Manuscripts Burn


MANUSCRIPTS BURN

"Manuscripts don't burn"
- Mikhail Bulgakov

Hi, I'm horror and science fiction author Steve Kozeniewski (pronounced: "causin' ooze key.") Welcome to my blog! You can also find me on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and Amazon. You can e-mail me here, join my mailing list here, or request an e-autograph here. Free on this site you can listen to me recite one of my own short works, "The Thing Under the Bed."

Monday, February 24, 2020

Women in Horror Month #11: Caroline Kepnes


Hi, everybody!  I was shocked and delighted when today's guest agreed to come on the blog.  Let's meet her and then ask a few questions to close out Women in Horror Month for 2020!

About Caroline Kepnes:



Caroline Kepnes is the New York Times bestselling author of YOU, HIDDEN BODIES, and PROVIDENCE. The hit Netflix series "You" is an adaptation of her debut novel and follow-up. She’s currently writing the third book in the JOE GOLDBERG series. After graduating from Brown University, Caroline lived in New York and wrote about pop culture for "Tiger Beat" and "Entertainment Weekly." She moved to Los Angeles and wrote episodes of "7th Heaven" and "The Secret Life of the American Teenager." Originally from Cape Cod, Massachusetts Caroline now splits her time between Los Angeles and Cape Cod.

Interview:


SK:How are you involved in the world of horror?

CK:  I've loved to be scared ever since I was a kid. It meant the world to me when Stephen King tweeted about reading YOU. When I was growing up, his books were all around our house, and that was the good kind of house of horrors. I've made friends with a lot of horror writers online and I love to learn about books from "Mother Horror" (AKA Sadie Hartman). Horror people are so much fun. Kealan Patrick Burke just tweeted about my book PROVIDENCE and mentioned people "creepily fapping to Joe from YOU" and I mean that's the horror community. Funny, warm and always passionate about the books that they love.


SK: Who or what terrifies you?

CK:  This morning I was up early--this happens when I'm almost done with a revision. just can't fucking sleep--and I drove to a mini-mall and there was a man screaming at the sky that he just can't take it anymore. It was scary. It was sad. It was disturbing to see other people seeming unbothered. I was a little spooked by those people too because of course, when you live in a city, you build a shell, but those shells can be scary, you know? And then I got my coffee and though about the artificial sweetener in there and this great old documentary "Sweet Misery", which is about how poisonous it is....So yeah, a lot terrifies me in 2020! Especially when I'm writing this much.


SK: Are there unique challenges to being a woman in horror or do you feel like gender is irrelevant?

CK:  Mark Matthews invited me to contribute to an anthology about addition called LULLABIES FOR SUFFERING. Mark's story is incredible, and the same can be said for all the stories in the collection. I mention this experience because I've really connected with the other writers in the collection. It's a microcosm of the horror community. It's good people. 


SK:  Who are your favorite female horror icons?

CK:  Kim Liggett is 's a horror writer. a pathos writer, just a damn good writer. And the kindest person, too. I read THE LAST HARVEST a few years ago and I've gushed to her about that book. It really stayed with me and scared me and it's been so exciting to see THE GRACE YEAR getting a lot of love. I can't wait to see what Kim loves next. And Mary Shelley...well the impact she had on me and countless other writers, I mean she's a perma-icon.


SK:  What are you working on/promoting currently? Why should folks check it out?

CK:  I'm finishing up a draft of the third book in the YOU series. So close to the end that I'm in my own horror state of I wanna finish so bad and I don't wanna finish, I am gonna miss this book! If you watched "You" on Netflix, you would probably enjoy reading YOU and HIDDEN BODIES. And I love to see more people reading my book about the horror of love, PROVIDENCE. I already mentioned LULLABIES FOR SUFFERING but I'll mention it again because it's a great gateway to authors. :) I've got another short story in an upcoming anthology, but it's not time to promote that just yet!

About LULLABIES FOR SUFFERING:



"Chilling. Thought-provoking."
-The Library Journal, (Starred Review)

Addiction starts like a sweet lullaby sung by a trusted loved one. It washes away the pains of the day and wraps you in the warmness of the womb where nothing hurts and every dream is possible. Yet soon enough, this warm state of bliss becomes a cold shiver, the ecstasy and dreams become nightmares, yet we can't stop listening to the lullaby. We crave to hear the siren song as it rips us apart.

Six stories: three novellas, three novelettes, written by a powerful list of talent, all featuring the insidious nature of addiction--damaged humans craving for highs and wholeness but finding something more tragic and horrific on the other side.

FEATURING:
Caroline Kepnes, author of YOU and HIDDEN BODIES
Kealan Patrick Burke, author of SOUR CANDY and KIN
Mercedes M. Yardley, author of PRETTY LITTLE DEAD GIRLS
John FD Taff, author of THE FEARING
Mark Matthews, author of MILK-BLOOD
Gabino Iglesias, author of COYOTE SONGS

"A plunge into the agony and the ecstasy, the inescapable nightmare of addiction."
- Alma Katsu, author of THE DEEP and THE HUNGER

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