I am very happy to welcome Sue Rovens back to The Write Stuff as our special guest today! Please join me in making her feel right at home! Sue, the stage is yours! đ¤
A big, juicy THANK YOU to Marcia for allowing me the opportunity to visit with you today! While I donât have a brand-new book to promote, I do have one that came out last year which might be of interest. (More on that shortly.)
           I am a suspense/thriller writer from Normal, Illinois. I used to say I write strictly horror, but over the years, I discovered two important things.
One, I actually donât write exclusively âhorrorâ per se, but rather a mix/mash-up of suspense with some horrifying elements woven into the story. Lately, when asked, folks who have read my books told me that the stories are more weird than scary, which I find to be a compliment. đ So, I dropped the HORROR label (except in relation to some of the short stories), and now promote my work under the banner of suspense/thriller.
The second thing I learned came directly from interacting with people at events and seeing how their demeanor changed when I said that I wrote âhorrorâ. While a few folks were intrigued, the majority cringed, backed away, or refused to engage at all. They wouldnât even pick up one of my books and read the back. Something about the very word was off-putting. It didnât matter how much I tried to explain that my stories werenât hardcore horror or gore-heavy. Just the fact that I used âthat wordâ turned them off completely.
Iâve read hardcore horror (body horror, splatter, etc â not my bag, but Iâm familiar). My books are NOT that. I was mistaken to ever label the novels âhorrorâ and thus changed how I promote myself and my work. When I was a new writer (back in 2012), I pegged myself as a horror writer because I wanted to be in that camp â with the Stephen Kings and Jack Ketchums of the world. While I enjoy reading some select horror (good stories and not just killing for killing’s sake), I had to realize that my own books simply didnât fit that moniker. Theyâre related in a very distant way, but they are what they are: suspense/thrillers.   Â
Rage is Available on Amazon HEREÂ
Author Sue Rovens
Sue Rovens is an indie suspense/horror author who hails from Normal, Illinois. She has written four novels and two books of short horror stories. She is currently working on her fifth novel, Sanctum, which should be out sometime in 2023.
Track 9, her second novel, snagged a starred review in Publisher’s Weekly (May 2018), her short story, âComing Over,â from her book, In a Corner, Darkly (Volume 1) was turned into a screenplay and short student indie film by the theater department of Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, and another short story, âWhen the Earth Bled,” won 2nd place in the Support Indie Authors short story contest in 2021. Her two most recent books (Buried and Rage) are under Plump Toad Press.
Sue owns a blog (suerovens.com) which includes interviews with authors, musicians, podcasters, and artists. She is an Executive Producer for an indie (short) horror film which is currently in production called “Let’s Do Things that Make Us Happy.”
Sue is a member of The Chicago Writers Association and the Alliance for Independent Authors (ALLi).
***Special Note!***
I, too, interview authors (as well as musicians and artists) on my blog. If you are interested, please shoot a quick email to me. ALL are welcome on the blog regardless of professional level or genre. Email me at srovens@yahoo.com. Thanks! đ
You can reach Sue on Social Media here:
Email: srovens@yahoo.com
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