Horror is subjective, as are emotions. What scares me, may not bother you in the slightest. Moreover, what makes you cry, might possibly make me laugh. So, yes, I agree. I would add that I do not believe there are any other genres but Horror. The greatest authors of all time juggled constantly with terrifying material. Look at "Of Mice and Men" and "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest." Both of those literary masterpieces are scary, but no one classifies them as horror.

I believe, with all my heart, that "Howard The Duck" is the greatest movie of all time

Okay, here you've struck a nerve. I assume you're talking about "slasher" movies. If you are, I would pose a question to you: Who normally overcomes the stalking, masked behemoth at the end? I think horror empowers women. Sure, there are exceptions, but in most of those movies, just as many men are targeted as women. You're not a victim if you can defeat the evil that's hunting you. You're a survivor.

I think horror appeals more to women, than men. I have far more female readers, than I do male.

Currently reading Mara McBain's "Club Justice" and "The Island of Doctor Moreau" by H.G. Wells.

Influences would be, Stephen King, Richard Laymon, Dean Koontz, Bentley Little and Stephen Laws. In that order.

A writer. And a pirate. Who hasn't wanted to be a pirate? I mean, come on!

I'm distracted a lot more, I can tell you that much. I am fascinated at the faux sense of closeness people receive from these sites—how they are destroyed when you don't Like their page or follow their posts. Also, it's getting harder and harder to write horror in this technologically advancing world. Rather difficult to convey a sense of isolation and atmosphere, when everyone's running around with cell phones and tablets and are able to connect 24/7. Keeps you on your toes, though, so I don't mind so much. I'm all for a good challenge.

I spend time with my family, and read. I really live a pretty banal life.

Mass media is terrifying. They're professional fear-mongers. The nightly news is more upsetting than any story ever told in fiction. These are our friends and neighbors they're talking about. I could write until the end of the world, and never instill the same fear in my reader as News At 10. I'm really kind of jealous.

As far as the relationship between literary horror and horror cinema, it's a matter of apples and oranges. I have an affinity for both, because they both taste great. It all depends on what I'm looking for. Do I want visuals thrust upon me, or do I want my imagination to work out the details.

Two years ago, I would have thought Indie Publishing would overtake the market.
Now, I'm not too sure. Amazon.com, especially, is becoming overrun with horrible, unedited drivel. Readers are starting to notice this, and will not even bother taking up space on their kindle for some of the free trash that's floating around. There are too many sneaky indies out there giving the good ones a bad rep—using multiple accounts to give themselves good reviews and creating fake publishing companies run by themselves.
But, traditional publishers are going to have to find a happy medium, because readers are tired of paying more for ebooks than they are for paperbacks.

They are too completely different things in my eyes. It comes down to one question:
Do you want to have sex with the monsters in the story, or run from them?

I obviously can’t speak for everyone that chooses to read horror. However, I can tell you why I do. In my opinion, horror elicits visceral reactions that many of us do not experience on a regular basis. Those of us that read in the horror genre regularly, tend to crave those reactions. A well described scene can make your stomach drop, a chill run up and down your spine, and your hair stand on end. I think we all seek a visceral reaction when we read- whatever that genre may be. A horror story just tends to elicit more reaction than others.

Hmm … wow! What a question. Well, I’d probably study people because they fascinate me. Many times people only show you what they want you to see. So, just think about what they’d show you when they think that no one is looking! I’d study their nuances, memorize each facial expression; I’d just enjoy analyzing everything about them. After that, I’d probably rush home and write something. Hopefully, it’d be worth the read.

I don’t think that Erotica- as a genre- is either, ‘subversive toward the government’ or ‘radical to the status quo’. As a matter of fact, I’ve never related my writing erotica to ANYTHING political. I just don’t see it that way. I write erotica simply for its entertainment value. I may be seen as a radical for some of the things I choose to write about- BDSM being one of them- but, no, I do not see myself as subversive or radical.

After writing a few stories and learning the ropes, I started to look at writing erotica as a wonderful weapon in my writer’s arsenal. When I first started writing again, I had a horrible habit of ‘telling’ my readers what was going on in a particular scene. Learning how to write good erotica helped me to learn how to ‘show’ my reader what was going on. So, for me, knowing how to write good Erotica has been liberating- it really has seemed to set my writing free. For any writer that has trouble ‘painting the picture’ I highly recommend giving erotica a try .

I like the release. Yeah, I know that sounds bad. But, I assure you that this is very true for me. When I finish a story, I feel relieved, lighter, sated. It’s as if the weight of the day has been completely lifted off my shoulders. It’s downright therapeutic for me.

Only four? My goodness, I don’t think I can narrow it down. So … I think I’m gonna cheat . I would have to say my favorite authors … Laurell K. Hamilton and Charlaine Harris. Then I’d have to go ahead and say all the wonderful author friends that have spent endless hours with me talking about writing and other random things via wdc chat, skype, FB, and twitter. You all know who you are . I don’t know what I would do without you.

Oh, this is easy. For those of you who know me, you know there is one thing that I absolutely HATE dealing with. You might as well cue the laughter now … I cannot stand boogers or mucous. Yeah that’s right, I said boogers . I work as a nurse in real life and I have no problems with ANY other body fluid … just respiratory secretions. I’m completely cool in the patient’s room as I am suctioning them. However, as soon as I leave their room, I’m gagging. So … um … yeah, I HATE suctioning.

With my short stories, I tend to start with an idea and run with it. With novel writing, I prefer to use an outline. It’s just nice to have direction for a longer piece of work. But I do have to say, I have been flying by the seat of my pants without an outline as I’ve been writing my current book, L’Escalier du Diable. What a wild ride it’s been so far …

I am most definitely a night person. I work the graveyard shift at a local hospital. Even when I’m not working, I’m up all night. I tend to write the most at night. It just seems to be when my muse decides to ‘let ‘er rip’. That also just happens to be the only time my house is completely silent.

I definitely think that ‘marketable’ horror fiction is more about shock value. But it’s the well written stories that really stick with you. I think a good horror story is more about messing with your mind. It’s the horror story that keeps your eyes glued to the screen and keeps you wondering what’s going to happen next that gets my heart pumping.

This is a LOADED question if I ever saw one. Whatcha tryin’ to do Brooke? Kill me? Just kidding. I’ll try to answer as best as I can without sounding like a total moron.

For the first part of the question, of course I’m comfortable with men writing in the erotica genre. I think the true question is: are men comfortable with women writing erotica? I mean, it wasn’t that long ago that a woman writing about graphic sex was considered a ‘no-no’. We’ve just started to make our voices known in the genre. Any woman that says she has never thought about sex or fantasized about the act is bold-faced lying in my opinion. Why not write about it?

Honestly, I don’t think I can pinpoint any consistent differences between men and women writing erotica. Many have said that men focus on the physical while women focus on the emotional. With the erotica that I have read, written by both sexes, I really can’t say that is 100% true. A good fictional story should be written in the voice of the characters you create- not the masculine or feminine voice of the author. But, then, I guess you’ll really have to make that decision for yourself.

As far as gender making a difference to the way it is read … mayhap it does, mayhap it doesn’t . However, I really think that maturity level plays a big role in how erotica is read. If you truly do not know the difference between erotica and porn and you just see it as another way to ‘get off’, then I feel sorry for you. There is just so much more to erotica than just the act. Pornography has no artistic value at all. It’s simply a tool to get off. Erotica, written well, doesn’t just stimulate your … ‘parts’; it should stimulate your brain as well.

Thank you very much Brooke for giving me this opportunity. I wish I could list more of my own stories. But, most of them are for adult eyes only . HORROR, Inc. has many more projects coming in the future... we'll be sure to keep you posted !!

Burning Love was kind of an experiment for me. I wrote it almost on a weekly basis each time eager to see what Candy, the protagonist, would do next. I've had women write to me claiming that they wish they could be Candy. I'm assuming they'd want to be a free spirit like her and maybe they crave a little excitement in their lives. I can't imagine any woman would want to be in Candy's predicament. I plugged away until I had an ending I could be somewhat satisfied with though I understand Candy's story is just beginning. I hope to complete the novel, Twisted Love by the end of this year (2012). As far as marketing, I'm practically a complete novice and have been bumping along, learning as I go. It's amazing how much work is involved in writing, publishing, and marketing a book.

At first, I thought I was stuck in some foreign movie without the benefit of subtitles. A fish out of water would be the best way to describe how I felt. However, in just a short time, being immersed in the English language, particularly around my cousins, I was able to become fluent. Over the years, English became my dominant language and Spanish not so much.

Hmm, oddly enough, I recall being complimented by Anne Rice. She made a personal commentary that was very sweet. She called me a "kind soul." As for the toughest criticism, it's been one big blur. To me, when someone critiques my work, I look at it as a learning opportunity so I never take it personal, although I have been attacked by a few irate writers. I don't understand why someone would try and hurt me on a personal level, firing words of hate, but then again, if my writing can make people that emotional, then I guess I must be doing something right. However, no matter how much success I've had, there's always room for improvement.

If procrastinators were ever to receive some sort of ranking, I'd be declared royalty. I have attention deficit disorder. It's a challenge for me to maintain my focus for a short story so longer works take months for me to complete. Of course, I'm sure the fact that I don't write on a full-time basis has something do with it.

I try to write every day, though I'm not always in create mode. Sometimes I edit or rewrite a few projects at a time. When the mood strikes I'll write poetry. Now, when I'm on vacation, I become a fulltime writer. I wake up around 6 am, drink my coffee, check my emails, leave my quote of the day on Facebook, then it's listen to the Muse time. My aim is to write at least 2,000 words in the morning, take a short break, and then write until I can't write anymore. If I'm in a flow I get quite a bit done, if not, time to listen to music or watch the news. The news provides me with real life horror which can be more interesting than fiction.

What scares me is evil in its purest form. It could be anything from an invisible entity that makes itself known by draining my energy. It could be a chance encounter with a stranger who seems to ooze malice out of his or her pores. Also, the child that doesn't have an inkling of how valuable life truly is scares me in that most children are innocent, but every once in a while, evil finds a young host to exploit. The thing is...you never know when you'll come face to face with evil and if that day ever comes, if you'll be able to deal with it.

If you would have asked if I could witness a famous person's life, I'd answer this question another way, but to trade places with anyone, especially if that person lost his/her life because of the life they lived, makes this question difficult to answer. I suppose I'll go fictional and say Anne Rice's the vampire Lestat. To embrace the fact that he caused such horror and was still comfortable in his own skin seems remarkable to me. Becoming a vampire would change anyone, but there should be a period of refusal or denial. Lestat embraced his powers, demonstrating his lust for taking whatever he wanted. I don't believe I could ever be that selfish, but then again, I haven't been bitten.

There are programs out there that aid with writing, but I stick to the basics. A good word processing program and access to a thesaurus or dictionary is all I need. A writer must be armed with a desire to improve his or her skills. With so many worthwhile writing books on the market there's no excuse for not improving. And of course, nothing beats studying your favorite writers. Ask yourself why that last Dean Koontz chapter you read was so amazing then try and break it down and analyze what he did.

I teach high school English to second language learners. For me, the best way to deal with bullying is to have a zero tolerance policy. I do my best to establish a solid bond with students. Keeping the lines of communication open and becoming approachable is an effective way to combat bullying in schools. Unfortunately, the victims are afraid to come forward since it's probable that adults actually encourage their peers to increase the abuse by not paying attention to what they say in public or how they talk to the teen. The next time you want to chastise someone, especially a young person, don't do it. It's best to try and see things from their perspective. Search for something positive to say instead of unleashing criticism. It's like your mother said, if you can't say something positive, don't say anything at all. Now the positive stuff goes out the window when confronting a bully. I figure, if they're willing to dish out suffering then they better be ready to take it as well.

I'm not sure it's broken. Perhaps it's that there are several divisions within the genre. There's Supernatural, Occult, Lovecraftian, Gothic English, Gothic American, Noir, Dark Fiction, Psychological horror and Sexual horror. Not to mention the various writing styles. Purist would prefer we keep things simple. The challenge writers face today is to enthrall their readers and give them their money's worth. Each aforementioned author does exactly that.

I've thought and thought about this question for hours and, the honest truth is that I'm not sure what most people do, so I can't say for sure whether what I do is normal or abnormal. From talking with other writer friends, it seems that I differ from many of them in that I have no desire to revisit stories once I've written them. I know there are writers like J.R.R. Tolkien who practically lived inside their own created worlds, but I'm done with a premise and even a set of characters once I conclude the immediate story. I would love to write an epic series of books, but I'm not sure I have the sustained interest to continue settings and characters beyond the scope of a single screenplay, or novel, or even short story. I'm at the opposite end of the spectrum as Tolkien, where I barely even want to rewrite, because I feel like once I've explored an idea and gotten it down on paper, I've exhausted my interest in the story. I procrastinate terribly, and tend to write very quickly at the last minute in order to meet a deadline. What I turn in is often "hot off the presses" as they say, with very little change from the original words that emanated from my keyboard, other than to correct typos, or an odd-sounding sentence from time to time. The vast majority of the stories I have in my port are first drafts that have undergone very little serious and sustained revision. I don't necessarily think that I'm alone in this type of writing, but I think most people have a higher tolerance for revision and revisiting old characters and settings than I do. There's probably a reason all of the "series" in my port have dwindled and died out after only one or two entries.

I always think this is such an interesting question because some people immediately think of corporeal situations, while others think of more ethereal things. I suppose my biggest fear out of all of them is a fear of failure. I grew up with high expectations and, as a result, have a difficult time accepting that I can't do something well. I have a tendency to avoid doing the things I'm not absolutely sure I can do well, because I'm afraid of failing at them. It's held me back at various times in my life, and it's a constant struggle to remind myself that nothing ventured is nothing gained... that a lifetime spent of regret for the things not attempted is a far more frightening thing than a lifetime of failures. I guess that means I'm also afraid of leaving this world before I've truly had a chance to experience everything it has to offer.

In terms of physical fears, I would have to go with being buried alive. Drowning, suffocating, burning to death, being bitten by poisonous reptiles... those are all awful, to be sure. But I'd be hard pressed to think of anything more terrifying than being forced into or waking up in an enclosed space and realizing that no one can hear you calling for help, and even if you could get out of your container, you're still six feet underground.

The last nonfiction book I read that blew me away was Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. It's the true account of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair and chronicles the lives of two remarkable men: Daniel H. Burnham, the architect of the fair who was responsible for some of the grandest (and fastest) building construction ever undertaken... and H. H. Holmes, one of the first documented serial killers who was responsible for constructing a hotel nicknamed the "Murder Castle" in which he killed as many as 200 visitors (mostly young women) who came to Chicago to visit the Fair. It's a completely chilling tale that rivals anything you could find on Criminal Minds... and it's a completely true story from America's past.

The last fiction book I read that blew me away was a toss up between Crooked Little Vein by Warren Ellis and Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. Warren Ellis is delightfully twisted and it was such a unique book with vibrant characters and unforgettable (and disturbing) scenes. I pride myself on being pretty well versed on depravity (in concept only, of course ) and Ellis managed to shock me again and again. And Arthur Golden's account of the life of a geisha is stunning in its vivid description and complex characters. Golden's book blew me away with the elegance of its language and story; Ellis' book blew me away with its sheer, bizarre outrageousness.

Needless to say, all three are highly, highly recommended.

I can never limit myself to only one book at a time, but right now I'm reading:

Flow: The Psychology of the Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (pronounced Me-high Chick-sent-me-high, for anyone keeping score at home). I picked it up because it was referenced in not one, not two, not three, but four separate nonfiction books that I read last year. I figured it was worth checking out since I loved all four of those other books.

The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived: How Characters of Fiction, Myth, Legends, Television, and Movies Have Shaped Our Society, Changed Our Behavior, and Set the Course of History by Dan Karlan, Allan Lazar and Jeremy Salter. I would explain more about this book, but I think the rather lengthy subtitle makes it pretty clear.

Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie. Without a doubt one of my favorite fantasy authors (and relatively new on the scene), he had a fantastic debut with his First Law trilogy. Having devoured all three of those, I'm reading to dive into this one, the first of two standalone books set in the same world as the trilogy.

I own a Kindle and I'm desperately in love with it. As an avid reader, I would often be forced to take six, eight, sometimes even a dozen different books with me whenever I went on a trip... and that was very heavy and inconvenient when it came to packing. With my Kindle (I have the 3G which is now one generation old, but it works just fine for me), even with a leather cover that has a built-in light, it's no heavier or bulkier than a thin trade paperback and I can take literally hundreds of books with me. Combine that with the fact that most Kindle books (even new releases) are $12.99 or less and they offer daily book deals as low as $0.99 (not to mention all the free classics), and it's more content than I could read in a lifetime. Physical books will always have a special place in my heart... there's nothing quite like turning the pages as you go, or hunting through a used book store for a long sought-after volume (I finally found a copy of Flow - see above - in an amazing used bookstore in Seattle over the holidays)... but the portability of eReaders is unparalleled for convenience when it comes to travel and all those times actual books are impractical.

I stumbled across the horror genre a little late in life. When I was younger, my mother read a few Stephen King books like The Talisman and Thinner and they scared her so badly that she refused to read King (or let me read him) until I was out of the house, or at least old enough to take myself to the library and check out my own books. Ironically, the first horror books that I remember reading were both Stephen King. I read his novella The Body, followed closely by The Dead Zone, which is the one that really stuck with me.

But I suppose if you want to trace my love of the horror genre all the way back, we'd have to look and movies and television long before I got into horror literature. I remember "The X-Files" scaring the heck out of me as a kid, and yet I found it strangely fascinating. Especially earlier on, they had some really twisted, creepy episodes that - to this day - remain as some of the times I can remember being most afraid to turn out the lights, or wander outside the house at night.

Just one? {e:pouts} Okay, if I could only choose one book that I think everyone should read, I'm going to cheat a little and recommend a website. Terry Rossio is one half of the screenwriting team that has written hit movies from ALADDIN to SHREK to the PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN franchise. His website is http://www.wordplayer.com, and it consists of an (ongoing) series of 100 columns about screenwriting, but could just as easily apply to any kind of creative writing. There are columns that deal with finding original ideas, striving for more than "better than the crap that's out there," pitching a story in a room of executives, and when to quit. It's without a doubt one of the most informative and insightful writing resources out there and every writer should read the columns at some point. After all, an Oscar-nominated, box office topping, highest sale price record holding screenwriter with a career of more than twenty years probably knows what he's talking about, right?

I think there's certainly a place for graphic horror. Blood and viscera can be entertaining, especially when you're talking about - as strange as it sounds - the lighter side of horror. It's so easy for gore to go over the top and become silly, and you can really get stuck in a never-ending cycle of trying to "top" the accomplishments of the last person who set the standards for how disgusting it can be. But if it's for a Halloween haunted house or a spoof or just some good old fashioned gory goodness, the graphic type of horror can be a rip-roaring good time. For my money though, implied horror and suspense will always be more effective at creating the emotion of terror in an audience. For me, it all goes back to fear of the unknown. What you can't see or hear will always be more horrifying for an audience, because our imagination knows no limits. Graphic horror is limited by the vision of the creators... which may or many not match your particular idea of what's horrific. Sure, it might be scary to have a werewolf or a mummy or an alien outside the house trying to get in, but for me it's infinitely scarier when there's something outside the house trying to get in... and you have no idea what it is. The imagination is a powerful tool and the best horror allows it to run rampant with terrible thoughts.

Horror is a tricky genre to pull off, because there's such a diversity in people's tastes, and that influences "how scary" horror is. Drama is pretty straightforward... if it works it works, and most people have similar sensibilities when it comes to what's sad, heart-wrenching, uplifting, etc. Comedy - to a lesser extent - is the same way. While personal tastes in humor vary, funny is funny, and most of us can appreciate humor even if it's not our particular cup of tea. But horror is such a more visceral genre that preys on our deepest fears... and those fears aren't the same - sometimes not even close to the same - for every person. This year, I went to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood with my wife and a friend. My wife is terrified by "real" horror (serial killers, torture, kidnapping, rape, etc.), while her friend is terrified by monsters, supernatural menaces, curses, etc. When we went through the Hostel Haunted House (torture and human mutilation and psycho killers), my wife was scared out of her mind and her friend walked through laughing at how ridiculous it all was. And when we went through The Thing Haunted House (aliens and creatures and mysterious occurrences), her friend was jumping out of her skin every few seconds and it was my wife's turn to walk through the maze laughing at the ridiculousness of a tentacle thing jumping out at her. The tough thing about horror is that you never know who's going to be really affected by your work, and who's going to think it's cheesy or lame. Add to that the expectations of a publisher or a production company who are often trying to guess what the market is looking for and you've got a very tricky situation where you have to achieve a balancing act among all the expectations from all these different sources, who all still expect to be frightened.

I'm a big fan of genre crossovers where you combine the elements of two or more different genres and create an amalgamation of the best elements of each. When it comes to horror, I love when it's paired with the sheer imagination of science fiction, the mythology of fantasy, or the sensuality of erotica. For me, science fiction and its tendency to theorize about humankind's eventual developments is an ideal place to explore the darker side of our natures, and what happens when we tempt fate with technological or societal advances. And fantasy has such a rich history, full of unique creatures, mythologies, and settings... it's always fun to see what happens when that storied history is combined with the sensibilities of a writer exploring the darker side of legend. And horror and erotica (horrotica, if you will ) is perhaps the most impressive genre crossover in my mind, because it's hard enough to scare people or arouse them alone... but trying to arouse and scare them at the same time takes a pretty special piece of writing. My least favorite horror genre crossover is probably the horror/comedy. It's just too jarring of a juxtaposition. With horrotica, both genres rely on elevated emotions... with horror/comedy, I feel like the emotional aspect of horror is often at odds with the intellectual aspect of comedy, and it's very rare that these two disparate elements come together successfully.