Once upon a time, a few weeks ago, I saw a thing of wonder on my Facebook feed. All authors know of this treasure - the submission request.
Yea, though I saw the submission request, and it was for... HORROR!
A horror anthology by and about women... Hey, I can do that! So I looked through my WIPs (works-in-progress) and my ideas spreadsheet (oh, yes, I do), and I found the perfect thing.
Coming out on Halloween, "Mirror, Mirror" in
Twisted: A Horror Anthology!
I am participating in a blog hop type of thing with the other authors involved in this anthology to spread the interviews far and wide. So check out the interview below, as well as the
other interview posts!
Name: Juliet Meredith
Short Bio: Writing stories long before I could spell, I
first received formal commendation for my writing in the 8th grade ('92/'93)
when my student writing portfolio received the highest rating (distinguished)
given under the 1990 Kentucky Education Reform Act.
Three years later, I auditioned successfully in creative
writing to attend the 1996 Kentucky Governor's School for the Arts. This
three-week program, considered a flagship of its type in the nation, seeded a
love for my generation's voice and an understanding of the art of giving and
receiving constructive criticism.
I earned my B.A. in English in 2001 from Transylvania
University in Lexington, KY. Four years later, I began adding to my studies in
creative writing through MFA-led community classes at what would later become
The Muse Writing Center in Norfolk, Virginia.
Through moving to Oregon in 2006 and becoming a parent, I've
continued my writing in poetry, fiction and non-fiction. Freeze Burned is my
first short story to be included in an anthology and the first of my writing to
be widely published in any way.
Name of Story Included in Twisted: Freeze Burned
Describe the mood of your story/stories: Readers will
feel the enormity of what has already happened to the main character Icy within
the first few paragraphs of the story. The most physically painful and
psychologically scarring parts of her life lay behind her, but the character we
meet still has intense "after shocks" to deal with.
I chose her nickname ""Icy"" for a
number of reasons, not the least of which, I felt it worked well with a story
that bombards the senses with suggestions of physical coldness. And for readers
who manage to avoid getting sympathy chills, they're sure to still break out in
goosebumps more than once while weathering the twists and turns of this short
psychological thriller."
Where did you get the inspiration for this piece? I took the
NYCMidnight Short Story Challenge in early 2016 and received the following
prompt in round two of the competition: Genre - Horror, Character - Smuggler,
Plot Point - A Confession. As I drifted off to sleep thinking about what I
needed to weave together, Icy's story came to me.
What is your favorite thing about writing horror? Oddly
enough, "Freeze Burned" represents my first foray into the genre. Up
into my late 20's, I remained very susceptible to excessive fear and even sleep
disturbances in response to exposure to horror movies. I shunned the genre in
every medium. When I received the challenge from NYCMidnight to face this fear
of my own, I found the process incredibly cathartic. It also bonded me to my
character as she and I were both facing a fear we'd promised ourselves we'd
never venture back to. Now that I've tried it once, I can't imagine not writing
more in this genre.
What are you working on now? I have 18 novels I've started
writing and none finished. I am currently taking part in the NYCMidnight Flash
Fiction challenge, and after completing the second short short for it, I found
I had much more of that particular tale (a fantasy) to tell, so in the
immediate future, I'll be finishing, editing and workshopping another short
story I imagine will fall right in the 4K-word range. November is National
Novel Writing Month and I have a tough choice on my hands as to which of my 18
novel starts I'd like to try to finish.
Other published works? Freeze Burned is the first of my
creative writing to be widely published.
