Faith Marlow

1) Why did you choose to write horror?

I enjoy writing horror for the same reasons I enjoy reading and watching it. Even most of the video games I have played were either horror or at least contained horror elements. I love the fast pace, the adrenaline rush. I love that feeling when you want to stop reading or look away but your curiosity gets the better of you.
And monsters, I love monsters. Not evil humans that we say are monsters, but those things who exist but cannot be explained. Most of my work includes paranormal elements. I just love the idea of things that exists that defy logic and science.


2) What is your fav thing about the genre?
My favorite thing about horror is the push and pull between hero and villain, good and evil. A hero is only as strong or good and his villain is powerful and bad. I tend to find the bad guys more interesting, their motives and back story. Heroes are typically just reactive. The meat of the story lies with the villains the hero has to face.

I also love what the hero/ final character learns about themselves. It usually involves finding out they are capable of so much more than they once knew, but that’s not always a good thing.

3) Tell us about your latest book
The last book I completed is the third book in my Being Mrs. Dracula series. The title is Being Dracula’s Widow and we find Valeria and company are now living in 1920’s New York City. But their Vampire American Dream comes crashing down when the discover the corpse of a young woman killed by a vampire. Until then, they had hoped that they were the last of their kind, or at least the only vampires in the new world. They quickly learn that nothing is how they believed and the past is closer than they realized. A release date is to be announced pending edits.


4) If you had one piece of advice about writing horror, what would it be?
Right when you think you’ve gone too far, that’s when you know to keep going. That’s not to say there are no lines one shouldn’t cross, glorifying violence or abuse, etc. That’s not what I mean. I think as writers, when we push our boundaries and challenging ourselves, that’s when we are creating some of our best work.

5) Who are your fav women in horror? 
I personally adore Vera Farmiga and her portrayal of Lorraine Warren, a fascinating individual in reality as well, and Norma Bates. When Vera plays a good character like Lorraine she is great, but when she’s not so good, like Norma Bates, she’s a goddess.

Same for Lin Shaye. She is such a powerful actress. One minute she’s a sweet little grandma and the next she’s screaming like a banshee, covered in blood, or exorcising a powerful demon. She is thriving in roles we usually only see men or women half her age or younger tackle and I love it.

And I couldn’t overlook Ripley from the Alien franchise. She is one of my all time favorite characters. She is smart, strong, and in charge. When crap hits the fan, Ripley is there, telling everyone they need to listen to her or things will get worse. Of course they don't’ or we wouldn’t have a movie, but the also doesn’t let them forget it. She does all this and isn’t afraid to show a gentler, motherly side- like when she’s hunting for Jonesy and protects Newt. We only have to look at the ferocity of the Zenomorphs and the Alien Queen to see the strength of our hero.

Being Mrs. Dracula by Faith Marlow - excerpt
 
“Did you not think of us at all while you were gone? Did you not ache to be with us again, as I have ached for you this time and once before? Had you forgotten this is the second time you had forsaken me?” she screamed at him. It felt as though the blood that coursed through her brain was scalding hot, boiling through her veins and searing her heart.
“There was no other way, Valeria. I had to escape that night from the Turks with the help of the villagers, lest they question and realize what their master truly was.”
Valeria’s face bent in fury, rejecting Vlad's attempts to reason. She ran toward the window and leaped through it, shattering the thick panes of glass in an explosion of debris that fell upon the jagged rocks of the mountainside. As she fell, she relived her mortal descent and death in flashes of memory. Just before another torturous impact, she burst into the mist like a cloud of diamond dust. She brushed across the surface of the terrain like snow blown down from the white-capped Carpathians across the valley. She looked behind her and could see Vlad following her, but instead of mist, he had taken the form of a great bat. She could hear his thick, leathery wings cut through the air as he raced to catch her. She focused all the more on speed, following the bank of the river. She could smell the water; hear its rushing cascade just ahead of her, and she strained to fly faster than ever before with the flapping of her husband’s wings echoing in her ears. As she crowned the precipice, she instantly transformed back into her own body and dove downward like a speeding javelin. The sound of his flight silenced, but she could sense his presence just above her.
Suddenly he grabbed her by the shoulder and yanked her upward into his arms. They crashed into the lake below with the impact of a boulder, spraying water one hundred feet away from them. It instantly froze upon the ice-cold earth like frost. She struggled against him beneath the frigid waters but was unable to break free from him, and he propelled them upward toward the surface. As soon as her head was above water, she screamed out in fury, hurt, and frustration, still pushing against him to free herself. He ignored her efforts and held her against him with one arm, brushing the strings of freezing hair from her face.
“Release me!” she shouted as loud as she could. Her voice reverberated off the mountainside and raced toward the villagers’ settlements further down the valley.
“Never. I could never let you go, Valeria. I would rather take my own life,” he cooed as he brushed his lips over her forehead and down the bridge of her nose.
“Then why did you leave me?"
“I knew you were strong. I knew you would survive.”
 

Bio

Faith Marlow is a dark fantasy/ paranormal/ horror author with Vamptasy Publishing, an imprint of CHBB. Her stories stir emotions and explore the thin veil between human and the inhuman. Dark, yet inviting and familiar, Faith seeks to deliver chills with a sense of class, and sometimes a bit of heat. With each story, she hopes to build exposure for fellow women authors and artists who create horror.

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