Dark Harvest: Six of the Best with Autumn Christian

Autumn Christian writes the kind of fiction that fills your ears with moth wings and sibilant whispers. That's the only way to describe it. And I'm totally stoked to have her on board as one of the Dark Harvest contributors. You can pick up Dark Harvest in print, on Amazon, Kobo and Nook.

Welcome, Autumn, tell us about your tale. Where did you pick up the story seeds?

Crystalmouth is a dark fantasy about two siamese twin sisters who are stalked by an incubus. I've always been fascinated by conjoined twins, and the relationship they must have. What happens when two girls made to feel like a monster encounter a monster?

What creeps you out?

Mostly everything on earth - especially babies, dark rooms, and other people. I cross the street to avoid acquaintances because I've forgotten their names. I run out of parties with panic attacks. When I was twelve I was convinced I was being stalked by some consort of the devil who only appeared whenever I closed my eyes. I close my eyes in horror movies when someone's eyes are about to be gouged out. I'm terrified someone I hate is going to propose marriage. Maybe one day I'll wake up and find myself on a bed in the middle of the ocean - with no recollection of how I got there.

Why do you love dark/unsettling fiction?

That's a good question, why am I attracted to things that I find horrifying? I'm actually quite a sensitive person, with a sensitive stomach, and yet I'm attracted to gore, melancholia, and everything disturbing. It's a genre that sort of has belonged to me since I was a child - I remember being given BabySitter Club books and ditching them for Goosebumps. Who gives a fuck if Sally Whatever gets a boyfriend, I want to read about dancing skeletons and vampire poodles. I have a strong attraction to the unknown and the mysterious. In a world where anything is possible, what will be the outcome? And if I was thrust into a similar situation, how would I react? If I was being chased by a fanged, spit dripping rabid vampire poodle, would I escape, or join the ranks of the living dead? I love dark and unsettling fiction because it's always a question, and the story an exploration of that question.

What are you working on now?

I'm working on a few short stories, attempting to be a better human being, and a short novel about aliens, demons, and cannibalism that I'm hoping to release later this year. Last year I focused on being happy and failed miserably, so instead I think I'll just focus on writing more. I'll also have paperbacks out of my novels, We are Wormwood and The Crooked God Machine soon. And then I'll throw a party.

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

This is difficult - that I'm a lesbian? That I'm really short? That I'm incredibly shy in person, or that I'm not shy enough? I have a lot of crazy stories - including one where I got someone to drop a gun with a wrist lock. Six years of martial arts training paid off.

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

I'm a bit of a grazer when it comes to books, so I'll often have several on rotation. I'm currently reading Rab Fulton's Galway Bay Tales, as well as A Greater Monster, Nightwood by Djunes Barnes, my own book that I'm attempting to edit, and The Shining Girls.

Links
See Autumn's website, follow her Twitter @autumnxtian or go like her Facebook page.