She Wore Black

Today, I’ve invited author, Antonia Rachel Ward to talk about her new novella, “Marionette.” I want to issue content warnings for both this book and the episode, which are sexually explicit. The book has violence, mutilation and dubious sexual consent. We don’t discuss these things in detail, but we discuss the content as the horror she intended. Once you understand her intentions, everything in t...

Today, I’ve invited Neil McRobert, from the Talking Scared podcast, to talk about Stephen King. I’ve spent decades loving King’s book “On Writing,” and have always held a special place in my heart for “Stand By Me,” based on the King novella, “The Body,” but I’ve not read anything else. I also know that some of my listeners love gothic but are afraid to try other horror, so Neil is here with recom...

Today, I’ve invited author, Stacie Murphy to talk about her Guilded Age paranormal mystery novels, “A Deadly Fortune” and “The Unquiet Dead.” We talk about haunted histories, researching historical fiction and the current relevancy of historical topics. You can order your Stacie Murphy’s books using my bookshop.org link to support the show, as well as independent bookstores nationwide. That’s at b...

Today I’m bringing you a recording of my live podcast event with V. Castro and LP Hernandez at Lark and Owl Booksellers in Georgetown, TX. We had a great time as they answered questions from both me and the audience, and did short readings from their works. Lark and Owl does have signed copies of their books if you wish to order from them, which I hope you do since it’s important to support bookst...

I need to begin with a content warning for domestic violence, a central topic in today’s book. I’m bringing you a two-part episode to discuss “Iris in the Dark,” a new book by Elissa Grossell Dickey. The first part of the episode is with the author of this eerie suspense novel that has a touch of romance, an important element for me as I navigated the difficult topic of domestic violence in our ma...

Today, I’ve invited author, Paulette Kennedy, back to the show to talk about my favorite gothic trope, “Haunted Houses.” You all know Paulette’s book “Parting the Veil,” which is also a wonderful haunted house book that I encourage all fans of gothic fiction to read. You can order your copy of “Parting the Veil” using my bookshop.org link to support the show, as well as independent bookstores nati...

Today, I’ve invited author, Wendy Dalrymple, back to the show to talk about her novella, “The Ghost and Mr. Moore,” her gothic romance set in the historical town of St. Augustine, Florida. You can order your copy of “The Ghost and Mr. Moore” using my bookshop.org link to support the show, as well as independent bookstores nationwide. That’s at bookshop.org/shop/sheworeblack. You can also help out...

Today, I’ve invited friend and contributing editor at Book Riot, PN Hinton, back on the show to talk about Spooky Summer books. This episode is a birthday treat for us both, so I hope you enjoy it. I’ll link to the recommended books in my online bookshop if you want support the show, as well as independent bookstores nationwide. That’s at bookshop.org/shop/sheworeblack. You can also help out the s...

Today, I’ve invited Emma Stonex to talk about “The Lamplighters,” her mystery novel set on a lonely lighthouse in England in the 1970s. We discuss spooky history, the allure of the dangerous sea, and her experience writing salacious bonk buster books before tackling this gothic mystery. You can order your copy of “The Lamplighters” using my bookshop.org link to support the show, as well as indepen...

Today, I’ve invited beloved YA author, Erin Craig, to discuss favorite tropes that are found in both Gothic and Fairy Tales. Many of you know Erin from her beautiful gothic retellings of fairy tales, "House of Salt and Sorrows," and "Small Favors," so she was the ideal person to have on for this chat, plus she was so much fun! We talk about how these genres merge and discuss several books that I w...

Today, is my first crossover podcast with podcaster and author, Sarah Wendell, from Smart Bitches, Trashy Books. I’ve listened to her romance book podcast for years so I am thrilled to have this podcasting icon on my show. We talk about podcasting, deep dive into genre and the metaphorical meaning of various tropes, and she has some spooky romance recs. I will link to the books in show notes using...

Today, I’ve invited friend and author, Desiree M. Niccoli to do a buddy read with me. We discuss the book, “The Ghost Bride,” by Yangsze Choo, compare the novel to the Netflix adaptation, and share our favorite sexy smooch moments of the book. If you want to read “The Ghost Bride” after all of our squeeing, you can order your copy using my bookshop.org link to support the show, as well as independ...

Today, I’ve invited author, Riley Sager to talk about his book, “The House Across the Lake,” a mystery novel that explores Hitchcockian voyeurism with an unreliable narrator, and includes a classic Sager twist you don’t see coming. I want to issue a trigger warning for both the book and the show, since the main character is an alcoholic. We discuss this at 14 minutes and 20 seconds into the episod...

Today I interview mystery author, Megan Collins. We talk about her most recent book, “The Family Plot,” a novel I had a lot of fun reading and have been sharing with all my friends. It has a spooky house, detailed and gruesome dioramas, and a family obsessed with True Crime. You can buy “The Family Plot” using my bookshop.org link to support the show, as well as independent bookstores nationwide....

This episode is the second part of my interview with author and editor, Alex Woodroe, who is one of the geniuses behind the indie horror treasure that is Tenebrous Press, so it dives right into the middle of our previous conversation. We look at the book industry from the retail and library side, and she actually interviews me with questions from other writers for most of this one. We focus on how...

Today’s episode is an impromptu interview with V. Castro about a Uvalde, Texas charity book sale she and Cynthia Pelayo are doing with their anthology of Latinx horror writers, called “Latinx Screams.” Cynthia is also working on another anthology that will be released in October for the same purpose, so stay tuned for their social media for that info. I do want to make a correction in my show. I a...

Today, I’ve invited author and editor, Alex Woodroe, who is one of the geniuses behind the indie horror treasure that is Tenebrous Press. We talk about “In Somnio,” their collection of modern gothic short stories, as well as the innovative place they have carved out as a young publisher. I’ve divided this episode into two parts, so transitions aren’t quite the same as in a normal show. The second...

Today, I’ve invited author, LP Hernandez, who I was lucky enough to meet at Ghoulish Book Festival in San Antonio prior to our recording. We talk about his upcoming novella, “Stargazers,” as well as his short story collection, “The Rat King,” which you can buy using my bookshop.org link to support the show, as well as independent bookstores nationwide. That’s at bookshop.org/shop/sheworeblack. You...

CW: incest and pedophelia in Anne Rice's work is discussed Today, I’ve invited horror author, Josh Malerman, to talk about Anne Rice. He has been reading through her books and wanted to chat about both her vampire and witch series. I was more than happy to oblige. We talk about her craft and world building, as well as the impact she had on horror, but we also take an honest look at some of her pro...

Today, I’ve invited author, Carolyne Topdjian, to talk about her fun and spooky gothic novel, “The Hitman’s Daughter.” We squee over the parts that sizzle, and talk about the joy of indulging gothic's melodrama. There are family secrets, a haunted hotel, a surprising amount of action, and a slightly ambiguous ending that leaves us eagerly awaiting book 2! What a good time! You can find "The Hitman...

Today, I’ve invited author, V. Castro to talk about Erotic Horror and the merging of genre. We examine the definitions of Erotica and how it differs from Erotic Horror, discuss the significance of the sub-genre in the context of a broader conversation about consent and agency over our bodies and sexual identity. We use Castro's stories for this discussion and she shares what we can look forward to...

Today, I’ve invited author, Alma Katsu to talk about her book, “The Fervor,” her most recent historical horror novel, this time set in a Japanese internment camp during WWII. You can pre-order your copy of “The Fervor” using my bookshop.org link to support the show, as well as independent bookstores nationwide. That’s at bookshop.org/shop/sheworeblack. I also want to add that you can help out the...

Today, I’ve invited author, Kris Waldherr to talk about Mary Shelley, the beloved gothic icon who penned Frankenstein as a teenager and whose life was truly stranger than fiction. Kris has a book coming out this fall, called “Unnatural Creatures,” which is about the women of Frankenstein, and she will be back for a deep dive into that novel later this year. If you want to support the podcast and t...

Today, I’ve invited librarian and anti-censorship activist, Carolyn Foote from FReadom Fighters, to talk about the state of book banning in America, especially in Texas, and what authors and readers can do to combat this. As a former librarian myself, this subject is important to me. You’ll hear how dire the situation is, tales of ridiculous things happening in school board meetings, and I share s...

Today, I’ve invited author, Isabel Canas, to talk about her book, “Hacienda,” a very gothic haunted house story that takes place in 1830s Mexico. You’ll be able to hear just how excited we both were about doing the show. I hope you enjoy our conversation about this book, Latinx representation, hot priests and how she came to write horror. You can pre-order your copy of “The Hacienda” using my book...