Interview with “Wendigogo” Author Kris Silva

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Featured Horror Books Indie Horror Creation Indie horror writers
Wendigogo book cover by author KA Silva

PBH -Tell me a bit about yourself and what got you into horror writing?

Author Kris Silva wearing antlers

KS – The earliest memories I have of loving spooky things were from trick-or-treating as a tiny child, and then an old Time-Life Library book about ghosts and the paranormal which I read at about 6 or 7, which really sparked my fascination. My dad bought me Stephen King books in the 80s when I was way too young, but I devoured them anyway and sought out more. I read Poe, Ambrose Bierce, and Lovecraft (the unholy trinity) as a teen, and then branched out into pop stuff like Anne Rice. Horror has always been my go-to for fun reading, and I enjoy most subgenres of horror films as well. I have been a fiction editor since 2013, working on romance, science fiction, and urban fantasy for Graythorn Publishing, and freelancing as well. Wendigogo is my first published novel, and the first in a planned series of at least four books with these characters. 

PBH – You’ve covered a wide range of characters in the book, what inspired you to bring them all together? 

KS – I knew I wanted to feature Ojibwe and other local Wisconsin folklore heavily. When I read about the lake monsters, the mishibizhu or mishipeshu, having one of them as a character seemed like a perfect devil’s advocate to pit against my bookseller protagonist Morty. Honestly Marie the mishibizhu wrote herself into the book! Also, with as much creature lore as there is in the Northwoods, having a cryptid hunter nosing around just made sense, and so Garwood Quell came to life. Morty’s best friend Kim and girlfriend Darcy are what anchor him to his humanity as things become progressively worse for him. Some of their interactions are comic; Morty and Marie in particular fell into such a wonderful bickering over the pros and cons of eating people. Kim and Morty have an easy, boisterous bromance going on. But then we have Quell desperately trying to hunt down the monster, because he feels it’s his duty to do so; and an ancient shaman who’s become bored and sees a wendigo as the perfect opportunity to inject a little chaos into the world for his own amusement. Morty has far more to deal with than he can handle sanely, just in interacting with the rest of the cast.

PBH – Wendigo! We love wendigos here at Puzzle Box Horror, what is it about the wendigo that made you bring that creature into the story? 

 KS -I ran across the concept of the wendigo while researching Wisconsin weird stuff in 2014, prior to moving here that same year, but my ideas fizzled out. It wasn’t until 2019 that the wendigo resurfaced in my head, right about the time I became utterly fed up with the current political climate. It hit me that what I needed was a wendigo to prey upon all the greedy people happily selling out their fellow humans for a fat paycheck. The wendigo has always been a symbol of greed and gluttony, eating their neighbors even when there was abundant game. I wanted to twist that a bit, to make my wendigo ravenously hungry like the monsters of lore, but to have him turn that hunger upon selfish people. The fact that descriptions of the wendigo vary widely and wildly even in original Native American sources gave me some leeway in fashioning him, as well. They’ve been described as anything from skeletal, lipless corpses to giants with hearts of ice. One legend says they can look like anything in the forest! They’re native to Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Canada, and there’s even a Windigo Fest at Manitowoc, WI every October; I attended last year and was further inspired by the range of wendigook wandering the streets!

PBH It’s hard to write a novel, what kept you going and what advice would you give authors trying to finish a project?  

KS – This book was a perfect stew in my brain: fascinating research into Ojibwe lore, my love of winter storms, my own rage at unfettered capitalism, and finding the right physical model for Morty. Once I knew how he looked and sounded, and knew I wanted him to eat the guilty, everything flowed easily from there. I wrote a complete draft over the course of nine months. I thought, dreamt, ate and breathed these characters, particularly Morty, so that every time I sat down to write another chapter, the dialogue practically wrote itself. I’ve always been more focused on characters than mapping out intricate plots and I feel like that helped. If you’re trying to write a novel, know your characters. Know exactly how they’d react in any given situation, what they would say to each other, why they would support or oppose each other. Love your characters! They should feel like old friends you know intimately. Even the antagonists. Explore their voices and points of view, make extensive notes about them each. Then drop them in the middle of whatever craziness you’ve planned and write down what they do. Keep writing it. Write out of order if you’re inspired by a scene farther ahead but don’t know how you get there yet; it’ll flesh itself out if you understand your characters well. Also, be prepared to rewrite. A lot. Especially after your editor is through shredding it! I’m in the midst of writing book 2 now (tentatively titled Love Song of the Murder Deer) and diving deeper into the relationships between the main characters as Morty struggles to control the ancient manitou inside him.

Author Kris Silva in a Wendingo costume

PBH – You must be a horror fan, can you give us some movie and book recommendations? 

KS – Though Wendigogo’s plot is nothing like these films, Cabin in the Woods and Tucker and Dale vs Evil very much inspired the comic horror tone. Really anything that mixes comedy and horror is a must-see for me, even deliberately awful films like Velocipastor! I rewatch Cabin at least once a year; it’s my favorite movie, just brilliantly written, acted, and directed. And the last-act splatterfest manages to be both gory and hilarious! I love ghost stories and creature features, but well-done comic horror is my favorite subgenre. For books, I enjoy Rick Gualtieri’s “Tome of Bill” series, about a nerdy vampire struggling with truly evil vamps, Bigfeet, witches and more. The whole series is irreverent and geeky. For more serious fare, I devour Stephen Blackmore’s Eric Carter series about a modern-day necromancer in L.A., dealing with ancient Aztec gods and ghosts. His books are blood-soaked, moody candy. For scary films, The Ritual has a bit of a wendigo vibe to it despite being set in Europe. And I’m looking forward to seeing Antlers. Also, not strictly film, but the Netflix series “The Haunting of Hill House” is utterly masterful and genuinely frightening, well-paced, and with so much packed into each episode. Not to mention it has lots of in-jokes for Shirley Jackson fans.

PBH – Where can we find and follow you for updates on the book? 

KS – The Reluctant Wendigo series has its own Facebook page; updates, contests and such are all announced there. I am frequently on Twitter as @gravewriter71 (warning: lots of politics and random silliness as well as wendigo stuff and book news). The book is available through amazon (ebook and print) and ebook through Barnes & Noble (for both sites: https://books2read.com/u/mv5BzX ). My publisher Graythorn is also offering signed copies: https://graythorn-publishing.square.site/product/wendigogo-by-k-a-silva/14?cp=true&sa=true&sbp=false&q=false

PBH – Anything else you want to tell us?

KS – Thank you very much! I really like your site and will frequent it. Lots to explore, and the tone is both smart and friendly. Glad I happened across it. —- PBH – awe thanks we have fun here.

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Interview with Female Horror Author Kat Howard

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Featured Horror Books Indie Horror Indie horror writers Women in Horror
End of the Sentence Cover
The End of the Sentence

How would you feel if you suddenly started receiving letters from someone you didn’t know? Personal letters, from someone who seemed to know more about you than you ever wanted to admit to yourself? The End of the Sentence (2014) delivers–it’s not only difficult to put down, (or stop listening to, if you opt to experience it as an audiobook) but it is also easily digestible and instantly gives the reader that desirable feeling of unease and fear.

With every turn of the page, we find ourselves more and more deeply immersed in the life of Malcolm Mays, a man whose life is falling apart as he moves into a foreclosed home in Ione, Oregon–what he doesn’t realize is that the original owner never left and doesn’t intend to. The end of his 117-year sentence is almost over…

Interview with Kat Howard

We found out that you’re not just a horror writer, but you have also explored the science fiction and fantasy genres, so what initially drew you to horror fiction?

I’ve always loved horror. Some of the first “grown up” books I read were by Stephen King, but even before that I loved stories that scared me. I like to write horror because sometimes that’s the genre that works best for what I have to say. Plus, it’s fun writing stories that might give people the shivers.

Can you tell me about how you and Maria Dahvana Headley decided to come together to co-write The End of the Sentence?

Maria’s a dear friend. We were guests at an annual convention (ConFusion) and made a comment about wanting to write something together in front of Bill Schafer, the head of Subterranean Press. He said he’d buy it, and we wrote a contract on his arm. (There was a much more official contract later.) It was honestly a joy of a project to write with her.

How did you come up with the idea of The End of the Sentence?

Maria had recently moved, and had been getting mistaken letters delivered to her address. Things kind of went from there.

Kat, we understand that this was your debut novella, how did it feel being named one of NPR’s Best Books of 2014?

I literally fell out of my chair when I found out. I’m really proud of the work we did on this novella. It remains one of my favorite things that I’ve written, and so I’m always extremely happy to see it find readers. Seeing it recognized like that meant so much.

A Cathedral of Myth and Bone
A Cathedral of Myth and Bone

Is there anything new that you’ve published or are working on that you’d like to talk to us about?

As this is a horror venue, I have to say I was extremely pleased when my recent collection, A Cathedral of Myth and Bone, was long-listed for the [Bram Stoker Award]. It didn’t make the final ballot, but just to see it recognized was a delight. I’m currently working on A Sleight of Shadows, the sequel to my novel An Unkindness of Magicians.

A lot of our fans are actually aspiring writers and artists, do you have any advice for them?

I always feel a little weird about giving advice, because I feel like I’m still figuring things out myself. But I think that one of the great (and yes, sometimes terrifying!) things about writing or art is that there are so many ways to come into the field. Don’t cut yourself off because you think you’re too old, or you should have gone to a different school, or that people have already done what you’re interested in. No one else can make what you will.

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Interview with Horror Author Gavin Gardiner

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Featured Horror Books Indie Horror Indie Horror Creation Indie horror writers

Tell me a bit about yourself and what got you started in horror writing.

The truth is, I took to the writing game quite late. Although a life-long lover of horror, the idea to try my hand at writing my own novel didn’t come until I hit 30, and was the result of endless evenings dissecting the genre with my friend and horror analyst Ewan Rayner. Our conversations eventually led me to wondering whether the expanded understanding I’d developed from these challenging chats could translate into my own story. 

In the three years it took to complete For Rye and find a publisher, I also wrote a novella, several short stories, and a bunch of non-fiction pieces, all of which have also been published in print and online. It’s funny how such an impulsive undertaking, born mostly of curiosity, can end up taking your life in a whole new direction. Guess I’ve got Ewan to thank (or blame) for that. 

Horror Author Gavin Gardiner


The story is set in a town called Millbury Peak. Can you tell me a bit about the town you created?  

Millbury Peak is indeed my own invention. The most interesting kind of horror to me is that which festers behind closed doors, kept unseen behind a façade of normality. My mum summed up this kind of horror perfectly with two words: seems normal. I believe this brand of suspense resonates with us because there is an unspoken demand that we all go about our daily lives as functioning members of society, and to varying degrees bury our own writhing horrors within us. We must all seem normal

Anyway, I had the feeling that a small country town would be the perfect setting for this high-standing, respected family whose lives are, in actuality, a living hell behind closed doors. The husband and father of the family, Thomas Wakefield, is the adored town vicar. He also happens to be the cause of the hell his family must endure. 

Geographically, Millbury Peak effectively ‘replaces’ the town of Newark-on-Trent in the East Midlands, with the River Trent being overwritten by my fictional River Crove. The story opens in the city of Stonemount (again, made up) which replaces Nottingham, and I also created an island in the Outer Hebrides called Neo-Thorrach which features in the story. As you can see, I’m somewhat carving out my own fictional world within our own world. I’m afraid the reason for this is, at this time, strictly confidential. 

The book sounds like a crossover between murder, psychological horror, and maybe the supernatural. Can you expand on that and give us some background on where that came from? 

A crossover between murder and psychological horror is a great description! There are two mission statements about my work that I plan on sticking to for all my fiction. One of those is that my work will never be supernatural, and the other…well, that will be revealed in my next book. 

Regarding my avoiding the supernatural: I want to make it clear that I have a deep love for supernatural horror. The Blair Witch Project is my all-time favourite horror (and perhaps film) and so it’s not that I lack an appreciation for it. 

The decision to base everything I write in our own reality – on stuff that could happen – originates from my fascination with the human mind. Although the supernatural opens up exciting possibilities for a writer, where there are no limits to the things you can conjure up, I believe that no monster can be as terrifying as a monstrous human mind. This is probably why true crime has had such a resurgence and is so overwhelmingly popular at the moment: people are most disturbed by that which could be living next door, or the thought that even their own loved ones could become something truly horrifying. 

Taking my work in this direction also compliments another interest of mine, which is moral complexity. This is something I feel had been lacking in horror for some years, and is somewhat becoming more prevalent, but not to the degree I want to explore it. When you read one of my books, there’s every chance the ‘goodie’ and ‘baddie’, in the traditional sense, will flip by the end of the story. I’ve thought a lot about our designations of good and evil – our insistence on drawing a line between us and them; our denial that the most despicable humans are not a different species, but in fact just a series of arbitrary conditions away from being you, me, or any of the cherished faces smiling warmly over the Christmas dinner table – and I have great interest in my work exploring not only what it takes to make a human monster, but also how slippery the spectrum of good and evil really is. Dealing solely with people, not ghosts or goblins, will allow me dig perversely deep into this theme. 

We talk to a fair amount of new writers. What tips would you give yourself if you could go back to when you started based on what you know now?

Full disclosure: I’m a new writer! I only started my novel three years ago, but have worked my butt off in that time. I’ve remained mindful every step of the way as to what lessons I’ve had to learn, and have plans to start a YouTube series detailing these very lessons. 

The list is endless, but if I could go back and give myself any advice, it would be that self-doubt is not only normal, but necessary. I really had a hard time with this, constantly doubting whether all my work was worth it, or whether the story was a waste of time. I still harbour massive doubts about every new writing project I take on, big or small, but I’ve come to the realisation that it’s that very same doubt that drives me to push my work as far as I can take it.  

I was recently asked in another interview which part of the writing process I find the hardest. I answered (rather awkwardly) that they should all be as hard as each other. If any part of writing a book feels ‘easy’, or is a bit of a ‘break’ from the rest of the process, then you’re not working hard enough. It goes without saying that everyone is allowed to create something just for the fun of it and put that creation out there, but I always advise new writers to remain mindful of their objective. If that objective is to create something that’s going to truly grab a reader by the lapels and shake them, stay with them, and not let go, then they have to take a long, honest look at the effort they’re putting in and evaluate whether it’s enough to meet that objective. 

So embrace the self-doubt, make it work for you, and never forget to push yourself and your work to the limits of your creativity and endurance. Greatness isn’t born out of nothing. Bleed for your work. 


What/who are some of your major influences? 

In terms of literature, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein shattered my perceptions of what a novel could achieve. Also, I doubt I’d ever have written a book had Jeff Long’s criminally underrated and not-spoken-about-enough The Descent (nothing to do with the brilliant film) didn’t exist. 

I was deep into movies before literature, and my list of cinematic influences is wildly expansive. I think it’s important for a writer to seek inspiration from as many mediums as possible, and I’ve found films to be a useful way of expanding my storytelling palette. Absorb enough films, and you need only close your eyes during the writing of a difficult scene to see how a cinematographer or director or lighting technician might handle its execution. 

We live in a fortunate time when we have a positively bloating wealth of cinema and literature to look back on, and I’d urge writers of every genre to gorge on it all, and find ways to channel it into their own work. 

Where can we get this book after release?  

My debut horror novel, For Rye, will be available from April 9th through most major outlets such as Amazon, Waterstones, Barnes & Noble, and Foyles, and you can also pre-order it now. Visit my website to whet your palate and see if you’re up to the horrors to come: 

What are you working on next?  

I’m currently knee-deep in the planning of my next novel, Witchcraft on Rücken Ridge, a folk horror set up a mountain full of caves, cults, and cannibals. As for how the ‘witchcraft’ element ties into my previously-detailed mission statement of ‘no supernatural stuff’, you’ll just have to wait and see… 

For Rye Horror Book cover

Want to dig in? Read the first 3 chapters for free

Website: www.gavingardinerhorror.com 
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/GGardinerHorror

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Interview with Horror Author Laird Barron

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Best Horror Books Best Of Featured Horror Books Short Horror Stories

Recently, Puzzle Box Horror had the privilege of speaking with horror author Laird Barron about his life, his work, and his influences. Laird, an expat Alaskan, is the author of several books, including The Imago Sequence and Other Stories; Swift to Chase; and Blood Standard. Currently, Barron lives in the Rondout Valley of New York State and is at work on tales about the evil that men do.

Tell us a bit about yourself and what got you started in horror writing?

Picture of author Laird Barron
Photo Credit: Ardi Alspach

I started writing as a kid. I was into science fiction and fantasy–Star Trek, Star Wars, the Lord of the Rings. The typical pop culture stuff in the 1970s. When my family relocated from the suburbs to the wilderness, things took a darker turn. I enjoyed telling stories to my younger brothers. We spent many a winter night alone with snow and wind pressing against the cabin and our parents off to town. My siblings were particularly riveted by the spookier tales. Eventually, that translated to my writing horror. I experimented with high fantasy and various kinds of science fiction. Ultimately, it became clear that my affinity for the macabre outstripped everything else.

Has growing up in Alaska influenced your writing at all?

She left a mark. With rare exceptions, I didn’t write about Alaska until more recently. I’d gained distance but needed time. The geography and climate have always strongly influenced my work. Alaska was all about rough edges and extremes. The weather, the people, the swing between months of light and darkness…

I haven’t been back since ’96, but I dream of it often. It’s a lot of psychic pressure heaving against the bulwark of a dam. Past few years, I’ve vented more of it into my stories. Still haven’t decided how I feel about that turn of events except to acknowledge what’s done is done.

The Imago Sequence by Laird Barron book cover
The Light is the Darkness by Laird Barron book cover
Occultation by Laird Barron book cover

You’ve written a wealth of short stories. Do you have any favorites?

Over time, a writer’s career reveals a sort of fossil record of their obsessions. Twenty years on, I’ve published enough stories to see them as delineating several different modes. The crime/noir mode; the contemporary weird mode; the science fiction/fantasy mode. First person posthumous… Most of it horror-inflected. Which is a roundabout way of saying, it’s tough to objectively determine a favorite or most “successful” piece of work because there’s a real apples and oranges element. But…

Personal favorite: “Andy Kaufman Creeping through the Trees.”

Best: “Parallax.”

Creepiest: (and for me, creepy is paramount) A forthcoming story I sold to Ellen Datlow called “Tiptoe” for her Shirley Jackson tribute anthology—When Things Get Dark.

Are there any anthologies or magazines that you are particularly excited to have been published in?

I’m grateful to every last editor who has made a place for me in their magazines and anthologies.

The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction set the tone for my career. It was, and might still be, the Holy Grail for writers tilling the science fiction/fantasy/horror fields. The heavyweights were featured there since 1949. King’s Dark Tower was serialized in those pages. Zelazny and Bradbury wrote stories for the mag. I’ve only become more aware of the importance of selling my first handful of pro stories to Gordon Van Gelder—two of which were cover novellas. There are world-renowned bestselling novelists who moan and groan to this day because they were never able to crack the ToC. So, yeah, a big, big deal.

The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction June cover
The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction May cover

Penning introductions and afterwords for collectors’ editions of Ray Russell’s The Case Against Satan; Jim Thompson’s Pop 1280; Peter Straub’s KOKO; and Michael Shea’s The Autopsy & Other Tales.

I’m also proud to have work reprinted in Ellen Datlow’s anthologies. You’re doing all right when Ellen takes an interest in your writing.

What scares you the most?

The declining state of the world should be enough to scare anyone.

What/who are some of your major influences?

Now, there’s a topic. My blood type is labeled “the ecstasy of influence.” I break down this incomplete list into three stages of life.

Adolescent: DM’s Guide, especially Appendix N; Edgar Rice Burroughs; Robert E. Howard; Roger Zelazny; Stephen King; Clive Barker; Edgar Allan Poe; Robert Service; Louis L’Amour; etc, etc.

Adult: Shirley Jackson; Jack Vance; Karl Edward Wagner; Robert Parker; John D MacDonald; Anne Sexton; Peter Straub; Michael Shea; Charles Simic; Mark Strand; etc, etc.

Old Man Winter: Livia Llewellyn; Stephen Graham Jones; John Langan; Paul Tremblay; S.P. Miskowski; Kelly Link; Aimee Bender; etc, etc.

Blood Standard by Laird Barron book cover
Black Mountain by Laird Barron book cover
Worse Angels by Laird Barron book cover

We talk to a fair amount of new writers. What tips would you give yourself if you could go back to when you started based on what you know now?

Like plenty of other people, I’ve my share of regrets. Career missteps aren’t among them, happily. By the time I started publishing, I’d spent twenty-odd years preparing for the day. I’d done my research and had a clear vision of the writer I wanted to be. That and some career advice from Gordon Van Gelder put me in a decent position.

A sentiment I carry from childhood? If you want to make art, make art. If your family and friends are supportive, wonderful. If not, fuck ‘em. The world pays lip service to pursuing your dreams, but the cold reality is that lots of people will act as living roadblocks to your dreams. The worst of the worst will profess to hold your best interests at heart. Don’t let them steal your fire.

Can you tell us anything about what you’re currently working on?

I’m working on a dark fantasy/horror novel and a handful of stories for upcoming anthologies. If all goes well, I’ll also hand my agent the next horror collection late this year, or early 2022.

If you’re interested in learning more about Laird Barron, check out his website at www.lairdbarron.wordpress.com. You can also follow the author on Twitter (@LairdBarron) and Goodreads (@Laird_Barron). Finally, to purchase books check out the author on Amazon.

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