WiHM Presents - Carmilla Voiez

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR

Satori, an adept Chaos Magician, casts a spell to try and win back his lost love, Star. Lilith, mother of demons, has other ideas. Summoned by Satori's magic, she makes it her mission to manipulate and separate the doomed lovers.
Satori knows he and Star are meant to be together. He battles demons, travels worlds and even transcends death for her but, however much she begs, he can't grant her the freedom she craves.
The Starblood Trilogy is a tale of sorcery, demonology, murder, sexual obsession and Gothic subculture. In the words of Jef Rouner (Houston Press) “You don't read [Carmilla Voiez's] books. You survive them.” and Starblood may be the most brutal female-centred horror of them all. Winner of numerous indie awards, The Starblood Trilogy is being adapted into a series of graphic novels with art by Anna Dmitrieva. 

1) As a female horror writer what do you bring to the table in terms of what of you write?

My stories centre women, which makes it interesting to me that I have as many male as female fans. The horror I foreground is women’s fears and my villains are as often female as male. I doubt if it’s because I am a woman, but I also bring empathy “to the table”. I try to make my villains sympathetic and I think doing so makes them more frightening.

2) Do you think female authors are underrepresented in the horror genre?

I think female authors are under represented in most genres, but indie is exciting in the fact that it brings us plenty of otherwise marginalised voices.

3) Tell us about your book(s)

With pleasure – I’ll start with The Starblood Trilogy. This contains three novels: Starblood, Psychonaut and Black Sun, that follow the lives of two Gothic characters, Star and Satori, and the main (although far from the only) antagonist, Lilith – the demon. As well as plenty of graphic horror and violence, sexuality plays a large role in the narratives. It’s unusual in the fact that both the protagonists are bisexual and their relationship with each other is complicated and obsessive. All three of the novels are being adapted into graphic novels and Starblood the graphic novel is already available. Psychonaut the graphic novel will be released this year (2018).
Broken Mirror and Other Morbid Tales is a collection of thirteen weird short stories. Some are straight horror, such as Basement Beauty and Jagged Jaws while some are better described as surreal psychological shorts with nods to Kafka, Poe and Lovecraft. Included in the collection are vampires, ghosts and plenty of death.
Finally, The Ballerina and the Revolutionary, while a ghost story, fits into the urban fantasy genre more comfortably than horror. It is deeply psychological and explores one of my obsessions: magic, in particular shamanism. It also foregrounds childhood abuse and the lies our parents tell us.

4) Why is horror writing important to you?

I write to answer questions, and in this modern world, full of fear, hatred and distrust, I find most of the answers take me deep into the horror genre. I believe that violence and sex are central to many people’s lives – either internally (in their psyches) or externally in their experiences growing up. I rarely set out to write horror, although I love the genre, but write horror I do.

5) Is the future of horror female?

I think there is space for all voices in the horror genre, women’s included. I cannot discount the importance of male writers, I grew up reading them, so I’d like to say that diversity is the future of horror.

About the Author:

Carmilla Voiez is a new voice in the world of horror and dark fantasy. Her imagery harks back to the writings of Clive Barker and H P Lovecraft, but her voice is uniquely female. A varied diet of feminism and activism, a deep love of horror and a fascination with the Goth aesthetic created the creature of darkness we find today. Her books are both extraordinarily personal and universally challenging. As Jef Rouner of Houston Press once said - "You do not read her books, you survive them." Carmilla lives in North East Scotland and finds inspiration in the wildlife, castles and desolate places that surround her. She lives with her two children, tom cat, and a poet, by the sea. 
 

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