NAME: Emily Ruth Verona
CREATIVE FIELD: Author
WEBSITE: emilyruthverona.com
AUTHOR BIO:
Emily Ruth Verona is the author of the novel Midnight on Beacon Street and the novella Shiva. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing and Cinema Studies from the State University of New York at Purchase.
She is a Pinch Literary Award winner, a Bram Stoker Awards® nominee, and a Rhysling Award Finalist. Her work has been featured in magazines and anthologies that include This Way Lies Madness, Under Her Skin, The Ghastling, The Jewish Book of Horror, Under Her Eye, Monstrous Futures, Monster Lairs, Strange Horizons, and Nightmare Magazine. She lives in New Jersey with a very small dog.
INTERVIEW
What got you into horror to begin with – what’s your core Horror memory?
My love for horror definitely began with urban legends and Are You Afraid of the Dark? As I got older, I started watching horror movies with friends. I vividly remember a friend of mine suggesting we watch Scream, which she’d recently seen for the first time. We were in middle school at the time. The movie completely changed my brain chemistry. I watched every horror movie I could get my hands on after that. Final Destination. Saw. The Others. As a reader, I was mostly into fantasy and historical fiction at the time but as a movie lover horror became my go-to genre.
Do you have a favourite horror subgenre (or more than one) and if so, what is it? What/Who are your favourite books/films/podcasts/artists/creatives working in that subgenre?
My favorite subgenre for horror movies is the slasher but my favorite subgenre for horror books is definitely ghost stories. I love a good haunted house.
My favorite horror films include Scream, Halloween, The Others, Mystery of the Wax Museum, Final Destination, The Menu, and Sleepy Hollow.
I love the Netflix series The Haunting of Bly Manor.
Some of my favorite horror books include The Secret Skin by Wendy N. Wagner, Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu, You’ve Lost a Lot of Blood by Eric LaRocca, and Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito.
I am a huge fan of horror poetry as well. I recommend anything written by Grace R. Reynolds, Jessica McHugh, and Stephanie M. Wytovich.
What is the horror project of your heart – perhaps something you’ve already got out there, something you’re working on now, or something you’d like to do?
I just submitted a novel to my agent that means a great deal to me. It is also a dream of mine to write a horror poetry collection inspired by Emily Dickinson.
Which 5 horror books can you not stop thinking about, or have influenced you most in some way? (If not books, you can pick 5 films, 5 pieces of art, 5 songs… or mix & match!)
I can’t stop thinking about:
We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer,
Lady of the House by Grace R. Reynolds,
Green Fuse Burning by Tiffany Morris,
How Lovely To Be a Woman: Stories and Poems by Tiffany Michelle Brown,
and Sometimes We’re Cruel and Other Stories by J.A.W. McCarthy.
If you had to describe the tones and themes of your own work in terms of movies, books, songs, or art, what would you choose and why?
I am fascinated with character studies as well as how groups (be it friends or families) function under extreme emotional conditions. I’d say the TV shows How to Get Away With Murder, Penny Dreadful, and Evil have all had a huge impact on my work.
Introduce us to something you’ve created, and pitch it to the audience!
I have a novella out from Dark Matter INK on March 3rd called Shiva. It is sort of a double ghost story about a brother and sisters with a complicated history.