Water in Black Static 21

My flash short story, ‘Water’, is appearing in Black Static 21. Thanks to editor Andy Cox for taking the story. A shout-out is also needed for non-fiction editor Peter Tennant, who has devoted the Black Static‘s Case Notes blog to the subject of women in horror for the month of February.

At the moment you can read Nina Allen’s piece on ‘My hero: Joyce Carol Oates‘.

I’d also like to highlight Melissa Helwig’s blog, Little Miss Zombie. Melissa is interviewing women who write horror throughout the month of February. If you think there aren’t that many women working in horror this will serve as a regular reminder that isn’t the case any more!

Every time I check out the Women in Horror Facebook page, and see yet another status update pointing me to an article or blog piece about women in horror, I feel immensely heartened. It’s a very fine example of how social media can be used in a positive fashion. It also shows that if women take action collectively we can make a difference. (With thanks to the men who are collaborating with women on this project!)

Now, I catch myself lapsing into the male/female dichotomy, when there is a splendid array of gender identifications, including those who refuse to adhere to a binary system.

So, I should just thank everyone who is participating on Women in Horror month. I’m hoping this will roll on to make people more aware of the need for diversity in regards to race, sexuality, gender, etc. I note that Rose Fox at Publisher’s Weekly‘s Genreville has written a piece In Praise of Black Female Horror Writers, since February is also Black History Month in the U.S. I now have a bunch of new (to me) authors to check out.