As you may know, February is "Women in
Horror" month. To celebrate, PromoteHorror.com asked
women from different professions if they would like to answer some questions
about being a "Woman in Horror." One of the women, who were kind
enough to answer our questions, was the wonderful author Lori R. Lopez. Lets see
what she said about being a “Woman in Horror”…
-When
did you first become a horror fan?
I
wish I could say that I emerged into the world clutching a copy of Mary Shelley’s
FRANKENSTEIN; however, I did not actually read the book until age ten. I
viewed the Hammer films based on it at a much earlier age, possibly around four
or five. I was hooked on Horror. THE MUMMY, THE WOLFMAN, all of the
classics. There were other movies such as Hitchcock’s THE BIRDS that
scared and thrilled me. I saw it one night home alone with my older
brother, sitting on the floor in front of the sofa with our family dog.
My childhood was an era when THE MUNSTERS and THE ADDAMS FAMILY were on
T.V., in Primetime. That was amazing, a golden age.
In
First Grade I had listened to a reading of Washington Irving’s THE LEGEND OF
SLEEPY HOLLOW. I loved it! Supernatural and dark-themed works,
whether humorous or frightening, appealed to me so much. I loved the
local graveyards. I was never a normal kid. I didn’t want to be.
Horror and Halloween were my cup of tea, much as I adored quirkiness too,
like ALICE IN WONDERLAND and THROUGH THE LOOKING-GLASS. I tend to stir
some oddness and funniness into the horror I create, and I like to think that I
have developed my own unique style of it.
-Was
there a specific moment when you realized that you wanted to go from being a
fan of horror to a woman who contributes to the genre, or did it just kind of
happen naturally?
I’d
say it was a natural progression. I wanted to create with art and words
since I was little. Before I could even read, I was enthralled by the
monsters in WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE. Seventh Grade, I won an award for
a werewolf play. By age fifteen I was writing a horror novel. Never
finished it, but I was always writing, much like now. Around the same age
I did a painting with ghosts in it. I knew what I wanted to do. I
would work on horror projects as an adult, but my life didn’t calm down enough
to actually contribute to the genre until Ninety-Eight. A decade after
that I began to self-publish, beginning with a story collection called
OUT-OF-MIND EXPERIENCES. A year later I published a free Halloween story
titled “Next Door” on my website. It felt good to finally be part of
Halloween as an author.
-
What does having a "Women in Horror" month mean to you?
Hopefully
that females like myself will receive some needed attention. I think it’s
a good thing, because Horror has for too long been dominated by male writers.
That’s who everybody hears about, and that’s who everybody reads.
It’s hard enough to make a name in the field without undue bias. I
dream of a day when it’s hard to believe that it was an issue.
-Is
there a woman in horror who you consider a role model?
Speaking
of authors, Mary Shelley most of all. In her day, it was unheard of for a
female to write such things. What she wrote was epic. The book made
me weep. A true classic. I also admire Anne Rice, who is a living
legend. Kudos to Shirley Jackson for her contributions. They
inspire me because they did it, they helped define this genre in their own
ways. When you make that kind of impact, you must have done something
right.
On
the screen, some of my favorite characters are Dana Scully of THE X-FILES,
Ripley of ALIEN, and Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie in HALLOWEEN. There are
great female villains, too. I love Helena Bonham Carter in, well,
anything. But she’s great as THE CORPSE BRIDE; Angelina Jolie is superb
as Maleficent. There are excellent female characters, tough as nails, in
THE WALKING DEAD. I’m happy to see that.
-How
do you think the role of women in horror has changed over the years?
Obviously,
the days of the fainting heroine and scream queen evolved to a female character
that is fighting alongside the guys. We’re not just attractive scenery or
damsels in distress anymore. Modern women won’t accept that role.
Females are now writing the horror as well, and directing it. Men have
to get over reducing every female lead to the weak victims of the past.
This goes for books, also. Women need to be written as
three-dimensional characters, not cardboard cut-out stereotypes. Sure, we
might still scream, but most of us are going to put up a pretty good fight.
-What
do you think the future holds for women in horror?
There’s no limit to what we can achieve. I think we bring fresh
voices and a welcome depth to Horror. It’s important that people know
what we are doing, what we are capable of, so I can’t thank you enough for
inviting me to participate this month.
-Being
that this is PromoteHorror.com, please feel free to plug your current/next
horror project.
Thanks!
I just released my latest book of horror stories, ODDS AND ENDS: A
DARK COLLECTION. It isn’t happy; it isn’t typical. It contains a
broad spectrum of tales, from micro to a novelette and everything in between.
I illustrated the print edition, and the overall experience is rather
unique. Endings are unpredictable, the characters complicated, and the
settings quite varied. It’s available at Amazon, BN, and Smashwords:
Print
Edition:
Author
of Fiction, Nonfiction and Verse; novelist and teller of short tales, Lori R.
Lopez dips her quill into the ink of many genres, but Horror has been in her
heart since she was a child enraptured by the frantic flight on horseback of a
terrified Ichabod Crane, or the spooky Gothic atmosphere of Victor
Frankenstein's manic body-building. She is also a humorous and dark poet with a
monthly online column titled "Poetic Reflections".
In
addition to creative prose and poems, she has spent years developing an
autobiographical book series as well as composing songs. Book and story
descriptions, plus a number of free samples can be viewed online at Fairy Fly
Entertainment.
"My
offbeat books, stories and verse cover a broad range of genres and themes.
Humor is often foremost -- whether combined with horror, suspense, fantasy,
adventure, supernatural, conservation, history, myth, legend, fairytale,
and-slash-or nonfiction. I strive to create characters that will remain part of
your life. My style tends to be unconventional, my prose poetic. I like to break
the stuffy traditional boundaries and have fun with words. I possess my own
standards about rules pertaining to voice, punctuation, and capitalization. The
primary goal I have as an author is to amuse and affect the reader." (bio from her FB page)
You can find out more about Lori at:
Website:
www.fairyflyentertainment.com
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/lorilopez
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/LoriRLopez
We thank Lori R. Lopez for taking the time to answer our questions, but more importantly for her contribution to horror!
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