Q: What qualifies as horror to you and what’s your favorite type of horror?
A: Like I said, horror is a very personal thing. I’m a hard person to scare, but if you want me to think twice about turning off the light at night, tell me a good ghost story. Anything with a supernatural angle to it is my jam, as are historical stories—especially supernatural historical fiction. I don’t care for gore porn, serial killers, etc. The stories can be good, and they can be compelling—they just don’t frighten me at all. I think evil killer vs good people stories tend to be more formulaic and, in general, are somewhat predictable—we know the good guys are going to come out on top, but even if they don’t, the story doesn’t feel complete. Stories of the supernatural only follow the rules the writer makes up. Yes, it still boils down to good guys vs monster, but there’s a lot more in between discovering the monster and slaying it than a bunch of corpses and blood—at least in the good ones. When we’re tied to this reality, I just find the stories too predictable to be frightening. When basic things we take for granted like day and night or being able to see the thing we’re afraid of being thrown out the window, it’s much easier for me to get lost in that world and not see what’s coming next.
Q: Speaking of favorite types of horror, who are your favorite horror authors?
A: My writing professor introduced me to the work of Stephen Graham Jones and I’ve been hooked ever since. He’s a Blackfeet Native American author who writes a lot of werewolf fiction, which truly is one of the ways to my heart. Shirley Jackson is a favorite as well, as is Richard Matheson. Of course, Octavia E. Butler and Tananarive Due. Sherri L. Smith’s Orleans is one of my all-time favs. Cherie Priest writes excellent historical and ghostly novels, which I really love. In general, though, I go more for plot/theme rather than authors since I have specific interests. Werewolves, vampires (imagined in new ways), ghosts, magic realism are all standard fare for me, but I really love horror that’s dystopian in nature, especially if there’s a scientific element to it—like “The Girl with All the Gifts”.
Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones.
Q: So far, you’ve put out three podcasts on Nightlight, we’ve heard you read Southern Gothic from Eden Royce and a Zombie story set during an alternative history Civil War period from Justina Ireland. What types of stories can we expect to hear on upcoming podcast episodes?
A: I think there will definitely be more of each of those (send me more stories!), but on the calendar right now are stories about Faustian deals, strange hereditary conditions, and stories of love and revenge. I want to cover a wide range of stories, partially to show the range of Black horror out there, but also because I really love well-written horror in all its forms. I’d love to acquire a good ghost story, some thoughtful slasher-type villains, and a werewolf story that knocks my socks off.
Q: You’re accepting story submissions to be read on your podcast, what are three key things that make a great horror story in your opinion?
A: Particularly for audio, the beginning has got to be solid. That first sentence or two has to grab me and not let go. That can be fixed in edits, so it’s not a deal breaker, but a good beginning significantly ups your chances of being acquired. The ending has also got to be solid. It can’t be predictable, but we must feel like it’s inevitable. Aside from that, the pacing is incredibly important. Describing atmosphere or surroundings is fine, but when you’re spending a whole paragraph on the color of a couch or drapes, it sucks all the tension out of the story.
I think the most important thing is to create tension in the beginning and keep pulling it tighter and tighter until it snaps at the ending. You can let off the gas, so to speak, here and there, but it should be done thoughtfully, preferably to disarm the listener, so they think they’re getting a break from the tension before you ratchet it up higher. I think just about anything can be made to sound horrifying using the right words—so long as you have characters that we care about who are in danger for some reason or another, you’ve got a horror story.
Photo credit The Walking Dead/ AMC.
Q: It’s the zombie apocalypse and you can only carry three things with you to the nearest survivor camp, what do you bring and why?
A: Assuming I have my family with me, I’d bring my compound bow, a survival knife, and a book on local plant life. I’m probably overly practical, but I think that would serve me well during the zombie apocalypse. Archery is a hobby of mine, and I’d use that to defend myself and find food. Bows are quiet, wouldn’t draw the attention of nearby zombies or humans up to no good and I could reuse arrows, or make them if times got really hard. The survival knife is kind of a no-brainer for me. You need a cutting edge for all kinds of things—preparing food, building shelters, and protective devices, and the flint end of the knife could be used to start fires. And the book on plants, so I could identify things I could/should eat or use to treat injuries and illness, as well as what I should stay away from. I may or may not watch too many survival shows…
Q: If you could only read or watch one horror book or movie for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?
A: Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower. It’s one of those books that when you re-read it, you start to see connections and notice things you didn’t necessarily pick up on before. It also sparks a lot of thought on difficult issues and topics, particularly some that are relevant today—climate change, the gap between the rich and the poor, etc. that make it so you’d never get bored reading it.
Q: You’re a writer and a book reviewer as well, how did you get into writing and reviewing books?
A: As I mentioned earlier, I scared my second-grade teacher and was hooked. But that was more of a retelling than a new story. I told myself bedtime stories as I went to sleep each night. I was a very anxious child and would make up all kinds of things. I would typically have supernatural powers and most of my stories wouldn’t have an ending because I’d fall asleep before I was done. I don’t remember a time in which I wasn’t making up stories.
But the thing that made me want to actually put them on paper was the night I had a dream that I wanted to finish. It was more than a quick story. It was just the beginning and I wanted to take it through to its logical end, but to do that, I’d have to write it. When I realized I was writing about the death of my father, I put it away because it made me think of him. A few years later, I showed it to a co-worker and the next day she asked me where the rest of it was. I joined a writing group but ended up leaving it alone again until I took a creative writing class. My (published) writing professor told me I should work toward a career in writing and I’ve been working at it since…off and on. There are many moments I doubt myself, but I always return to it.
Last year, or maybe earlier this year, there was this big deal where a white reviewer read a book by a Black woman and basically just white-personed all over it. I wanted to start a blog reviewing books by Black authors because I felt the community needed it, but I couldn’t figure out how to make it work since I knew it would be a time-consuming endeavor. A friend of mine reviewed books for a major publishing magazine and she suggested that she could reach out to her editor to see if they needed any reviewers. It turns out they did, and especially had been looking for marginalized reviewers, so I joined the team. The great thing about going this route is I have more influence than I would have as a solo reviewer, which makes the work more rewarding, and, I think, more helpful to the community of Black Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror authors out there.
Q: You currently narrate all the stories and you’re GREAT at it! Do you have acting or voice training and have you thought about getting into Audio Book narration (hint, hint!)?
A: Thank you! I do not have any voice training outside of listening to a lot of podcasts. I keep intending to do some research on it, so I can improve, but I’ve been so busy I haven’t had the time. An actress friend of mine suggested looking at audition videos, of which there are apparently a lot on Vimeo, but I haven’t made the time to focus on that. But, I’d love to do audiobook narration! Somebody out there hit me up!
Q: How can we support Nightlight Podcast?
A: There are all kinds of ways! We have a Patreon at http://patreon.com/nightlightpod. That’s the best way to support the podcast long term. We also have a PayPal (http://paypal.me/NightlightPodcast) for folks who prefer a one-and-done type donation. And while monetary support is what keeps the podcast going, subscribing to the podcast, telling people about it, leaving reviews on various platforms—all of those things will make NIGHTLIGHT into the podcast I dream of. I want Black authors to be “discovered” via the podcast and to get life-changing book and movie deals.
For that to happen, I need a hugely active and devoted listener base. When I can walk in a room and say X story is our most popular story and it’s been listened to from beginning to end several hundred thousand times since it premiered a month ago—that’s when folks will more inclined to open up their checkbooks to that author. The podcast is a labor of love for me, and while I’d love to be able to pay my bills with all the hard work I put into the podcast, my primary mission is to elevate the Black horror community and bring our talented authors and amazing stories into the light.
Nightlight Podcast logo.
Q: Is there anything else you’d like to tell readers about your podcast or your own writing?
A: Tell the writers you know to submit their stories! I want to be drowning in Black horror. I want to have to get someone else to help me read. I can handle the volume easily now, but I know there’s so much more out there. I want to see it. Don’t self-reject.
As for my writing, I’m working on a horror audio drama about a town that endures an earthquake and other “natural” disasters that are scientifically impossible and very much NOT natural, that I’m hoping will get picked up sometime this year, so keep an ear out for that.
Thank you so much for accepting this interview. I wish you much success on your podcast and I can’t wait to hear more from Nightlight. Thank you!!
Kenesha Williams is an independent author, screenwriter, speaker, and Founder/Editor-in-Chief of Black Girl Magic Lit Mag.
She took to heart the advice, “If you don’t see a clear path for what you want, sometimes you have to make it yourself,” and created a Speculative Fiction Literary Magazine featuring characters that were representative of herself and other women she identified with. She has happily parlayed her love for the weird and the macabre into Black Girl Magic Literary Magazine, finding the best in undiscovered talent in Speculative Fiction.
