Our second Dark Dozen interview is with horror icon Christine Morgan. Christine appeared in the first Dark Dozen Anthology, the 2022 Splatterpunk-award winning Baker's Dozen.
Since then, I have appeared with Christine in several anthologies and have become a huge fan of her work. I'm thrilled to have her back for a second project with Uncomfortably Dark.
Read more about this amazing woman below!
Christine Morgan- Icon, Author, Editor, Reviewer.
If you had three sentences to pitch your most recent book to a new reader, what is your pitch?
CM — “NYMPHO SHARK FUCK FRENZY is a totally obscene and inappropriate romp of bestiality, pornography, graphic sex and violence. It’s also loaded with shark-movie and pop-culture references and dark humor. But, most of all, it’s a heartfelt touching love story, a Beauty and the Beast tale as old as time.”
Do you have a favorite book or story of your own that you talk about more than others? What makes it your favorite?
CM — Impossible to choose. I mean, as a mother, I only had one kid (who is totally awesome), so I can’t exactly make the usual comparison. Each book and story has its own charm, and I love them all for different reasons. I’m particularly partial to LAKEHOUSE and WARLOCK INFERNAL because of the tremendous joy of playing with Edward Lee’s toys, I really enjoy getting into the feel and language of the westerns and other historicals; the cosmic horror ones may be some of my ‘best’ writing, the smut’s always a ton of fun ... so, yeah, impossible to choose!
Have you ever experienced a natural disaster? If so, what was the scariest moment for you?
CM — As I type this, we’re at the fringes of the evac zone for one of three ongoing Southern California wildfires and there was an earthquake this morning, so, yeah, no stranger to those. I slept through the quake this time, though I’ve certainly experienced my share of others. Funny, the way you get used to the stuff you grow up with; seeing a tornado would freak me right the heck out, but unless there’s actual destruction, the quakes are not so scary. The fires, on the other hand? The sky’s been smoke-pall for days. The air tastes like burnt newspaper, and even with the wind in our favor, the tension of waiting to see what will happen is hard on the nerves.
Has there been a disaster-based movie or book that has stuck with you since you first watched/read it? What was it and why did it stick?
CM — I am a total sucker for big budget disaster stuff, especially movies. ARMAGEDDON, VOLCANO, and THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW are perennial faves (as is INDEPENDENCE DAY, though that’s not really ‘natural’ disaster.) Reading Niven and Pournelle’s LUCIFER’S HAMMER was a big one, as was their FOOTFALL (again, aliens; doesn’t quite count). I also really get into some of the theoretical aftermath nonfiction ... the book THE WORLD WITHOUT US, looking at what would happen if humanity simply up and vanished, is amazing.
What’s the one thing that scares you the most in this world and have you ever written about it?
CM — Being a walking bundle of phobias, I’ve tapped into a lot of personal squicks and fears. I’ve noticed a lot of extreme horror authors tend to do that, and I think it helps us write those stories all the more effectively because we really feel it. My biggest personal fears, though, involve helplessness. Something happening to my kid and being unable to do anything about it, for instance. Or loss of my own faculties. Even before seeing my mother’s decline through dementia, that’s been a deep terror of mine, losing my SELF, my ability to think and communicate.
Is there an author that you would like to work with that would be a dream partnership for you?
CM — Already achieved that goal, collaborating with the incredible Edward Lee, so to ask for more would be greedy ... though I’d love to work with him on more and bigger projects, maybe even another full-fledged visit to his Mephistopolis.
If you had one hour to speak to any living author, who would it be and why?
CM — Bentley Little, because he’s such a cipher and recluse and nobody gets to talk to that guy, so it’d be a major score and feather in the cap kind of thing, and also because he’s damn near a genre unto himself, and his books are fascinating in how they reflect our contemporary society.
What has been one of the proudest moments of your writing journey?
CM — Hands down, winning the Splatterpunk Award for LAKEHOUSE INFERNAL. It happened during a very difficult time of my life, and being honored with that validation and recognition from the genre and people who’ve meant the most to me for so long was something I will always treasure. Even if, at the time, I was a blubbering wreck with the world’s most incoherent acceptance speech.
Who are you outside of being an author, meaning do you have other hobbies or interests that are your methods of relaxing or for refreshing, creative inspiration?
CM — Mr. Frank of the BIZZONG podcast dubbed me “the Martha Stewart of horror” due to my penchant for weird crafts and baking, which is something I’ve wholly leaned into. I modify fashion dolls into characters from books, shows, and movies; I will never make an ordinary loaf-shaped meatloaf when I could make a severed head meatloaf or sharknado meatloaf; I’m gearing up to refurbish an unfinished dollhouse into the centerpiece of my own spooky village; I collect way more sharks and dinosaurs than a woman my age should. I was a roleplaying gamer for a long time, too, and am still very into the MMORPG City of Heroes.
Do you think the horror industry is having a surge of new authors and new readers and if so, do you see this as a good thing?
CM — Yes, I do, and yes, I do! A great thing, seeing how much the genre’s growing, and how much more diversity we’re seeing these days. I remember when VC Andrews and Anne Rice were the only ‘horror women’ on the shelves. I still see how, even with Mary Shelley and Shirley Jackson, too many people are too quick to dismiss horror as something not for the ladies, like we should stick to fantasy and romance; well, screw that! I’m thrilled and proud to be part of the current scene, with so many younger women boldly stepping into the ring.
Where do you see the industry in ten years with regards to the evolution of tropes, diversity and inclusion, and readers, flourishing or floundering? Explain why.
CM — I’d like to think we’ll continue to widen our scope, becoming all the more inclusive of all types of writers and readers, that we can continue to grow, push the boundaries (which shouldn’t be there in the first place!), and challenge the status quo. I get tired of things needing to be so pigeonholed and labeled by genre or age group or whatever; give me a good story, well-told, and nothing else matters. The more we keep trying to specify this or constrict that, the more we’re stifling the creativity that’s at the core of storytelling.
What is a piece of advice that you WISH someone had given you early in your career?
CM -- I fell into the trap of a vanity press when I was new and young and foolish, even though some wiser heads did try to advise me otherwise, so I WISH I had smartened up and paid attention. I also wish someone (mostly myself) had given me permission earlier to write what I wanted to write, instead of trying to write what I thought I was supposed to write, or what I believed the people close to me thought I should write. I spent too many years being the odd duck out at fantasy conventions, because even when that’s what I was writing, that’s not what I was reading and not where my true calling lay.
Find Christine's books here:
Bio:
Christine Morgan has been through the wringer, dealing with multiple surgeries and grueling treatments for cancer, several total-upheaval moves, being her mother’s full-time live-in caretaker, and dealing with the absolute mess of neglected family estate (get your affairs in order, people!). She’s currently having a much-needed reprieve and recovery, staying at her dad’s high-desert hermitage, where it’s isolated and quiet. When not writing, she takes on edit and proofreading gigs, is a regular reviewer, does weird crafts and baking, naps a lot, and gets bossed around by cats. Her interests include history, mythology, superheroes, disaster movies, and dinosaurs.
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