A high-school teacher and burgeoning author, Caroline Giammanco had started off writing about criminal justice issues before turning to genre fare with her upcoming effort Into the Night. Now, as part of our Women in Horror Movement, I talk with her about her early interest in writing, moving between the two genres and the upcoming novel.
Me: Hello and thank you for taking the time to do this. First off, when did you get into horror in general?
Caroline Giammanco: Writing horror stories was simply an extension of writing paranormal and science fiction short stories. Paranormal doesn’t have to include horror, but it certainly is one aspect of the genre, so when the storyline requires it, horror makes its appearance.
Me: Were you into genre films growing up? What films specifically got you into watching horror movies?
CG: This may sound surprising, but I have never been a fan of horror movies unless they were psychological thrillers. I’ve always contended that if I want to be scared, I’ll watch the evening news. I never imagined I would write horror stories.
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?
CG: One of my favorite writers as a child was O. Henry. I love a good twist at the end of a story, and I always try to include one in my fiction writing. O. Henry was the pen name for William Sydney Porter that he adopted to distance himself from his earlier writing that he had done while serving time in prison. Ironically, I also began my writing career while inside a prison, but I was an employee and not an inmate.
Me: What was the starting point to becoming a writer? Were you always into writing growing up?
CG: I thought it would be interesting to write a book, but until I worked in the prison system I had never found a topic I felt compelled to write about in a book. My writing is a happy by-product of my relationship with my husband, Keith Giammanco, who is the basis of my first book, Bank Notes: The True Story of the Boonie Hat Bandit. From there, my writing has continued through three nonfiction books and my fictional short stories.
Me: What is your writing process? How do you stay focused on writing?
CG: Most of my short stories begin as titles. I create a document for each title, and as a story idea hits me for that title, I type in a few sentences so I don’t lose the concept. It may be weeks or months before I get back to that particular title. I seldom go more than a week or so without writing, and I will skim through my dozens of titles and ideas and select one that speaks to me. I write when I can write.
I’m a high school teacher with a long commute and a farm to attend to. I find that evenings before I fall asleep are some of my most creative times to write because the house is quiet and I have fewer distractions.
I never have abided by the commonly held notion that in order to be a “real” writer you must write every single day. That sounds like drudgery, not creativity, to me. If I forced myself to write when I wasn’t “in the zone,” it wouldn’t be enjoyable for me, nor would it yield a story with any hint of creativity.
While writing, the scenes play out in my head like I’m there or I’m watching a movie, and I don’t plot out my stories in great detail. I have a concept, and I know how I want it to end, and then I start letting the story flow. My way of writing isn’t better or worse than anyone else’s. It works for me, though.
Me: Is there any specific type of genre you prefer writing? Is there any style or format you find easier to get into even without a preference?
CG: Having grown up a fan of science fiction and paranormal stories, these genres are the most fun for me to write.
Me: Having written three nonfiction books, what tools and skills do you acquire working on those that transferred to future projects?
CG: Whether it’s fiction or nonfiction, a writer has to be able to tell an authentic, compelling story. The growth I experienced while writing my nonfiction works made it easier to write appealing fiction.
Me: What is the general process for getting involved in these projects?
CG: As I mentioned, when I have a story idea I save it as a document. I like to write entertaining stories, and if an idea interests me, I do my best to make it entertaining for others. I started writing fictional short stories because I was burned out from writing three hard-hitting emotionally-draining nonfiction books. It wasn’t easy to put our lives out there for the world to see, and because I wrote about traumatic experiences, it was jarring. I decided to write science fiction and paranormal because it was nice to create the monsters instead of telling the world about real ones.
Me: How did you settle on the plot for your stories in the collection Into the Night?
CG: I wish I had a formula or a crystal ball that would satisfactorily answer this question. The ideas for stories come to me and I write them. Many are drawn from personal experiences in one way or another.
Me: Was there any special significance to making the stories reminiscent of old-school science fiction and thriller TV shows?
CG: Those appealed to me, so it seemed natural to write along those same lines. When someone compares my writing to that of Rod Serling, I consider it one of the highest compliments I could receive. I do not, however, try to copy any writer stylistically. I tell stories that I enjoy telling, but I tell them in my own way with my own voice.
Me: Was there any part of your real self injected into the characters?
CG: I definitely pour part of myself into stories. Sometimes it’s as simple as including one of my pets in a storyline, but other times I infuse lessons I’ve learned or experiences I’ve had into them.
Me: Once it was finally written, what was the process to having it published?
CG: I was fortunate in that I already had a professional connection with the publishers through interviews I conducted with them for my other works. I contacted them and asked if they would be interested in taking a look at my fictional pieces, and from there the book became a reality.
Me: How did moving from criminal justice stories and the law to more paranormal topics challenge your writing skills?
CG: Readers can fairly easily grasp nonfiction scenarios. For fiction, an author has to create a mood and a vision in the readers’ heads of places and entities that are unrelated to anything they have experienced. Everyone has seen movies or television shows based on courtrooms and prisons, so I didn’t have to do much world-building for my nonfiction books. The trick to writing good fiction is to give just enough details for the reader to paint the picture in their minds without bogging the story down with too much description that will distract readers.
Me: How do you keep your creative energy flowing?
CG: If I need to take a break from writing, I do. I don’t consider it “writer's block.” I consider it a much-needed rest for my mind and creativity. If you are tired, you rest. If ideas aren’t flowing, I take a break. The ideas always come back. I don’t put pressure on myself to perform. The day writing feels like a task I’m forced to do, that’s the day I will stop writing. I enjoy creating. I already have plenty of obligations and responsibilities in life. My writing is supposed to be enjoyable for the readers and for me.
Me: Lastly, what else are you working on that you’d like to share with our readers?
CG: I am continuing to write short stories. My goal is to create another published work in the future that may encompass more than two genres. In the meantime, I am producing stories for the Into the Night Anthology podcast (available on Spotify and all major podcast venues). I collaborate with voice artist Nari Kwak for the podcast, which we began at the start of the COVID pandemic. I love having my stories come to life through Nari’s talent, and it allows a larger audience to enjoy my stories who might not have found me if it wasn’t for the podcast.
This interview ran as part of our Women in Horror Movement! Click the banner below to find everything we've published for this occasion:
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