Roma Gray

1. Who has been the biggest influence on you as a female horror writer?

Kathryn Meyer Griffith. She publishes books similar to mine (lighter horror with paranormal elements and complex characters), she is an Indy author like me, has a solid reader base, and has been publishing her books for over 40 years (24 published books). To me, she is a real inspiration, because while Kate’s not a household name like Ann Rice, her level of success is far more realistic and obtainable, and she did it writing the kind of books I like.


2. Do you think the style of horror differs between women and men authors? E.g. psychological vs gore?

No, not really. Maybe in the old days, but not anymore. I don’t think women feel as trapped by society’s expectations as they once did, and most authors (men and women alike) use writing to express their own inner voice, which is a reflection of the real person, something that has nothing to do with sex, sexual preference or physical characteristics. These days, writing is truly the great liberator.


3. Do you have a main subject that your write about? I.e. certain bad guys or themes?

I call my stories Trick-or-Treat Thrillers because I try to keep a Halloween flavor to everything. My books and stories almost always contain a mashup of common Halloween elements (witches with dinosaurs, vampire ghosts, zombies and haunted houses, etc.) I also try to make sure the characters are very complex with very real problems and fears. In the end, all writing should reflect the human experience, even if the character isn’t human.

4. If you could have dinner with a famous horror writer, living or dead, who would it be and why?

Well, this is a cheat, but I’d have dinner with Jack the Ripper (wrote letters to police describing his horrific acts). Mostly, because I’d want to know who she or he was. Oh, and yes, I’d insist there was a glass wall between us, haha.


5. Favorite female horror writer? Why?

That’s a tough one, I know so many amazing authors, but Kathryn Meyer Griffith is the one I must go with again. Her stories are similar to what I write (as I mentioned earlier, lighter horror, paranormal elements, and complex characters). It’s getting harder to find this style of writing these days as extreme horror gets more popular. Don’t get me wrong, plenty of amazing authors out there writing amazingly beautifully yet shocking novels, but a person tends to read the kind of books they like to write.