Christa Carmen

Horror from the High Desert

This week Scotty talks to Christa Carmen about her Bram Stoker Award-winning and Shirley Jackson Award-nominated first novel "The Daughters of Block Island" (2023, Thomas & Mercer), as well as her upcoming novel "Beneath the Poet's House" (due in December of this year). They discuss the importance of Stephen King's "On Writing" on her early career, the influence of classic authors like Agatha Christie and Shirley Jackson (as well as contemporaries like Gwendolyn Kiste and Cynthia Pelayo), the difficulties inherent in writing a good mystery, the importance of place, the power of history, and more.

They also talk about Bryan Bertino's cult horror movie "The Monster" (2016), and its terrifying (and ultimately poignant) depiction of a damaged mother-daughter relationship against the backdrop of a deceptively simple creature feature.

You can find Christa online at https://www.christacarmen.com

You can find "The Daughters of Block Island" at https://www.christacarmen.com/books-daughters-of-block-island.aspx

You can pre-order "Beneath the Poet's House" at https://www.christacarmen.com/books-beneath-the-poets-house.aspx

You can find Christa's collection "Something Borrowed, Something Bloodsoaked" at https://www.amazon.com/Something-Borrowed-Blood-Soaked-Christa-Carmen-ebook/dp/B07DK2YJV3/

Go back and listen to Episode 14, "'The Flanagan-verse,' with Amelia Ampuero" here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/horror-from-the-high-desert/id1686537767?i=1000635187266

Listen to the Jan. 19 episode of The Weirdest Thing, "Germanism and Gloom," where Scotty talks about the strange death of Edgar Allan Poe here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-weirdest-thing/id1534847356?i=1000642272029

Be sure to tune in to Daniel Braum's YouTube series "Night Time Logic." The series focuses on the strange, weird, and wonderful side of dark fiction through readings and discussions with diverse authors from around the world. You can tune in on Daniel's You Tube Channel, which is his name DanielBraum or @danielbraum7838. Author Paul Tremblay will appear live on August 29 at 7 p.m., EST: https://www.facebook.com/events/797113355174358

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