An accomplished writer, novelist and poet, Morgan Sylvia has started releasing her first few novels recently with a slew of anthology entries sprinkled among the original works. Now, in honor of Women in Horror Month, I talk with her about her beginnings as a writer, her feature novels and upcoming projects.
Me: Hello and thank you for taking the time to do this. First off, when did you get into horror in general?
Morgan Sylvia: Thank you! It's hard to really pinpoint. I think I've always been drawn to and fascinated by darker movies and stories. To go back a bit further, honestly a lot of cartoons and Disney movies I liked had a dark element. I also recall being interested in vampires and whatnot at a very young age. I think I was in sixth grade when I read The Omen and Rosemary's Baby. I was into Anne Rice and V.C. Andrews by junior high.
Me: Were you into genre films growing up? What films specifically got you into watching horror movies?
MS: I think the very first time I remember being scared by a movie was Firestarter. I loved The Nightmare on Elm St series when I was a kid. The next one I recall that had a huge impression on me was Hellraiser. It was very controversial at the time, and it definitely pushed some boundaries.
Me: Who were some of your favorite writers growing up? Do you try to take influences from their style with your own voice in your work?
MS: I read voraciously from a pretty early age. I was pretty much doomed to – I was an only child in Maine, with a librarian mother. Whenever I whined about being bored, I was told to pick up a book. So I did. I read anything and everything I could get my hands on, even my mom's romance novels. If you were to ask about childhood favorites, I'd have to mention things like Nancy Drew, the Oz books, the Black Stallion books, Canby Hall, Sweet Valley High, all of that sort of stuff. I liked all that stuff, but I also read way above my level. I was reading adult level books even in grade school. Then as I got a bit older, I started to read Anne Rice, Stephen King, the Dragonlance books, Nancy Springer, Anne McCaffery, Frank Herbert, David Eddings, and Michael Moorcock. I'd go to the library and check out piles of books. Then I discovered Tanith Lee, and my tastes just kept getting darker and darker from there.
As far as influence, yes and no. I'm very aware of prose, and I pay close attention to language and flow. I think Tanith Lee was a huge influence on me in that regard. I also read a lot of lyrics. Acts like Dio and Iron Maiden and the Doors also were a huge influence on me.
It's funny in that my work semi-regularly gets described as Lovecraftian, but I didn't get around to reading him until … probably my late thirties.
Me: What was the starting point to become a writer? Where you always into writing growing up?
MS: Actually, I had a short story published when I was in second grade, as part of a young authors' compilation. It was, of course, a unicorn story. I still have it somewhere. I am not sure exactly when I started writing, but I think my love of reading just morphed, and I found that I enjoyed writing just as much. By the time I was in high school I was pounding out typewritten pages upon pages of what would now be called fan fiction, about my favorite bands, movie characters, etc. I filled a lot of notebooks. Eventually, my parents bought me a word processor. I'm dating myself here. It was an early model, and you could only fit so much data onto a file. If you went over, you'd have to delete words to be able to save.
Me: What is your writing process? How do you stay focused on writing?
MS: My process changes based on what I'm doing. Usually, it involves sort of a deep dive into whatever topic or elements are going into or related to the project I'm working on. I even do this with short stories.
Then there comes, at some point, a sort of brainstorming stage, where I just spit something out onto the screen or page. Sometimes this part happens first. From there, it's a constant cycle of expanding, researching, and revising. I'm an obsessive editor. I comb through my stuff forwards, backwards, sideways, until I eventually have to force myself to stop. I think I revised Dawn, my fantasy novel, 30 times. To be fair, this took place over several decades, as I worked on it off and on and just kept growing as a writer between rounds. Even short stories, I usually make about 10 passes on, if not more. I'm always looking for a way to make it better, make it tighter, elevate the tension, shine the prose. Then there's Ariadne, my horror/sf nightmare novel. I had the bright idea to mix Dante's Inferno with Alice In Wonderland, set it in space, and cross-pollinate with a bunch of Greek myths. That's NOT a process I recommend to anyone. Ever. It's coming along nicely, but slowly. I periodically work on it until it starts driving me nuts, and then I shelve it for a few more years and work on other stuff. That book taught me that I am not, and never will be, an outliner.
Focus can be difficult. I find deadlines are very helpful because then my brain seems to get that I just don't have time to mess around. I worked at a newspaper for 13 years, so I'm pretty deadline trained. I just hit 'Go' mode when I hear the word. I also just don't let myself dwell on rejections or bad reviews or whatever the industry is up in arms about this week. If I focused on that sort of stuff too much, I wouldn't get much done. That said, if I'm really not feeling it, I just go read or watch something. I think one of my favorite quotes is 'Feed Your Head.' I do that a lot. I know that eventually, my muse will latch on to something. I guess that's the best way to put it.
Me: How did you settle on the plot for your novel Abode?
MS: I wanted—and still want—to explore many of the classic tropes. But I want to put a different twist on them. I just sort of brainstormed the beginning, and then kept building from there. I also wanted to play with second person, which is not used often. Chunks of the book are in second, which gives it sort of a found-footage feel. If I'm writing horror, I want it to be scary. So I delved into the things I found terrifying and fascinating: shadow children, generational curses, witches, ghosts, demons, reincarnation, and, of course, the demon/monster, which I won't name because it's a bit of a spoiler. But I also wanted to delve into the emotional fallout from the events in the book, and how things changed the relationships of the characters.
Me: Was there any special significance to making the characters come from Maine?
MS: Well, having grown up here definitely influenced me. The landscape is very beautiful, but it's also quite forbidding and secretive. Of course, our winters (usually) are no joke. The isolation of the house in Abode definitely played a role in how the story grew. There are also some creepy places near my hometown that figured in. I think New England has a special character. I started writing Abode when I lived in Florida, so homesickness may have factored in.
Me: Was there any part of your real sense injected into the characters?
MS: Definitely. Some of the experiences actually did echo things I experienced. The storm of '78, for instance, and a few of the smaller creepy incidents, like finding places you could never find again, that sort of thing. Many of the nostalgic elements were pulled directly from my childhood.
One thing that was kind of amusing … there are a few scenes where the main character hears something big scratching the walls. We happened to have a mouse in the house that year, so I was literally listening to scratching as I was writing. That was odd because it was woo-woo scary … even though I knew it was a mouse.
Me: Once it was finally written, what was the process to having it published?
MS: I answered an open call from Bloodshot Books. I have to give a shout out to publisher Pete Kahle, who deliberately ambushed me with the good news in person at Necon, which is an awesome convention for horror writers. He knew it would make my day. It did. I think I happy danced all night.
Me: Your second novel, Dawn, takes a more fantastic-approach to the genre. Where did the inspiration to that come from?
MS: Dawn is kind of funny in that I started it with the intent of writing a standalone, as a means of giving myself a break from the other fantasy series I was working on, Last Witch. I just brainstormed a piece out and thought 'Well, that's interesting.' Thing is, what I happened to spit out that day is what is now one of the final scenes in what is now a trilogy. I had to write three damn books to get to that one scene. I started it probably 20 years ago and just kept cycling back through, revising it. It ended up at I think 275k or something. So much for the standalone. Crossroads Press is publishing it as a trilogy.
That said, Dawn, as many of my works are, was inspired by several elements. The story of the first Chinese Emperor figured heavily into it, as did elements of Druid and Spartan societies. There are also paranormal and post-apocalyptic elements. In a way, it's sort of 'classic' fantasy, as it does involve kings and queens and whatnot. But I wanted a very dysfunctional royal family. So I made the main characters twins, who were often at each other's throats. Several songs also went into the inspiration mix there.
Me: You have mentioned turning their adventures into a trilogy, what future as ventures are in store for Stiva and Chandris?
MS: Can I answer that with a teaser? Here's a snippet from Book 2, which I'm putting finishing touches on now.
"Honor. Courage. Serenity," Reide said. "Is that what you are selling tonight? Is that why you came here, rain soaked and empty? Is that what you will tell the dead? Their widows and children"
Stiva simply stood there. Words formed in her brain, but the rain washed them away. "I am your queen," she said, more quietly. "And I have fought for you tooth and nail."
Reide looked at her as though she were a stranger. "It isn’t me you want to convince," he said. "It’s yourself. You’ve always known what lies behind his eyes."
"I didn't order this," Stiva insisted. "I didn't even know what happened until today. I only wanted peace. We both do."
"Peace," Reide said. "Is that the peace he wanted? Death? Boneyards are peaceful, Stiva. And that is the only peace you will ever know."
Thunder crashed.
They both felt the presence of the Otherworld around them.
Aside from that, I'll just say that a lot of blood gets spilled, and maybe some things get unleashed that probably shouldn't have been.
Me: More recently, you released the ocean-themed poem collection As the Seas Turn Red. How did this collection come together?
MS: That one was interesting. I write poetry on and off, just when I feel like it. I decided I wanted to do an ocean-themed collection. I was about halfway through when the first Gulf Oil spill happened. It was horrific. The book took on a life of its own after that. It was something I came back to in cycles, as the pieces came to me. And it was just heartbreaking in that the state of the oceans and sea life is just getting worse. There have been a few bright spots, with garbage cleaning and whatnot, but it's just something that really weighs on me. Joseph Schmalke did a great job with the cover. That book is odd in that I've had many people tell me they loved it, but no reviews or press interest. I suck at promotion, so I'm sure that doesn't help. That said, my hope is that people will just stick it in their beach bags, you know?
Me: Do you have any other writing projects at the moment you’d like to share with readers?
MS: Well, Dawn Book 2 is a big one. I'm just polishing it (and yes, revising again, lol). I'll probably go straight through Book 3 while it's fresh in my head. I have quite a few other things coming down the pipeline this year as well. One project I am really excited about is Pulling Your Strings: A Tribute to King Diamond, from Death’s Head Press. I also happen to have a story in an anthology inspired by Blue Oyster Cult’s music, which is Imaginos: The Eternal Light, from Stitched Smile Publications. I have another short story, Of Marrow And Abomination, coming out from Pseudopod, and another in Would But Time Await, a New England folk horror anthology from Haverhill Publishing.
I have two horror novels and a post-apoc/steampunk/horror novel I've been ignoring while all this has been happening, so I'm looking forward to being able to work on those. And I think probably next year I'll put a collection together.
Me: Lastly, being that this is Women in Horror Month, what special message do you have for any women out there looking to join in the industry in any capacity as you are one yourself? Thank you again for your time!
MS: Rock on, ladies! Keep supporting each other and helping each other. And thank you!
To follow her work online, check out her social media sites:
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This interview ran as part of our month-long Women in Horror Month celebrations. Click the banner below to check out all of our interviews and reviews we've conducted for the event:
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