#amwriring

#GuestDayTuesday – Featuring #SueRovens

/ Marcia Meara / 46 Comments

 

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! 🤗

A big, juicy THANK YOU to Marcia for allowing me the opportunity to visit with you today! While I don’t 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 don’t write exclusively “horror” 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. 😊 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 “horror”. While a few folks were intrigued, the majority cringed, backed away, or refused to engage at all. They wouldn’t even pick up one of my books and read the back. Something about the very word was off-putting. It didn’t matter how much I tried to explain that my stories weren’t hardcore horror or gore-heavy. Just the fact that I used “that word” turned them off completely.

I’ve read hardcore horror (body horror, splatter, etc – not my bag, but I’m familiar). My books are NOT that. I was mistaken to ever label the novels “horror” 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 – 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 didn’t fit that moniker. They’re related in a very distant way, but they are what they are: suspense/thrillers.      


Rage is Available on Amazon HERE 

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, “Coming Over,” 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, “When 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! 😊

You can reach Sue on Social Media here:

Email: srovens@yahoo.com
Author Page
Blog
Twitter
Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#This&That&TheOther Thing – #ThankYou and #BlogBreakThursday

/ Marcia Meara / 12 Comments

THIS

Just wanted to thank everyone who responded to Denise’s wonderful #TenThings post yesterday. I was unable to do so individually due to the sad loss of the last tree standing in our once-canopied front yard. More on that another time. Suffice it to say that 93 degree weather was not a very good time to be working for hours cleaning up after what happened.

THAT

Even though I’ve reduced my blogging time a bit as I catch up with everything we are trying to accomplish right now, I just want to remind folks that I’m still able to schedule guests for both #TenThingsYouMayNotKnowAboutMe and #GuestDayTuesday posts. Email me if you’re interested.

THE OTHER THING

It’s BLOG BREAK THURSDAY for me today, and for those of you who’ve asked about Rabbit (everyone’s favorite character), you’ll be happy to know that I really do have a spinoff novella trilogy in the works. I plan to use today to work non-stop on the first story. With any luck, Cole, Cole, & Dupree  will grow substantially by day’s end. In the meantime, here’s a first draft teaser for you:

Just Past Midnight in a Frosty Winter Pasture
Sunday, January 11, 2015
~~~

“THOUGHT YOU NEEDED to see this, boss. Called as soon as I found ’em.”

“You were right to call, Kip. Any idea what the hell happened here?”

“Not a one. Never seen anything like it.”

Alvy Ballard moved his flashlight in a slow arc across the scene in front of him, as he struggled to make sense of all the darkened forms humped along the ground. With a look of dread in his eyes, he turned back to his foreman. “Big Red?”

“Big Red, too, boss. He’s over by the east fence.”

“Show me.”

The two men walked around the fence line, stopping to check each bloody body along the way. Alvy gave a slow, stunned shake of his head. “All dead. Every single one of them dead. What could have done something like this, Kip?”

“I got no idea. Every throat torn out. All ten horses, gone. It ain’t natural.”

When they neared the middle of the east fence line, Kip stopped and laid his hand on Alvy’s arm. “You sure you want to look at him?”

Alvy nodded. “I need to see for myself.”

Kip watched as his boss continued along the fence to where the body of his prize stallion lay. For a moment the big man stood staring in shock, then he dropped to his knees. Draping himself across his horse, Alvy Ballard wept like a child, shoulders shaking with loud, heartbroken sobs.

Kip knew his boss well enough to understand his need for privacy, so he remained where he was until Alvy stood, wiped his eyes, and returned.

“I still don’t understand what happened to them,” Alvy said, his voice husky with emotion.

“Me, neither, boss. For sure, it wasn’t no animal I’ve ever seen. Animals don’t kill ‘less they’re hungry. All them horses are dead, all right, but not a single one’s been eaten on.”

~~~

And on that note,
Enjoy your day, everyone!
I’ll be back tomorrow!