Friday, February 12th

Featured artist: Querus Abuttu

Interviewed by: Kitty Barnes

Welcome back for week two of Red Vein Army's Wicked Women of Richmond series, spotlighting some of the amazing women creating horror in the RVA area. Last week we introduced you to an empowered master of the stage, Deanna Danger, and encouraged you to check out the many great performance venues that Richmond has to offer.

This week we ask you to find a comfy chair, dim the lights and let yourself get scared in the comfort of your own home. Since we also run the RVA Horror Book Club there is an extra spark of excitement when we get the opportunity to introduce a new author to readers. Today we get to do just that as we introduce our second guest, Querus Abuttu, or as she is often referred, Dr. Q, author of SAPIENT FARM. *cheers, applause! Toss bookmarks into the air! Get Shhhhhhhed by a librarian! Stay respectably excited!*

Who am I kidding? We are a pretty loud book club and talking about books is what we do. So, lets get to know Dr. Q!

How many full length novels and short stories have you published? Can you tell us a little about your most recent publication?

That would be a total of one novel and four short stories. I have a lot more stories locked in a box along with the rest of the paraphernalia I plan to use to take over the world. Sapient Farm, my first novel, is my most recent publication. It's a dark sci-fi, horror, speculative-fiction piece about two pig-human siblings: one who wants to farm mankind and gorge on them like mankind has farmed and eaten animals for centuries, and the other who wants to bring peace to animalkind and humankind alike. What they don't realize is that the humans think their own species is in control, and they plan to keep it that way. It's a battle for life and death, and a turning point for the species.

Horror is becoming a more accepted genre in both movies and books. Do you think the added exposure has helped women writers and producers get recognized? Do you think women have to market themselves differently?

Absolutely! There are many more venues for horror these days, to include video-games, audio-books, YouTube videos and conventions. All of these have provided a multitude of options for women to obtain exposure in the horror genre. Personally, I don't think women have to market themselves differently. I'll hang myself on a limb by saying, I do think women have more freedom than men to describe violent acts towards women in writing because our society judges men when they write about violence towards women, but when women do it they're just being creative. It's a hard fact, but true. I totally take advantage of it.

Who would you say has inspired your writing the most?If it's another author, is there a particular book that you would recommend?

I will sound cliche' again when I say that in my youth I was hugely inspired by Edgar Allen Poe. I used to carry his complete works around with me everywhere I went. When I graduated high school, I eventually joined the Navy, and then went to nursing school, and after that I did all of the things I was expected to do in order to have a career that "made a living." It was only five years ago that I began really delving into my primary love, which was writing, and I eventually attended Seton Hill University's Writing Popular Fiction MFA program.

I chose the University because I read the book, "Play Dead" by Mike Arnzen who was the head of the horror department at Seton Hill. I thought, if this is the caliber of writing the professors provide, then this is the University I want to attend! I wasn't disappointed. The student writers in my class were a huge inspiration to me, particularly Gina Greenway, Joe Borrelli, Stephanie Wytovich and Chris Shearer. We had the largest group of horror writers at Seton Hill in our class. Those years were a prime time for me to focus on horror! My school mentors, Tim Waggoner and Tim Esaias, made me work to be the best writer I'd ever been. They helped me past my ordinary thinking, taught me to explore places I was afraid to go in my mind, and tore out my scaredy-cat guts so I could put the nightmares on bloody paper.

I know it's always hard to pick a favorite so can give us your top 3 scary books (I think it always takes more to scare a writer!)?

Favorite books and scary books are two different things. Scariest books I've ever read include the Bible and the Quran. I'm sure just saying that puts me on several thousand "hit" lists. But seriously, books are hard to choose as favorites. It's easier to choose authors. Both Clive Barker and Jack Ketchum scare the bejezzus out of me. Titles from those authors that have disturbed me the most include: The Woman, Only Child, and Books of Blood (Volumes 1-VI). That's cheating, isn't it?

Dr. Q. from the women's prison? Sounds strangely like an origin story for a certain Batman villain... ahem... Harley Quinn.... Are you the murderous villain in the story or the hero? Super powers?

I'm both. I think it's quite common in today's writing to simultaneously explore the dark and the light side of a character whether it's the protagonist or the antagonist. I see myself as unable to identify with only one or the other.

Hmmm. Super powers? As a nurse-practitioner and healer, I would have to say, "the power over life and death." I'd be able to choose who lives, and who dies. And death is not necessarily a bad thing. All it is, really, is opening a door from one life to the next. When I played World of Warcraft, I was always the Healer. It's a natural place I gravitate to, so I'd want the power to heal, and if unable to heal, I'd want the power to help others go through the door and continue their journey. The villain in me would want the power to choose where that door goes.

Freddy or Jason?

Samara. (Sorry, I don't follow directions well.) It's "Women in Horror" month, and Samara from "The Ring" beats any Freddy or Jason any time. Just say'in.

What would you encourage people, especially the women getting into the genre, to do to help grow our horror community?

I really recommend getting involved with the Horror Writer's Association (Join!), and participate in local chapters. Go to horror conventions, workshops and writer's retreats! Volunteer for events. Networking with fellow horror writers locally, and across the country, is important. Using multimedia (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) is not enough. You have to leave your computer, get out of your home and your cosy little writing space, and share some time face to face with your tribe. I'm an introvert, but getting out and meeting other writers has been one of the most important things I've ever done for the development of my writing craft.

What would you like to see more of in Richmond?

I'd like to see more writer's retreats for those in the horror genre, and more face to face gatherings/meetups. And not just in Richmond, but in the surrounding area to include Charlottesville. (I'm biased because I live in between the two lovely cities.) Planned field trips to haunted places would be a plus. I'd also like to see an area like WriterHouse (Charlottesville), but for horror writers (dark sci-fi and macabre included), where horror writers can go every day for inspiration. Imagine an old building in Richmond dedicated just to horror fiction! Midnight movies, 24 hour writing rooms where groups get together and brainstorm ideas, and tons of artistic decor combined with coffee pots and bloody gummy fingers. THAT would be heaven!

Can you tell us a little bit about your writing process and where you get your ideas?

Wow. Again, I will sound cliche' by saying some of my dreams contribute to my ideas. Generally, though, as a long time nurse-practitioner in women's health and forensics, I get so many of my ideas from my interactions with people and learning their stories.Right now, I'm working in a women's prison and that job has horror written all over it.

Does a perfect writing environment exist? If so, what is it for you?

I'm sure a perfect writing environment exists for someone, but not me. I have a writing room at my home, which is currently covered in plastic (Right?) but the reason is mundane. We have contractors working on the house, and so my writing room has been taken over by construction materials and tools. Regardless, it's not the writing space that is my catalyst as much as it is finding something I'm excited to write about. If I'm excited about it a story, I can pretty much write anytime, and anywhere. It's the generation of ideas where I need the perfect environment. I need alone time, even if I'm in a city, to watch people, to observe what is going on and to enjoy the stories that fill my head. After going for a solo walk for an hour, I can come back with so many ideas that it's hard for me to pick out the most important one to start on.

Last meal before the villains in one of your stories comes for you. What are you eating and how are you going out?

Wendy's chocolate Frosty and fresh, hot, perfectly salted fries. I'm a vegetarian, and I love pigs, so the villain stuffs a Baconator down my throat, suffocates me with it, and mocks me the entire time telling me to squeal like a pig.

What is the biggest challenge for you when writing Horror?

Preconceptions of what a woman should write in the horror genre. I've participated in HWA and Killer-Con "gross out" contests, and I won one, came in second for another, and came in third for the other one. I've discovered there's a general belief that women can't be as gross and disgusting as men can be. Interestingly, I find it incredibly easy. The truly hard thing is to bring finesse and emotion to a disgusting scene and make the reader want to read more because of the sheer horror of it. It's something I strive for.

What is a perfect day for you in RVA?

I used to volunteer at the Richmond morgue, and assist with autopsy there. My perfect day would consist of showing up in the morning at the morgue, having a murder victim to autopsy (who died in a very strange way), hear stories about the murder from the detectives, and then going out to drink beer at a Rocky Horror Picture Show with fellow horror writers. The next morning, my writing would be killer!

What will you do to celebrate Women in Horror Month?

I'm polishing two short stories titled, "No Hunting" and "Bejezzus." I'm going to celebrate by sending them to a publisher for consideration, drinking a twenty-one year old single malt scotch and smoking one of my favorite cigars.

Thanks so very much to Querus Abuttu for taking the time to answer our questions and giving us an unhealthy fear of farm animals. Follow her and her work here: Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Poetry Excerpts, and Writer's Blog.

It was an absolute delight getting to know Dr. Q so be sure to check out her work and, of course LEAVE REVIEWS! Quick reviews help authors reach new readers and is one of the best way to say 'Thanks for scaring the crap out of me!'