darkside or when they conquer it through personal strength. I am not a fan of mass murder or child abuse or terrorism in our real lives. However, I am a fan of the child or wife or soldier who battles through and shows that our human spirits can endure pain and still prevail.”]

HorrorAddicts.net 097, Lucy Blue, Frank H. Woodward, Dr. Rotz

Horror Addicts Episode# 097

Horror Hostess: Emerian Rich

With Guests: Camellia Rains and Ari DaWintre

Intro Music by: Cancer Killing Gemini

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10 days till Halloween!

lucy blue, frank h. woodward, dr. rotz, versailles, translyvania 6-5000

halloween traditions, type-o negative, bloody kisses, translyvania 6-5000, jay hartlove, the chosen, the wickeds, horrible disasters, dr. rotz interview, vampire nurse candy, midnight syndicate, mimielle, goth fashion, zombie george washington, wheelman press, brian herbert, the chef’s table, best band season 8 poll, versailles, free fiction friday, bite club, hal bodner, david books, charla, alexander beresford, frank h. woodward interview, black magic, kbatz, atlantic city zombie walk, most wicked announced, wicked women writers, winner, rick kitagawa, writer’s workshop, events, dead mail, haunted place to go, lucy blue interview

Goodbye, my darklings, until next year. Please be safe and stay spooky!

Find all articles and interviews at: http://www.horroraddicts.net

Don’t miss the vampire anthology:

The Vampire Writers Support Group proudly presents FRESH BLOOD, an eclectic collection of short stories set in a dark, bloodsoaked world full of vampires.
https://www.facebook.com/FreshBloodAnthology

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Write in re: ideas, questions, opinions, horror cartoons, favorite movies, etc…

horroraddicts@gmail.com

————————

h o s t e s s

Emerian Rich

s t a f f

Sapphire Neal, David Watson, Dan Shaurette, Marc Vale, KBatz, Mimielle

Want to be a part of the HA staff? Email horroraddicts@gmail.com

c o n t a c t / s h o w . n o t e s

http://www.horroraddicts.net

m u s i c

http://www.graveconcernsezine.com

Master of Macabre 2013: Rick Kitagawa

Congratulations to our Master of Macabre 2013, Rick Kitagawa!  For his submission, Rick was given a location of a Double Wide Trailer Home and his item was a black and white television.

Rick is very excited to be named the newest MMM. “It feels great!  To be honest, I was really surprised, as the competition was stiff indeed, but I’m very grateful that I was able to squeak out the win and am stoked the fans voted for me.”

I was curious if there was anything that Rick would like to have changed about his submitted story, Uncle Neal’s House? “A few more rounds of editing would always have been nice, but considering the amount of time I had (on top of all the other deadlines I was juggling), I’m pretty happy how it turned out.  I had to edit out about another 2,000 words, so I’m not 100% sure if I like this tighter, leaner version better than what I consider the original (more backstory and set-up was involved), but since the story worked maybe that says that the extra text wasn’t necessary?”

In regards to next year’s challenge, Rick isn’t too sure on what he is wanting, but he does know one thing. “I want there to be more monsters.  Take note, everyone!” He also wanted to send a shout out to all of the other MMM Contestants. “I want there to be more monsters.  Take note, everyone!”

Fans of Rick, be sure to keep an eye out on this guy as he has several projects in the works. “I have almost too many ideas to boil down into anything concrete to talk about, but besides just writing more creepy stories and painting creepy art, I’m launching a course called Artrepreneurism 101, which is designed to help budding artists (including writers, musicians, etc.) develop an entrepreneurial spirit and start hustling their art to make a living off of it.  You can sign up for the class (it’s local now, a web version is in the works) at www.artofhustlingart.com. Additionally, I’m still plugging away at the comic The Siren’s Call (the first few pages are up on my website) and I hope to publish a collection of short stories by early next year.”

And if you haven’t read Uncle Neal’s House, you can find it here.

HorrorAddicts.net #88, Rick Kitagawa

Horror Addicts Episode# 088

Horror Hostess: Emerian Rich

Intro Music by: Cancer Killing Gemini

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rick kitagawa | the jesus cleaver | lost boys

Find all articles and interviews at: http://www.horroraddicts.net

 

| Lost Boys | BayCon Recap | Cliff Nielsen |

| Horrible Disasters | Ghost Golf Giveaway |

| Black Magic | Kbatz: Vincent Price |

| Marie Sumner: Horror | Writer Workshop Winner |

| Events | Dead Mail | Rick Kitagawa |

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Creepiest Places On Earth

http://list25.com/25-creepiest-places-on-earth/

Cliff Nielsen

https://www.facebook.com/cliffnielsenillustration?fref=ts

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h o s t e s s

Emerian Rich

s t a f f

Sapphire Neal, David Watson, Dan Shaurette, Marc Vale, KBatz

Want to be a part of the HA staff? Email horroraddicts@gmail.com

c o n t a c t / s h o w . n o t e s

http://www.horroraddicts.net

m u s i c

http://www.graveconcernsezine.com

13 Questions with Rick Kitagawa

How was your Spring Break Horror Addicts? Are you dying for your dose the macabre? Well your dark dreams have come to life; we’re back and we’ve got some tales waiting just for you. For episode 88 we have author and artist Rick Kitagawa who was excited to join the other great names featured on HA. “I’m definitely honored and excited to be Horror Addicts’ featured author for June.  The staff has been great and I really hope the excerpt disturbs you in all the right ways (and of course, makes you want to finish the story).”

Rick’s story he’ll be sharing is titled The White Mask. “My piece The White Mask, was already written, and can be found in my self-published zine “Short Stories of Horror and Darkness” (really original title, right?). It is a twist on the Snow White fairy tale, and I think it expands the mythos of Snow’s world a bit.  Unfortunately, due to the time limit you won’t be able to hear how Snow exacts her revenge, but you’ll definitely hear how she gets into the mess that becomes her life.

On the non-plot side of things, this story is probably one of my favorite that I’ve written, but also one that probably disturbs me the most, which I suppose is a good thing for a horror author.  Hopefully it’ll haunt you as much as it haunts me.”

Like I mentioned earlier Rick is not just an author but an artist as well. On his website http://www.rickkitagawa.com you can find his screen prints, paintings and short stories. “Right now, I just currently have my flash fiction Heritage up there right now, which is really inspired by H.P. Lovecraft’s obsession with bloodlines and the Dark Mirror painting series by Marci Washington (which are super fantastic, check ’em out). I also have up some of the introductory pages to the upcoming comic project The Siren’s Call that I’m trying to get out by October for the Alternative Press Expo.  I also have a one-page, watercolored comic that was just sort of done on a whim in which my totally juvenile sense of humor came out.”

“[Also] by the time you read this, there should be some new silkscreen prints and small originals in the shop, and hopefully a new blog post or two.  Really, for exciting new updates on what I’m up to, I’d recommend liking my facebook page: www.facebook.com/rickkitagawa.art as I post some micro fiction and an illustration that goes with it three times a week as part of my Noon-thirty Creepshow.”

Though, Rick’s stories are on available in print he informed me that he is looking to get a digital version of his short story zine in the near future.

Having so much on his plate artistically wise, I was curious if Kitagawa had a “day job” that affected his work in any way. “Actually, writing is complementary to my (various) day job(s), as I primarily identify as a visual artist, but I often incorporate writing/text/stories into my paintings and prints. Additionally, I also do some event planning and t-shirt printing to pay the bills, and I’m also the San Francisco Bay Area Artist Ambassador for Crescent (the company that makes mat boards, illustration boards…lots of board-like things). If you can’t tell, I need to sleep more. Little Known Fact – I’m actually model and actor on the side, and have been in print for Apple, HP, AT&T, and have done commercials for Heald Business College and Sprite.  Weird where life takes you.”

Now what brought this jack of all trades to the Horror side of things, you ask? Well, I’ll let Rick explain that for himself. “I love the horror genre simply because it really makes us examine the worst part of ourselves and humanity, and forces us to draw a line in the sand on where we stand.  Would we leave our loved ones in a zombie attack to save ourselves?  Would we make that deal with the devil?  Horror shows us the darkest parts of the human mind, and hopefully inspires us to be better people.”

“Hands down, my favorite monster is probably the Creature from the Black Lagoon and other aquatic-based creatures.  While the Gill Man is not the strongest or most terrifying of the bunch, he just looks so frickin’ awesome.  Actually, I’m working on (yet) another comic project that focuses on the Creature and other monsters, but puts them in day jobs and awkward social situations with each other.  It’s actually completely not scary at all (much more slice of life/emo stuff), but that just goes to show how much I like the Gill Man. I’m even willing to do a comic that’s not even remotely creepy because I like him so much.”

Rick has several more projects in the works: “I’m hoping to finish up the other three major short stories that I’m slowly writing/editing/rewriting, and I hope to always find a story that I can take all the way to becoming a full-blown novel.  I also want to finish up my comic project and come up with an interactive puzzle/storytelling gallery show that weaves my passion for art, writing, and puzzles together in a big old festering ball of horrific awesomeness. And, definitely keep an eye out for The Dark Wizard’s One Stop Shop, which is going to be a themed online bazaar of madness which will take physical form at the San Francisco Zine Fest this Fall. Also, be on the lookout for my next self-published, yet-untitled book, which will have the full text of The White Mask plus at least two new stories along with some comics, illustrated short stories, and tons and tons of monster/creepy art.”

 

For more information on Rick Kitagawa, be sure to check out these sites:

http://www.rickkitagawa.com/Risk/
https://www.facebook.com/rickkitagawa.art