Joanna Koch is a fan of folklore, fairy tales, and anthropology. Her short fiction has been published in journals such as Dark Fuse and Hello Horror and included in several speculative fiction anthologies. Joanna is an MA Contemplative Psychotherapy graduate of Naropa University who currently lives and works near Detroit.
KR: Drink?
KR: Could you tell me a little about yourself please?
I’m a burgeoning writer with a background in fine art and psychology. I started writing seriously a few years ago, and now it’s my obsession. Since Doorbells at Dusk, I’ve had four more stories accepted for journals and anthologies that will come out during fall and winter.
KR: Have you ever seen a ghost?
I’m not sure if it was a ghost or death itself: Once leaving a friend’s house late at night in Alabama I saw a tree with an image of the grim reaper on it. Hood, sickle, the whole shebang. I’d seen the tree many times and never noticed this quirk of moonlight. I was so struck that I went back and got my friend to come out and look. We laughed because it looked like a fake, some kind of trick. The next day the tree was cut down. My friend can attest this story is true.
KR: Do you have a favourite horror movie/director?
I want to say “Possession” with Sam Neill, but the overall film is too flawed. But I dearly love Sam Neill. I guess I have to go with Carpenter’s “The Thing.” I dig the paranoia, the insane special effects, the isolated crew going mad in the middle of nowhere even before the monster shows up. And the dog is amazing. The dog should have gotten an academy award.
KR: Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer to just see where an idea takes you?
I go from gut instinct. My first drafts are hand-scrawled massacres. Order is imposed later. I have very little interest in writing a story that isn’t going to surprise me.
KR: Do you read your book reviews?
Yes. Actually the reviews for Doorbells at Dusk were my first. Seeing my story mentioned was a huge milestone. I think I grabbed my partner and said, “Holy crap. People are reading this!” After the initial shock, I’ve been inclined to continue to read reviews because I’m curious about what works for readers and what doesn’t and interested in learning to write better.
KR: What scares you?
Driving. Every commute is a nightmare. And haunted houses, like Erebus in Pontiac. I truly believe murderers get jobs there and kill with impunity.
KR: Can you tell us about your story in Doorbells at Dusk Halloween anthology?
My story is called “Offerings.” It’s set in a nice little bedroom community on the night before Halloween. The main character is Blaine. She feels like something’s a bit off in her neighborhood. She’s new to the high-end suburb, seeking a lifestyle and community that’s better than the one where she grew up. Blaine makes the mistake of offering an invitation to Amelia, a haggard woman with some very bad children. Things get uncomfortable and then they get weird. Blaine struggles against being sucked into a sort of trap, but it may be too late by the time she realizes what’s happening.
“Offerings” is superficially a paranoid fantasy about Samhain rituals and scapegoating, but it’s also a story concerned with cultural demands upon women to provide nurturing. How much is one person supposed to give? And at what cost to themselves? Blaine isn’t aware of the rules when she gets in the game. I think this is true for many women, sometimes for men.
Blaine winds up in a situation with no good choices. As an author I didn’t see her as a victim, but I also didn’t know how to get her out of the cycle she finds herself in. I think Blaine figured her own way out and I’m really proud of her. It was kind of like she took over and I had to give up trying to write a good ending and let her show me where she wanted to go. It sounds corny, but for me it was a delight to realize how the story should end and then watch it happen on the page.
KR: Thank you very much Joanna.
You can find out more about Joanna by visiting her official website www.horrorsong.com
Please visit Joanna’s Author page here
About Doorbells at Dusk
Doorbells at Dusk, edited by Evans Light and from Corpus Press, is a treasury of brand-new short stories from both modern masters and rising stars of dark fiction, covering a gamut of horror, literary fiction and suspense that is sure to thrill both horror aficionados and casual readers alike.
Contributors include: Josh Malerman, Lisa Lepovetsky, Chad Lutzke, Amber Fallon, Curtis M. Lawson, Sean Eads, Joshua Viola, Ian Welke, Charles Gramlich, Joanna Koch and Thomas Vaughn, along with contributions from Evans Light, Adam Light, Gregor Xane and Jason Parent.
Halloween has always gone together with horror. The holiday gives many children their first taste of terror, and the discovery and overcoming of fears. For those who find they love a good scare, that first taste can grow into a voracious appetite.
That might be why you’re looking at this book right now. If so, you’ve come to the right place. Here you’ll find the thrills you crave, packed into a collection of stories that are pure Halloween.
After the successful release of the three-volume Bad Apples: Slices of Halloween Horror anthology series, co-creators Evans Light, Adam Light, Gregor Xane and Jason Parent of Corpus Press were driven by their love of the haunting season to use everything they’d learned to create the ultimate collection of Halloween tales.
Carve your pumpkins and turn on the porch light, the night of frights begins with the sound of…Doorbells at Dusk.
Praise for Doorbells at Dusk
“Evans Light has pulled together a great collection of stories. There is not a disappointing one in the mix, and no two tales are alike.” – One Legged Reviews
“A delightfully rich collection, suffused with horror of many flavors and degrees, some subtle, some up- front. Whether you choose to sample one at a time, like bonbons, or devour the entirety, here’s a fine selection designed to keep you eager for (or fearful of) that special holiday, when leaves drop, woodsmoke scents the air, children quest for candy…and the Veil thins…” – Haunted Reading Room
“Doorbells at Dusk presents a fine sampling of tricks and treats for readers jonesing for some good and proper seasonal reads as the leaves turn color, a chill sets in, the world turns a little bit darker…” – Michael Patrick Hicks, author Broken Shells
Available Now!
Doorbells at Dusk published on September 3 and is available NOW on Amazon in e-book and print and at book retailers worldwide. Add to your GoodReads shelf!
About the Contributors
Sean Eads and Joshua Viola are writers from Denver, Colorado. Sean has been a finalist for the Shirley Jackson Award, Lambda Literary Award and the Colorado Book Award. His first short story collection was published in 2017. Joshua is the owner of Hex Publishers. His latest anthologies include Blood Business and Cyber World: Tales of Humanity’s Tomorrow. His upcoming novel, Denver Moon, will also be released as a comic book.
Amber Fallon lives in Massachusetts with her husband and two dogs. A techie by day and horror writer by night, Mrs. Fallon has spent time as a bank manager, motivational speaker, produce wrangler, and butcher. Her obsessions with sushi, glittery nail polish, and sharp objects have made her a recognized figure. Amber’s publications include The Warblers, The Terminal, Sharkasaurus, Daughters of Inanna, So Long and Thanks for All the Brains, Horror on the Installment Plan, Zombies For a Cure, Quick Bites of Flesh, Operation Ice Bat, and more.
Charles Gramlich lives in the piney woods of southern Louisiana. He is the author of the Talera fantasy series and the SF novel, Under the Ember Star. His stories and poetry have been published in magazines such as Beat to a Pulp, The Horror Zine, and many others.
Joanna Koch is a fan of folklore, fairy tales, and anthropology. Her short fiction has been published in journals such as Dark Fuse and Hello Horror and included in several speculative fiction anthologies. Joanna is an MA Contemplative Psychotherapy graduate of Naropa University who currently lives and works near Detroit.
Curtis M. Lawson is a writer of unapologetically weird, dark fiction and comics. His work includes It’s A Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad World, The Devoured, and Mastema. He is a member of the Horror Writer’s Association, and the organizer of the Wyrd live horror reading series. He lives in Salem, MA with his wife and their son.
Lisa Lepovetsky has published fiction and poetry widely in the small press, professional publications and anthologies. Her work has appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Cemetery Dance and many other magazines, and such anthologies as Dark Destiny, Blood Muse, and HORRORS!, among others. She earned her MFA from Penn State, and her most recent book is VOICES FROM EMPTY ROOMS, a collection of dark poetry.
Adam Light resides in northeast Florida with his beautiful wife and daughter, and their aptly, though perhaps not so imaginatively named Walker hound, Walker. He haunts a cubicle by day, writes horror stories at night, and virtually never sleeps. He is the author of several short horror stories, some of which have been published in his first collection Toes Up: Horror to Die For. He also has stories in the Bad Apples anthology series and Dead Roses: Five Dark Tales of Twisted Love.
Evans Light is a writer of horror and suspense, and is the author of Screamscapes: Tales of Terror, Arboreatum, Don’t Need No Water and more. He is co-creator of the Bad Apples Halloween anthology series and Dead Roses: Five Dark Tales of Twisted Love. Evans lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, surrounded by thousands of vintage horror paperbacks, and is the proud father of fine sons and the lucky husband of a beautiful wife.
Chad Lutzke lives in Battle Creek, MI with his wife and children. he has written for Famous Monsters of Filmland, Rue Morgue, Cemetery Dance, and Scream magazine. His fiction can be found in a few dozen magazines and anthologies including his own 18-story collection Night as a Catalyst. Lutzke is known for his heartfelt dark fiction and deep character portrayals. In the summer of 2016 he released his dark coming-of-age novella Of Foster Homes and Flies which has been praised by authors Jack Ketchum, James Newman, John Boden, and many others. Later in 2016 Lutzke released his contribution to bestselling author J. Thorn’s American Demon Hunter, and 2017 saw the release of his novella Wallflower. His latest, Stirring the Sheets, was published by Bloodshot Books in spring 2018.
Josh Malerman is an American author and also one of two singer/songwriters for the rock band The High Strung, whose song “The Luck You Got” can be heard as the theme song to the Showtime show “Shameless.” His book Bird Box is also currently being filmed as a feature film starring Sandra Bullock, John Malkovich, and Sarah Paulson. Bird Box was also nominated for the Stoker Award, the Shirley Jackson Award, and the James Herbert Award. His books Black Mad Wheel and Goblin have also been nominated for Stoker Awards. Unbury Carol is his latest novel.
Jason Parent is an author of horror, thrillers, mysteries, science fiction, and dark humor, though his many novels, novellas, and short stories tend to blur the boundaries between these genres. From his award-winning first horror/mystery novel, What Hides Within, to his widely applauded police procedural/supernatural thriller, Seeing Evil, Jason’s work has won him praise from both critics and fans of diverse genres alike. His work has been compared to that of some of his personal favorite authors, such as Chuck Palahniuk, Jack Ketchum, Tess Gerritsen, and Joe Hill. Jason grew up near Fall River, Massachusetts, the setting for several of his novels. He has lived in New England most his life, currently residing in Rhode Island.
When he is not writing fiction, Thomas Vaughn is a college professor whose research focuses on apocalyptic rhetoric and doomsday cults. Most of his writing seems to stray through the realms of literary horror and dark magical realism. He has been fortunate enough to have stories accepted in four different magazines and anthologies in 2018 so far. He wrote the story in this one just for you.
Ian Welke grew up in the library in Long Beach, California. After receiving his Bachelor of Arts in History from California State University, Long Beach, he worked in the computer games industry for fifteen years where he was lucky enough to work at Blizzard Entertainment and at Runic Games in Seattle. While living in Seattle he sold his first short story, a space-western, written mainly because he was depressed that Firefly had been canceled. Following the insane notion that life is short and he should do what he wants most, he moved back to southern California and started writing full time. Ian’s short fiction has appeared in Big Pulp, Arcane II, the American Nightmare anthology, and the 18 Wheels of Horror anthology, amongst other places. His novels, The Whisperer in Dissonance (2014) and the Bram Stoker Award-nominated End Times at Ridgemont High (2015) were both published by Ominum Gatherum Media.
Gregor Xane is the author of Taboogasm, The Hanover Block, and Six Dead Spots. His work has been featured in Stupefying Stories, Dead Roses, and the popular Halloween anthology series, Bad Apples. He is perfectly symmetrical.
About Corpus Press
Corpus Press is a publisher of Horror and Weird Fiction, specializing in modern pulp that emphasizes plot over gore. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, the press has garnered praise from SCREAM Magazine, Cemetery Dance, Horror Novel Reviews and Hellnotes for its BAD APPLES: SLICES OF HALLOWEEN HORROR series, the anthology DEAD ROSES: FIVE TALES OF TWISTED LOVE, and for its short story collections and novellas.
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