Dark Harvest: Six of the Best with Amy Lee Burgess #horror

Today I have Amy Lee Burgess over. Some of you might know her as the mastermind behind The Wolf Within series or would have recently learnt about her through her The Circle: Blood Gift novel. Well, she's also a contributor to Dark Harvest, and I'm really chuffed to have her over for a little Q&A. So, Amy, tell us about your story. Where did you pick up the story seeds? 

I was having a hell of a time coming up with an idea that incorporated the concept of Dark Harvest so I actually Googled the phrase and then hit Images. I found a gorgeous painting of a woman, her blonde hair flowing down her back as she walked across a dark meadow to join a Celtic Samhain ceremony. I decided to write her story only I made her a Wiccan in modern day New England. She was walking with her coven into a graveyard to pay respects to a dead member. She turned to her group and said, “This is a ceremony of remembrance not resurrection.” After that the story clicked into place for me and I wrote it in a white heat over the course of the next two hours.

What creeps you out?

Bugs. Things with stingers especially. Spiders (although I try not to kill them). Small Texas towns on Saturday afternoons in the Wal-Mart parking lot where the local teens gather to socialize never understanding that most of them will never get out and end up getting married after high school and living small, miserable lives where the highlight is going to Wal-Mart, drinking, and watching sports. Horrifying.

Why do you love dark/unsettling fiction? 

It exposes people.  Strips them down to their basic elements where they discover their strengths and prevail or fall victim to their weaknesses.

What are you working on now? 

Three short stories, the second novel in a vampire series, and getting a gargoyle shape shifter novel ready to shop around. Oh, and a blog tour. I should have added “writing guest posts for blogs” to the “What creeps you out” question.  t’s like taking a tour of hell barefoot sometimes trying to come up with something interesting. The woe is so very me.

What’s the most unexpected thing people discover about you?

That I have a wicked sense of humor when you get to know me. And that I’m snarky as hell. If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard “But I thought you were so NICE, Amy” I could probably buy a really good bottle of champagne. And I’d drink it all myself too. No sharing.

Tell us a little more about what you’re reading at present?

Right now I’m rereading G.A. Aiken’s Dragon Kin series. And laughing my ass off. Lusty, brawling Scottish dragons who can shift into

hot, arrogant, gorgeous humans. Stuck-up bastards make me laugh so hard. Romance with a sense of humor is the best.  The fight scenes are kick ass and the sex scenes are even better.  And there’s all the laughing.

Dark Harvest is available on Amazon, Kobo and Nook. Go feed your reader now!