LOTF 60: Jessica Guess on 90s Horror, Cirque Berserk, & Pursuing Dreams
Release Date: 10/14/2020
The Interlude | Episode 1
Ladies of the Fright
Welcome to Season Two of Ladies of the Fright! The podcast wants to evolve as we have. We aren't exactly sure what comes next but we wanted to start putting out conversations again. The Interlude episodes are our return to the podcast and with this first Interlude episode, we share where we've been, what has shifted, and what to expect moving forward. To support the show . To check out Mackenzie's editing services, visit . To see what Lisa's been up to with tarot and creativity, check out or sign up for her .
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Rootwork with Tracy Cross
Ladies of the Fright
What a fantastic time! We absolutely loved this conversation with Tracy Cross, all about her exciting new debut book Rootwork from Dark Hart Books (helped by Sadie Hartmann aka Mother Horror!) We learned all about Tracy's experience as a writer, why this book means so much to her, and a preview of the Conjure series. Find Tracy |
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LOTF 80: Summer Scares 2022 with Konrad Stump
Ladies of the Fright
We had a great time chatting with Konrad Stump about In our conversation we discuss all the books from this season, why they are special—and what goes into choosing them—as well as why diversity in horror is so important. Check out past Summer Scares episodes below!
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LOTF 79: T'he Night House' feat. Bob Pastorella
Ladies of the Fright
We want to remind you that we have a Patreon! One really amazing thing the Patreon does is allow us to pay authors for original fiction published on our website! We're going to lots more of that and your support means everything to us. Listen. We're often behind on our Patreon updates BUT--we've got 3+ years of content up there for you to enjoy (LOTS of it exclusive!) We offer cool rewards at every tier, including early, ad-free episodes; bonus written, audio, and video content from special guest authors (like a special video from !); and the Patrons-Only podcast LOTF After Dark. Head on...
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LOTF 78: Horror Girls Night Out with Jessica Guess & Hailey Piper
Ladies of the Fright
Okay, so it wasn’t really a “girls night out”—but it really did feel like one! In truth, Hailey Piper and Jessica Guess joined Mackenzie Kiera and me on Zoom (I was in my pajamas—I can’t speak for the other ladies!) but this is one of the most fun conversations we’ve ever had on the show. It was a great time, filled with lots of laughs—and some deep reflections. We talked about some of our favorite reads from 2021—and we also wet pretty deep on the connections between the romance and horror genres. It’s a fantastic conversation that got me really thinking for long after,...
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LOTF 77: When Things Get Dark with Ellen Datlow
Ladies of the Fright
As ever, it is a pleasure to host Ellen Datlow on our show. This time, she’s back to discuss two brand new anthologies: When Things Get Dark: Stories Inspired by Shirley Jackson and Body Shocks: Extreme Tales of Body Horror. In what is, at this point, our annual catch-up call with Ellen, we talk about a lot more than that. She shares a bit about current NYC life amidst a pandemic, the horror movie that scarred her for life, and so much more.
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LOTF 76: Tropisode #8 | Forests with Katherine Silva
Ladies of the Fright
For our eighth tropisode, we're talking FORESTS with debut author Katherine Silva.
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LOTF 75: A New Era of Horror with Joe Monti, Editorial Director at Saga Press
Ladies of the Fright
Joe Monti is the award-nominated editorial director of Saga Press. We loved hearing about his editorial process for one of the horror world most beloved horror books of 2020: The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones. Joe also talks about what he looks for when selecting books—aka how he just KNOWS when a book is for him. Joe also declares he has a knack for predicting book trends, so it was really fun to hear his predictions for the future of horror! We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we did.
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LOTF 74: Fright Girl Summer with V. Castro and Sonora Taylor
Ladies of the Fright
In this episode, we have a great conversation with the powerhouse women duo behind Fright Girl Summer, a safe and welcoming place for marginalized genders and voices. It was a pleasure to speak with V. Castro and Sonora Taylor about the importance of amplifying diverse voices in horror and beyond. We also discuss why horror is an excellent genre for exploring themes of identity and sex, as well as dismantling harmful systems and stereotypes from the inside out. And so much more! Enjoy.
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LOTF 73: Tropisode #7 | Portals with Zoraida Córdova
Ladies of the Fright
For our seventh tropisode, we're talking PORTALS with Zoraida Córdova. When we read Zoraida’s novel Labyrinth Lost—which features an incredible portal—we knew she would be an excellent choice for this topic. We’re so glad we had the opportunity to reconnect with her and talk all things portals in fiction!
info_outlineWe want to remind you that we have a Patreon! We would like to give a special shoutout to our higher tier patrons Eli Ryder and Kerry Cox at the Satanic Panic level, and Bjorn Svartalfson, Jocelyn Codner, Nina Nahvi, Jason M., S. Velos at the Demon Possession level.
We’re offering cool rewards we’re offering at every tier (and we’re getting to revamp the whole thing!). If you’d like to check it out, head on over to patreon.com/ladiesofthefright.
Show Notes
We are delighted to bring you this conversation with Jessica Guess, a writer and English teacher who hails from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She earned her Creative Writing MFA from Minnesota State University, Mankato in 2018 and is the founder of the website Black Girl’s Guide to Horror where she examines horror movies in terms of quality and intersectionality. Her creative work has been featured in Luna Station Quarterly and Mused Bella Online Literary Review. Her debut novella, Cirque Berserk, is available for purchase on Amazon.
In this episode, we spoke with Jessica about her early writing life and experiences growing up with horror movies. She shares how horrible professor tried to crush her writing dreams and why it’s important to her now to uplift her own college students. Jessica also talks about her meandering path to writing and how she tried so hard to pursue a “stable career”—hear her story about how she decided pursuing her dreams was more important. She talks about creating A Black Girl’s Guide to Horror, intersectionality in horror, writing Cirque Berserk, and the importance of flipping (often racist) genre tropes.
Find Jessica: Website | Twitter
Check out A Black Girl’s Guide to Horror: Twitter
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