Miracle Austin Q & A

1) Why write horror?
 
My mom told me strange and creepy stories about her youth and elders from the early ‘50s growing up in a small country town, Crawford, Texas. I really enjoyed listening to them.
Furthermore, my exposure to the horror/suspense arenas continued prior my junior high years. Again, my mom and I listened to an AM radio station on Friday nights, which aired scary and suspenseful stories.
I was sold instantly and couldn’t wait until the next airing. Horror/suspense stories and movies pulled me onto the dancefloor in the ‘80s and has kept me on it to this very day.
They made me jump, hide under the covers, look under the bed, pull my dangling foot from the edge of the bed and quickly tuck under the sheets, make sure my closet door was closed before going to sleep, and made my heart beat a little faster.
From Scooby Doo, Tales from the Darkside, Night of the Living Dead, Friday the 13th, Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, Buffy the Vampire, Creepshow, Forever Knight, Supernatural, Lost Boys, Fright Night, Blade, Hemlock Grove, Vampire Diaries, The X-Files, The Strain, The Unbreakable, True Blood, Hannibal, Stranger Things, Teen Wolf (MTV), Underworld, Creeped Out, Grimm, Locke & Key, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, American Horror Story, and Lovecraft Country universes and many more feed my love for horror.
These movies/series all influenced my passion to read and create horror stories then and now. I enjoy gifting others scares on different levels too. 
Furthermore, I crave horror and the multiple elements that can bloom into diverse stories with amazing twists. Sometimes horror stories reveal more than you ever anticipated…
 
2) Tell us about your writing style—is it gore, psychological, etc?  

I’m a YA/NA author. Horror and suspense are my favorite genres, but not limited to. I enjoy writing diverse flashes, short stories, and longer works, while threading various social awareness themes into my stories, at times.
I like mild gore and psychological building. When I allow the story to take over, I’m surprised where it ends up, which makes the best stories, in my opinion.
  
3) Who’s your favorite woman in horror author? 

This is a tough one, Sam. I have to share more than one, if okay. The fantastic Shirley Jackson, Toni Morrison, Tananarive Due, T.J. Wooldridge, and Eden Royce. “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, Beloved by Toni Morrison, “The Garage” by Tananarive Due, and “The Skelly-Horse” by T.J. Wooldridge are all powerful stories that I continue to think about still.
I just ordered Root Magic by Eden Royce—I’m very excited to dive into her new book.
 
4) Who’s your favorite scream queen? 

“I was wrong to raise you the way I did, but at least I can protect you. Nothing will happen to you. I know you thought this was my cage… I have to finish this…”
~Laurie Strode~ from Halloween
Jamie Lee Curtis! I’ve been a huge Fan~Girl of Ms. Curtis since I was a teenager and today. I loved her in all the Halloween movies, The Fog, Terror Train, and Prom Night. I enjoyed her in the Scream Queens series—I wanted more seasons. I cannot wait until she confronts her brother, Michael Myers, again in the next Halloween installment.
Ms. Curtis is a powerhouse actress and woman! When COVID-19 passes, I hope to meet her one day at a horror comic-con. I will be speechless as usual, whenever I encounter a celebrity. LOL!

5) What’s next for you? 

I’m in the process of organizing a new anthology of diverse short-stories and free-verse poems. I wrote some of those works, years ago. They’ve been on the back burner for long time—too long.
It’s planned to be a novelette, but it may transform into a novella. Due to some of the themes in this anthology, it’s geared towards a mature audience. The working title is, Decayed Secrets.
The COVID-19 blues has really stalled my writing. I’ve written a few short and flash fiction stories throughout the pandemic.
However, I haven’t returned back to my next YA supernatural novel, Misties. I plan to after I wrap up Decayed Secrets. I bet you’re wondering what in the heck is Misties about. Well, I’ll give you a little hint—to stake or not to stake… wink, wink…
Sam, I want to take this time to thank you for inviting me to your blog. Chasity and Debbie, thank you both for sharing my name with Sam—I appreciate you both! I’m very grateful for this opportunity and your precious time, Sam, to showcase me. Great questions! I hope to work with you again in the future. Take care and stay safe.
I love hearing from fantastic readers, who already know me, and new ones too! My books, Doll Trilogy, and Boundless are available on Amazon and my website.

Bio

Miracle Austin works in the medical social work arena by day and in the writer’s world at night and on weekends, when not NetFlix marathoning. She’s a YA/NA author who loves writing fictional horror/suspense short stories and novels. Miracle crosses other genres as well.
Doll is her debut YA/Paranormal novel; it won 2nd place in the Young Adult category in the 2016 Purple Dragonfly Awards.
She’s a huge StrangerThings/Marvel/DC/Horror Fan~Girl who looks forward to attending comic cons, book events, teen book festivals, and school visits, when pandemic passes. Currently, she attends events virtually.
Miracle lives in Texas with her family, and she looks forward to hearing from her awesome readers, who already know her, and new ones, too.

Website