“Why is there a whole month dedicated to female horror writers?”
To be honest? I don’t know. I think there should be a month to celebrate everyone. However, I would like every reader to have a glimpse at what female writers go through when endeavoring the path of the few, into a male dominated genre.
First, let me just say I love everything about horror, and I don’t care who writes it as long as it is good. I enjoy everything from campy to cerebral. Engage me and I will be your puppet, dancing and clapping for more. Give me original and creative. Give me shock. Make me cringe. Most of all, make me hate someone in your story! (We love to hate, don’t we??)
Being a female in this industry we encounter some unique things. Most times, men assume we can’t throw down words like they can. This isn’t entirely their fault. We are the fairer sex. We have an outlet for “gossip” and aren’t frowned upon when we talk about our feelings. Even still, women endure horrors in an entirely different way than men do.
When I was in college I did a report in Psychology about the differences between female and male psychopaths. Did you know? It is much harder to diagnose a female psychopath because all the usual requirements for diagnosis don’t always apply to women?
We are the more complex sex, aren’t we? Can’t decide what dress to wear, or what knife to cut your heart out with. Hell hath no fury and all, right?
We live our lives fighting to be equal and still hope a man will hold a door open for us. It’s not because we can’t open our own door. We are like cats. We want attention when we want it, ok? (FYI, these comments are meant to be jovial, please don’t read into them. Calm any nerve that may be strumming like note from Prince’s “PURPLE RAIN” guitar solo)
The beauty of being a woman in this industry is when we put out something amazing, the attention is ten-fold. “Oh wow, the author was a woman?” It’s awesome. I usually reply, “Yes and I can quarter a chicken in minutes, fold a fitted sheet, and still pitch the perfect murder.”
My point, I suppose, is this … Yeah people make a big deal about things. Don’t get hung up on it. Someone, somewhere found out it was a good way to sell books and they went with it. Give them their credit. This is a hard market whether you’re male or female. Enjoy the exploration and celebration (and yeah maybe some exploitation) of books you may have never heard of because there aren’t many female authors in your beloved genre.
We appreciate the attention. Most of us are pretty humble-pie about it, too. I love to see my name sitting alongside my male counterparts of horror. I consider it an honor to be sharing a stage with all of you. Women in Horror isn’t about segregating or making women out to be more important. It’s just a gimmick. Anyone who puts the time, blood, and sweat into a good book – horror or otherwise – deserves a little recognition.
Giving someone else the spotlight for a (short) month won’t kill ya….
But I might.
Find out more about Unfleshed.
About Lisa
By design, Lisa Vasquez creates horror with vivid, dark, and twisted words and images that not only drags the reader in between the pages, but onto the covers that house them, as well. When she releases her grasp, readers are left alone to sort through the aftermath those images leave behind; each one becoming a seed that roots itself within the soft confines of their psyche. She takes this passion for writing horror and uses it to mentor other authors and she also volunteers as the Publisher’s Liaison for the Horror Writers Association. In January 2016, Lisa took her commitment to the next level by opening an independent publishing house, Stitched Smile Publications.
Her work can be found in several anthologies, and has a new novel called, “The Unfleshed: Tale of the Autopsic Bride” available now. Her debut novel, “The Unsaintly” is being re-edited and will be published late in 2017.
For more information and updates on Lisa’s work, you can find her at: www.unsaintly.com or on Facebook, Twitter (@unsaintly), Instagram (unsaintly), or her Official Facebook Fan Page.