Sumiko Saulson

This interview is being included in the 2013 Women in Horror Interview Series. Every February, Women in Horror Recognition Month (WiHM) assists underrepresented female genre artists in gaining opportunities, exposure, and education through altruistic events, printed material, articles, interviews, and online support.  You can find out more about WiHM here:

http://www.womeninhorrormonth.com/

The Author

John Everson standing behind Charlee Jacobs

Seller of designer rags, and a cook — to mention only a few things.

With more than 950 publishing credits, Charlee has been writing dark poetry and prose for more than 25 years. Some of her recent publishing events include the novel STILL (Necro), the poetry collection HERESY (Necro), and the novel DARK MOODS. She is a three-time Bram Stoker Award winner, two of those awards for her novel DREAD IN THE BEAST and the poetry collection SINEATER; the third award for collaborative poetry collection, VECTORS, with Marge Simon. Permanently disabled, she has begun to paint as one of her forms of physical therapy. To see some of Charlee’s paintings, click here.

She lives in Irving, Texas with her husband Jim and a plethora of felines. To view a bibliography of Charlee’s works, click here.

(Note from Sumiko: I snagged that photo from John Everson’s webpage… which is HERE.  I was tickled by the image because John Everson is one of the first authors I interviewed back when “Things That Go Bump In My Head” was brand new. The bio is from Charlee Jacob’s website).

The Book

Four Elements

Four Bram Stoker Award™ winning poets join together to paint a rich, dark tapestry of evocative emotion in The Four Elements. From modern interpretations to ancient mythology, they explore the magic and mystery of Fire, Water, Earth, and Air. Their vivid poetry and prose brings to life a universe in a grain of sand, taking the reader through a journey of discovery from the inside out. Hear the hot voice of invisible awareness in Linda Addison’s interpretation of Air. Explore the realm of ethereal and surreal liquidity in Rain Graves’ Water. Burn from crevice to crown in Charlee Jacob’s wild-eyed visions of Fire. Contemplate Marge Simon’s poignant twists of dark irony to eruptions of spontaneous wonder in Earth. There is something for everyone in The Four Elements–conjured especially for the reader that likes to examine the meticulous depth and meaning in every word.

The Interview

Q. First of all, let me say that I am very excited to have the privilege of interviewing you. You are one of the very few women who writes pure, shocking, gruesome, edge-of-the abyss style horror. Why do you think there aren’t more women associated with the genre? You are truly a master of horror – your novels offer beautifully rendered yet deeply disturbing worlds, with a viscerally disturbing impact on the reader. What inspires to to write such intensely dark works?

Q. I am pleased to be interviewing all four of the women involved in “Four Elements” for Women In Horror Month. How did you chose “Fire” and what does the element symbolize for you?

Q. What was it like working with three other female Bram Stoker Award winners, Linda Addison, Rain Graves and Marge Simon?

Q. Sometimes when I tell people I write horror and science-fiction, they say “I don’t like” or “I don’t read” horror, and only want to hear about the sci-fi. And I noticed perusing your reviews on Amazon, the number of people who would say, “well this book is great in spite of being horror”. Do you think horror still suffers a lot of genre bias?

Q. This is Women in Horror Appreciation Month – which exists to bring attention to women in horror, who are still under represented. Why do you think women are under represented in the genre?

Q. Do you have anything new coming down the pike that our readers can look forward to?

Finding Charlee Online

~ by Sumiko Saulson on February 25, 2013.

Posted in Interviews, Women in Horror Month
Tags: Bram Stoker Awards, bullying, catharsis, Charlee Jacob, disabled women writers, disabled writers, extreme horror, fibromyalgia, fire, Four Elements, Horror, Interview, Linda Addison, Marge Simon, Osteo-Arthritis, Parkinson's, psychic, psychological terror, Rain Graves, WiHM2013, women, Women in Horror, Women in Horror Month, writing and disability