WiHM 9 Presents - April Hawks

No one should ever have to deal with cancer, especially a child. BLEED is a charity anthology where the profits will go to help children who have cancer. Forty-seven stories, poems and essays by the best in the horror business, including Bentley Little, Rick Hautala, Joe McKinney, Mort Castle, Benjamin Kane Ethridge, Tim Waggoner, Gene O'Neill, and William Nolan. This is for all the little girls and boys who fight the good fight everyday. Proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to The National Children's Cancer Society. thenccs.org

1) As a female horror writer what do you bring to the table in terms of what of you write? 
   
I don't necessarily think that I bring more or less to the table than anyone else, in terms of writing ability. What I do think is that I, like many women I know in general, have a catalogue of experiences that many men don't. We know what it is like to clench our keys between our knuckles in a dark parking lot. We know what it is like to look for someone whose eye we can catch to help extract from a conversation that may be not quite harassment, but dancing the line. Those and countless others are experiences that we can draw from to elicit fear in our work, which is pretty handy when you write horror. 

2) Do you think female authors are underrepresented in the horror genre?

There is a huge, gaping chasm in the horror genre that needs to be filled by writers that are not white dudes. No, I am not saying white dudes should stop writing, or even write less. But we need more female authors accepted into collections and published. This does not have to be a kiddie sized pool where only three people can play and a fourth is just going to make it all cramped and your elbow is going to end up in someone's eyeball. This can be an ocean, with room for all. 

3) Tell us about your book(s)

The most recent book that I have been in is a collection of writers from Maine. It is called Northern Frights. The story I wrote in it has a kind of a campy Kaiju feel to it, which I had a lot of fun with. The whole story came from some of the weird stuff that my kids have said. 

4) Why is horror writing important to you?

That question makes me laugh, because about 8 years ago, I told my friend (and now mentor) Peter Dudar that I was never going to write horror. I wasn't into the genre. I didn't watch it, I didn't read it. And then I went through one of the most horrific things I could have thought of. My youngest son was diagnosed with Leukemia. Cancer. After that, there was nothing terrifying in monsters in the shadows. And I began to write through it. And I played with a horror story for an anthology that Pete sent me info for. He said (very loosely paraphrased because it has been over five years) "I know that horror isn't really your thing, but this anthology is looking for stuff and it's for charity." So I looked. And I played with the story. And the story sucked. But in the meantime, I also sent in a personal essay that I had written for (and sent and been rejected by) for the Modern Love section of the New York Times. And they wanted it. So the story, which has never seen the light of day since then, was rejected, but I got my first piece published in Bleed, edited by Lori Michelle. Slippery Love was an attempt at humor while I was dealing with my own personal horror. And I was hooked. 

5) Is the future of horror female?
   
At least half should be. I know that there are enough amazing female horror writers out there that the ratio could be much better, again, for people that aren't white dudes. There should be a swirling mix of writers, not a homogenous lump. Flour isn't very tasty by itself, but with honey, salt, yeast and a bunch of other things I forgot, it makes a damn good loaf of bread. the future of horror should be more like bread. And with more women.

About the Author:

April Hawks was born in a small, Maine town. She currently lives in another small, Maine town. She resides with her husband, four sons, and the only other female in the house- her cat Ayla. In her spare time, little though it may be, she enjoys playing video games and reading. Most of her time is devoted to her family and writing. 
Her first concert, ever, (that was not a children's concert) was Megadeth. Her most recent was Weird Al Yankovic. Her musical tastes are eclectic. 
Her first publication was her personal essay "Slippery Love" in the anthology "Bleed" in August, 2013.

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