Interviews Archives - Cemetery Dance Online

Interview: Crafting Horror with Jenny Kiefer

Cemetery Dance OnlineOctober 28, 2025October 9, 2025InterviewsCrafting for Sinners, Haley Newlin, Interviews, Jenny Kiefer, This Wretched ValleyLeave a comment

banner graphic that says Cemetery Dance Interviews

photo of author Jenny Kiefer — Jenny Kiefer

Jenny Kiefer is an award-winning author of spine-tingling, fierce, and cathartic horror. Her debut novel, This Wretched Valley, was a 2024 Bram Stoker Award Nominee and named a Library Journal Best Horror Book of the year. Readers have been anxiously awaiting her second release, Crafting for Sinners, a survival horror story about a queer woman trapped in a craft store run by religious fanatics. It is all over BookTok and Bookstagram as one of the most anticipated horror book releases of 2025.

Together with her mother, Kiefer owns and manages Butcher Cabin Books, an all-horror bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky.

Kiefer sat down with Cemetery Dance to discuss her debut novel, This Wretched Valley, her new release, Crafting for Sinners, survival horror, her favorite reads of the year, and of course, crafts.

You can find the author on Instagram @_jennykiefer and on her website. Continue Reading

E.M. Carroll Has A Guest In The House

Cemetery Dance OnlineOctober 24, 2025October 7, 2025Interviews, The Comic VaultA Guest in the House, Columns, Danica Davidson, E.M. Carroll, Interviews, The Comic VaultLeave a comment

banner that reads The Comic Vault

cover of A Guest in the House E.M. Carroll’s horror graphic novel A Guest in the House is out in paperback, and Cemetery Dance is excited to share the a few pages below. The graphic novel, which follows a new wife who becomes suspicious about the death of her husband’s previous wife, won the 2024 LA Times Book Prize. Cemetery Dance spoke to Carroll about being drawn to dark subjects, the book’s inspiration, and the creative process.Continue Reading

Interview: Jordan Thomas and Chris Matthews Take Us to EXORCISM ISLAND

Cemetery Dance OnlineOctober 21, 2025October 19, 2025Interviews, The Comic VaultChris Matthews, Columns, Danica Davidson, Exorcism Island, Interviews, Jordan ThomasLeave a comment

banner that reads The Comic Vault

cover of Exorcism Island In the 5-issue horror comic Exorcism Island, the worst instances of demonic possession are all sent to a special island. Writer Jordan Thomas and artist Chris Matthews, who have known each other since childhood and previously worked together on Mugshots, spoke to Cemetery Dance about what led them to teaming up, their inspiration, and how to be both horrifying and highly entertaining.Continue Reading

Mark Russell on finding the horror in the Thanksgiving holiday

Cemetery Dance OnlineOctober 15, 2025October 4, 2025Interviews, The Comic VaultAhoy Comics, Columns, Danica Davidson, Interviews, Mark Russell, Previews, Thanksgiving, The Comic VaultLeave a comment

banner that reads The Comic Vault

cover of Thanksgiving graphic novel The holiday Thanksgiving is getting a one-shot horror comedy comic from writer Mark Russell and artist Mauricet, named, simply enough, Thanksgiving. Russell describes it as a “metaphor for what our nation is in danger of becoming” and it will hit bookshelves on October 22. Meanwhile, Cemetery Dance spoke to Russell about why he chose to write a horror comic about Thanksgiving, its three covers, and what he hopes readers take away.Continue Reading

Matt Wagner, Kelley Jones, and the Brides of Dracula

Cemetery Dance OnlineOctober 8, 2025October 7, 2025Interviews, The Comic VaultColumns, Danica Davidson, Dracula, Interviews, Kelley Jones, Matt Wagner, The Comic Vault, The CountLeave a comment

banner that reads The Comic Vault

After the graphic novels Dracula: Book I — The Impaler and Dracula: Book II — The Brides, writer Matt Wagner and illustrator Kelley Jones are back with Dracula: Book III — The Count. The third book is currently on Kickstarter, and it’s told from Dracula’s point-of-view. Cemetery Dance spoke with Wagner and Jones about building on the previous books, what research went into this, and how their feelings about Dracula have been affected. Continue Reading

Nick Medina on Native lore, The Whistler, and more

Cemetery Dance OnlineSeptember 26, 2025September 24, 2025InterviewsHaley Newlin, Interviews, Nick Medina, The WhistlerLeave a comment

banner graphic that says Cemetery Dance Interviews

photo of author Nick Medina — Nick Medina

Nick Medina is a member of the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana, and he drew on his heritage and stories passed down by his paternal grandmother, along with research into the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) epidemic, as inspiration for his novels including Sisters of the Lost Nation, which earned a Junior Library Guild Standard Selection Award, and Indian Burial Ground. He has degrees in organizational and multicultural communication, and has worked as a college instructor. He also enjoys playing guitar, listening to classic rock, and exploring haunted cemeteries and all sorts of spooky stuff.

Medina’s new release, The Whistler, takes readers back to the reservation for a thrilling blend of Native folklore, mythology, and horror. Much like the paranormal investigators the author writes about, Medina has gone in search of Resurrection Mary, the “Italian Bride,” and the “Devil Baby,” and other spirits of Chicago’s ghost lore.

Medina sat down with Cemetery Dance to discuss his new release, The Whistler, Native lore, and his favorite reads of the year. Continue Reading

Ben Wickey on More Weight: A Salem Story

Cemetery Dance OnlineSeptember 19, 2025September 14, 2025Interviews, The Comic VaultA Salem Story, Ben Wickey, Columns, Danica Davidson, Interviews, More Weight, The Comic VaultLeave a comment

banner that reads The Comic Vault

cover of More Weight Artist, writer and animator Ben Wickey has turned the infamous Salem Witch Trials into a graphic novel, titled More Weight, concentrating on the life of Giles Corey, who was pressed to death during the trials. While working on it, Wickey learned that he was the descendant of one of the people hanged as a witch. Cemetery Dance spoke to Wickey about his personal connection to this story, how he did his research, and how he approached adapting history into graphic novel form.

Stick around after the interview for a couple of preview pages from More Weight.

Interview: Breathing In, Bleeding Out with Brian McAuley

Cemetery Dance OnlineAugust 28, 2025August 21, 2025InterviewsBreath In Bleed Out, Brian McAuley, Haley Newlin, InterviewsLeave a comment

photo of author Brian McAuley — Brian McAuley

Brian McAuley is a WGA screenwriter and HWA author. His debut novel, Curse of the Reaper, was named one of Esquire’s Best Horror Books of 2022. His novellas, Candy Cain Kills and Candy Cain Kills Again: The Second Slaying, are essential holiday horror reads and dubbed “A masterclass in slasher fiction” by FanFiAddict. This fall, McAuley returns with a bloody-good slasher called Breathe In, Bleed Out.

McAuley’s upcoming novel has already garnered praise from some of the biggest names in Horror. Upon reading Breathe In, Bleed Out, Nat Cassidy, author of When The Wolf Comes Home and Mary: An Awakening of Terror, said McAuley is “the crown prince of slasher literature.” Continue Reading

Nat Cassidy on When the Wolf Comes Home

Cemetery Dance OnlineAugust 19, 2025August 10, 2025InterviewsHaley Newlin, Interviews, Nat Cassidy, When the Wolf Comes HomeLeave a comment

photo of author Nat Cassidy Nat Cassidy is a USA Today bestselling horror author. He’s received wide acclaim for his work, including his supernatural, perimenopausal horror novel, Mary: An Awakening of Terror, and his Bram Stoker-nominated contemporary horror novella, Rest Stop, that explores historical trauma and reads like a bloody slasher leaping from the page.

He was named one of the “writers shaping horror’s next golden age” by Esquire and his recent release, When The Wolf Comes Home, has been praised by THE KING of horror, Stephen King, who said:“It’s terrific…a classic.”

Cassidy is infamous for bringing the angst and dread, but especially the feels, and his fairytale-inspired horror novel, When The Wolf Comes Home promises all of that and more.

You can find the author on Instagram and TikTok – @catnassidy and on his website.Continue Reading

Daphne Fama talks Monstrous Women

Cemetery Dance OnlineAugust 12, 2025August 10, 2025InterviewsDaphne Fama, Haley Newlin, House of Monstrous Women, InterviewsLeave a comment

photo of author Daphne Fama — Daphne Fama

Daphne Fama’s gothic debut, House of Monstrous Women, is rich with Filipino folklore, female rage, ritual cannibalism, and matriarchal horror. It has been described as Silva Moreno-Garcia’s infamous novel Mexican Gothic — which this interviewer agrees solely based on the brilliant execution of the theme of generational trauma — meets the campy horror film Ready or Not, starring Samara Weaving.

When she’s not writing about monsters and the women who love them, she’s writing about video games or adoring her partner and pup. Her favorite horror games are the Fatal Frame series (minus Maiden of Black Water) and Silent Hill. She loves found footage and folklore drenched horror movies.

Fama’s social media is a celebration and dissection of Filipino folklore including the aswang — an umbrella term that refers to a wide array of monsters, from vampire-like creatures to shapeshifters. These entities became the key inspiration for House of Monstrous Women. You can find her on Instagram at @daphnefamawrites.Continue Reading

Jim Burns on Illustrating IT

Cemetery Dance OnlineJuly 15, 2025July 13, 2025InterviewsDanica Davidson, Folio Society, Interviews, It, Jim Burns, Stephen KingLeave a comment

photo of the Folio Society edition of IT, and its slipcase Stephen King’s novel IT is getting a new, limited edition (only 500 copies) book from Folio Press that features illustrations from Jim Burns, who is probably best known for his science fiction and fantasy artwork. The limited edition also has an introduction from director Guillermo del Toro. Burns spoke to Cemetery Dance about getting involved with the project, his introduction to IT, working in the horror genre, and more.Continue Reading

Nick Peterson on The Harvest

Cemetery Dance OnlineMay 23, 2025May 18, 2025Interviews, The Comic VaultLeave a comment

banner that reads The Comic Vault

cover of The Harvest Nick Peterson is a director and producer, working on everything from short films to commercials to music videos. The horror genre has long interested him, and he’s written his first graphic novel, The Harvest, which was initially inspired by his art. Peterson spoke to Cemetery Dance about his work, being in horror film festivals, and what makes The Harvest bold and different.Continue Reading

Denis Kitchen’s Oddly Compelling career

Cemetery Dance OnlineMay 21, 2025May 18, 2025Interviews, The Comic VaultLeave a comment

banner that reads The Comic Vault

Denis Kitchen has worn many hats, including artist, publisher, author, historian and founder of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. A Kickstarter has launched to fund a documentary about him, Oddly Compelling, and Cemetery Dance spoke to Kitchen about the documentary, comics censorship, if horror comics are treated differently, and ways to take action.

The Cemetery Dance Interview: Wrath James White

Cemetery Dance OnlineMarch 7, 2025March 6, 2025InterviewsInterviews, Rick Hipson, Wrath James WhiteLeave a comment

banner graphic that says Cemetery Dance Interviews

photo of Wrath James White — Wrath James White

As constant visitors to Cemetery Dance’s site, anyone reading this conversation (you are reading this aren’t you?) are unlikely to need much of an introduction to one Wrath James White. So, I’ll keep it brief so you can get what you came for and delve into what makes the man of extreme storytelling tick the way he does.

Wrath is the founder and showrunner for the KillerCon horror author’s convention in Texas, which is home to the annual Splatterpunk Awards. An accomplished professional MMA fighter and trainer, Wrath is a splatterpunk and extreme horror novelist with such critically acclaimed titles as The Resurrectionist, Succulent Prey, The Ecstasy of Agony, and his collection of poetry, If You Died Tomorrow I would Eat Your Corpse.

On the heels of the recently published Rabbit Hunt, Voracious, and The Bug Collector, Wrath took some time out from taking names and kicking ass to reflect on his life since being forced to shut down his gym while shedding some much needed light on the future of our genre, his writing process, and why being true to yourself and your stories matter most despite what the uninformed haters try to tell us. Continue Reading

William Katt on KOLCHACK, CARRIE and More

Cemetery Dance OnlineFebruary 17, 2025InterviewsDania Davidson, Interviews, Kolchack, William KattLeave a comment

Kolchak: The Night Stalker might be best known as a movie and TV series, but it was the original novel by Jeff Rice that started it all. Monstrous Books will be bringing the book back to print, as well as offering an audiobook with Blackstone Audio. Actor William Katt, who played Tommy Ross in the classic horror movie Carrie and the lead in the hit show The Greatest American Hero, lends his voice talents to narrate the book. Katt spoke to Cemetery Dance about how Kolchak influenced The Greatest American Hero, what it was like working on his first audiobook, and some fun memories from filming Carrie.Continue Reading

FREE email updates!

Categories