WiHM 9 Presents - Lily Luchesi

In this standalone spin-off of the Paranormal Detectives Series, we discover the true horrors during Hitler's reign.
​
In World War Two, not all monsters were human.
Male siren Sean Wireman was ostracized from his small village in Israel in the sixteenth century, forced to wander the world until he settled in America in the 1920's. Since he doesn't age like a normal person, he was fit to fight in World War Two, to defend the heritage he spent his whole life running from.
Seventy years later, after he has lived a whole other life since Hitler was defeated, from attending law school to becoming a bona fide rock star, the monsters the Nazis released upon the Jews in concentration camps have returned, and he is the only one who can destroy them.
But can he save his people once again, or will this fight take a deadly toll?

1) As a female horror writer what do you bring to the table in terms of what of you write? 

When I started writing, I never even knew that being a female horror author was a rare thing, or that there were any differences in writing! My horror leans towards the paranormal: killer vampires, evil witches, stuff like that. I took inspiration from some of the great authors that started writing before the 21st century: Poe, King, Rice, Jackson, and Shelley. Horror can be scary and gory, but I believe that horror should be about the people (dead, alive, and Undead). What I bring to the table are tales fraught with emotion as well as blood. Because as many women have to learn at a young age, life is about balance. Horror is the same.

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

I don't know! I mean, look at the writers who influenced me above. Three out of five are female. Other females who wrote about monsters/ghosts and inspired me are Ellen Schreiber, Heather Brewer (currently Zac), and Terri Garey. I don't think women authors are underrepresented. Many of the best horror pieces were written by women, and people do acknowledge that. The greatest female horror authors are great because they don't focus on their gender as the main selling point. They are so good to the point that their gender is irrelevant. That's my goal.

3) Tell us about your book(s)

I'm the author of the Paranormal Detectives Series, which combines horror with mystery, history, and mythology. It follows a mortal detective named Danny and a vampire named Angelica, who runs an entire division of the FBI devoted to hunting down paranormal criminals. The series has five books so far and one spin-off, and will have a total of eight books by the time I'm done with it.
When I wrote the series, I just wanted to write characters I liked, who were strong and flawed and sexy and deadly. And somehow, according to reviewers, I created one of the best female characters in Angelica. I didn't set out to do it, she kind of knocked on my head and introduced herself to me. It's important to me that women are represented as characters in horror, and not just as sexy ingenues or murder victims. The PDSeries has Angelica, as well as villains Miranda and Fiona.
I also edited and compiled the anthology Damsels of Distress, which focuses on strong female characters in horror, both heroes and villains. There were fifteen other amazing authors who contributed to it, and it was a joy to put together something that, I hope, will make female readers see themselves, or see women they can actually like in horror.

4) Why is horror writing important to you?

Besides the fact that I've always been a fan of it in general? I think horror shows us humanity at its most vulnerable. Sex (erotica, which I also write) shows one side of vulnerability, but horror shows something deeper, much more primal. I'm going to quote the Joker here and say, "In their last moments, people show you who they really are." In horror, you see every side of humanity, even in the non-human characters (like Frankenstein's monster for example). It's a unique experience.

5) Is the future of horror female?
​
The future of horror is any gender. It is all genders. Male horror writers are still important and valid, but if I may, some of them need to cool it with the horror porn/rape and go back to what made horror awesome decades ago. I certainly hope to see more female horror writers pop up, but I don't want it to be, "Oh, look at all these great female horror writers!" I want it to simply be, "Look at all these great horror writers!" When gender is no longer an issue is when we have really made it.

About the Author:

Lily Luchesi is the USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of the Paranormal Detectives Series, published by Vamptasy Publishing. She also has short stories included in multiple bestselling anthologies, and a successful dark erotica retelling of Dracula.
She also compiled and edited the bestselling anthology Damsels of Distress, which focuses on strong female characters in horror and paranormal fiction.
She was born in Chicago, Illinois, and now resides in Los Angeles, California. Ever since she was a toddler her mother noticed her tendency for being interested in all things "dark". At two she became infatuated with vampires and ghosts, and that infatuation turned into a lifestyle. She is also an out member of the LGBT+ community. When she's not writing, she's going to rock concerts, getting tattooed, watching the CW, or reading manga. And drinking copious amounts of coffee.

Buy Now